Java by Rail

After breakfast today, enjoy a full day tour of the dynamic, vibrant and chaotic megalopolis (at 34 million!) of Jakarta.

Our first stop is the Jakarta Cathedral Church followed by the Istiqlal Mosque – the largest mosque in South-East Asia and the National Monument, MONAS, a 132 metre obelisk on Merdeka Square, built to commemorate Indonesia’s struggle for independence.

Later, visit the historic Batavia train station, the old colonial Dutch town of Batavia (Kota Tua) on Fatahillah Square, the historical Kali Besar Barat canal, and see the Dutch Stadhuis and Si Jagur old Portuguese cannon.

Enjoy lunch at Batavia Café, set in a 200-year-old colonial building before exploring the Sunda Kelapa Harbor where the Dutch first landed in 1596. Learn about the largest fleets of commercial sailing ships in the world that once transported and unloaded goods from across the archipelago at this port. Finish by visiting the Gereja Sion Dutch church, the temple-filled Chinatown and tour the Candra Naya Chinese mansion to see the beautiful Peranakan architecture.

We’ll return you to your hotel in the late afternoon for an evening at your leisure. Our tour leader will be more than happy to recommend various restaurants for you to enjoy.

Tonight, you can unwind in your 1920s style Art Deco and neoclassical hotel, The Hermitage which was originally the Telefoongebouw, the Dutch Telecommunication office. The hotel’s classic and elegant 1928 Restaurant has a menu that focuses on colonial, Peranakan, and Indonesian cuisine.

Overnight: The Hermitage, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Jakarta (B, L)

Leaving just after breakfast, we’ll travel on Indonesia’s first high-speed train between Jakarta and Bandung. Known as WHOOSH (Waktu Hemat Operasi Optimal Sistema Hebat), which translates into Timesaving Optimal Operation Outstanding System, it is the fastest high speed train in Southeast Asia. The track speed of this Chinese built High-Speed Train can reach over 330 kilometers per hour, cutting the normal running time from three hours to just over 30 minutes. Travel in business class comfort and enjoy a journey in a luxurious, spacious, and comfortable interior. Upon arrival at Bandung Train Station, we’ll transfer directly to our hotel to check in and enjoy lunch together.

After lunch, we’ll tour Bandung visiting Gedung Sate governor’s office, see the quirky fibreglass statues on Jeans Street, the colonial and Art Deco architecture along Braga Street plus the Gedung Merdeka Presidential Palace, the Savoy Homann Hotel and the Grand Mosque.

This morning is an early start for our transfer to Bandung’s railway station where we’ll board the morning Kereta Api Argo Wilis train for the 502kms, 6-hour journey to Yogyakarta. We’ll be travelling in ‘Exekutif’ Class Luxury Panoramic railcars with lunch served on board, with personal catering and butler service even being provided. So, all you’ll have to think about is immersing yourself in the picturesque scenery that you’ll see out of the large panoramic windows.

Yogyakarta (often called “Jogja”) is a smaller city (population of less than 500,000) known for its traditional arts and cultural heritage, and its ornate 18th-century royal complex, or kraton, encompassing the still-inhabited Sultan’s Palace.

After arriving and checking in at your boutique heritage hotel – The Phoenix Yogyakarta you’ll embark on a hotel tour to learn about the different architectural styles and the history of the property. Completed in 1918, it was part of the private estate of Chinese business entrepreneur Kwik Djoen Eng who became known as The Java Sugar King. When Eng’s estates were sold off during the Great Depression, it became Hotel Splendid, then Hotel Yamato during the Japanese occupation in WWII. It was later reacquired by previous owners and became the East Java residence of President Sukarno and renamed Hotel Merdeka.

After your hotel tour, the rest of the day is free.

This morning after breakfast, our coach will take us to Solo city, officially known as Surakarta and a historic royal capital in East Java.

After checking into our hotel, we’ll enjoy lunch together at Canting Londo Kitchen restaurant.

Later, embark on a Surakarta city tour by special steam train commencing at Purwosari train station. Here, we’ll board our privately chartered special steam train, the Steam Loco Jaladara, built in Germany in 1896 and shipped to Indonesia that same year by the Dutch East Indies Government as a means of short-distance transport.

Trundling through the heart of the city in restored Victorian-style wood carriages, you’ll get a first-hand look at life in Solo. Wave to locals as the train crosses Slamet Riyadi Street, Solo’s main street as we embark on a unique way to see a place. The three hour excursion makes stops at Loji Gandrung (the Mayor’s official residence), the Danarhadi Batik Museum, and the Kauman Batik Village before pulling into Sangkrah Train Station, also a protected cultural heritage site.

Return to your hotel for some free time before transferring to Pracima Tuin Mangkunegaran Palace Surakarta for an exclusive dinner experience.

Overnight: Alila Hotel, Solo (B, L, D)

This morning after an early breakfast, we’ll make our way to the Solo train station for the Sancaka ‘Exekutif’ Class train to Madiun.

Hop off the train and travel south west to the town of Rejosari for a ride on a specially chartered sugar mill steam locomotive to see the local sugar cane harvest in full flight. Although Indonesia is the world’s biggest sugar importer, importing over 6.2 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2023, the demand for locally sourced sugar in a country of 285 million has always been large. Java is dry and ‘cooler’ in July and, in fact, dry weather is paramount for the success of the sugarcane harvesting season. On arrival, enjoy a ride on the 700 mm gauge no.10 “Salak” steam loco around the mill and through the workshop and learn about the sugarcane harvest industry in the region as you ride.

Return to Madiun for lunch and take the express train to Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city with a metro population of over 10 million people, arriving in the mid afternoon.

Upon arrival in Surabaya, transfer to the luxurious Dutch colonial and Art Deco masterpiece, Hotel Majapahit – which is your home for tonight. Opened in 1910 as Hotel Oranje by Lucas Sarkies, a relative of the Sarkies family of Raffles Hotel Singapore fame, this hotel is an Indonesian landmark. Like other hotels in the country, the hotel’s name was changed to Yamato Hotel during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in WWII. After check-in, take part in a hotel tour and enjoy dinner in the grounds of this majestic property to relive the glory days of years gone by.

Overnight: Hotel Majapahit, Surabaya (B, L, D)

This morning after breakfast, tour the town’s historic Arab Quarter, with its a fascinating labyrinth of lanes, see a few Art Deco and Dutch colonial buildings in various stages of repair. Later, take part in a Surabaya Heritage Track sightseeing bus tour around Old Surabaya. Travelling in a rectangle shaped vehicle that is designed like a tram that once roamed across the city in the early 20th century, enjoy a tour and learn about the tramway history of Surabaya and visit The House of Sampoerna, a Dutch colonial-style compound built in 1858 which serves as a cigarette museum as well as a factory for Sampoerna (a cigarette brand).

This morning after breakfast you will tour the delightful Malang. With a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari Kingdom, Malang was prized by the Dutch colonists for its mild highland climate and became a popular destination for European tourists, sparking a rapid period of development, much of which is still evident today. The city retains much of its colonial architecture and our tour will take us past numerous significant colonial buildings including the Balai Kota, an immense Dutch administrative building, Alun-Alun Tugu Malang park, Jalan Besar Ijen millionaires’ row, a boulevard lined with elegant whitewashed mansions from the Dutch era.

You’ll also visit the city’s largest public market, the vibrant Pasar Besar and the Kota Malang bird market before enjoying lunch at the Melati boutique restaurant at your hotel to sample imperial Indonesian cuisine.

Afterwards, tour the whimsical multicoloured neighbourhoods, Kampung Warni Widi and Jodipan Colorful Village. A local initiative to beautify Malang’s ramshackle, high-density kampungs, these suburbs have been transformed into one of the city ’s most popular sights. It attracted much attention, and tourists pay a small fee to visit, which has created an income for the residents and created some local home schools for the children’s education, as well as lifting the residents spirits to a new level.

The village of Kampung Warna-Warni (Indonesian for “Village of Color”) was once drab and polluted, lacking the economic resources required to build a healthy community. However, the locals were inspired by the favelas of Rio in Brasil, turning every square inch of the rainbow village in a coat of vibrant colours.

In the rainbow village of Jodipan, as soon as you step foot here, you’ll be mesmerized by all the lively colors that paint the entire landscape like a kaleidoscope. As you wander through the streets, you’ll see each building is adorned with bright colors, ranging from cheerful yellows to bold blues and radiant reds.

Return to your hotel in the late afternoon where your evening is free.

Overnight: Hotel Tugu Malang (B, L)

This morning after breakfast, drive the scenic route to Mt Bromo in the Bromo-Tengger National Park. Rising from the centre of the ancient Tengger caldera, Bromo is one of three volcanoes to have emerged from a vast crater, stretching 10km across. Flanked by the peaks of Kursi and Batok, the steaming cone of Bromo stands in a sea of ashen, volcanic sand, surrounded by the towering cliffs of the crater’s edge.

Upon arrival at the hotel, you’ll check-in and enjoy lunch.

Later, depart in 4WDs to experience one of the marvels of this part of the world – the magnificent Mount Bromo volcano. Arrive at your viewing platform at Mount Penanjakan (2,770 meters above sea level), to capture the wonderful scene of Mount Bromo in the foreground with Mount Semeru smoking in the distance. The eerie landscape has spurned countless legends and myths and the grey ashen-covered ground creates an unusual atmosphere, often compared to the surface of the moon. Bromo has great significance for the local Tengger people who believe that this was the site where a brave prince sacrificed his life for his family and at the mouth of the crater, there is an idol of Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom which is worshipped by the Javanese Hindus.

Return to your hotel in the late afternoon where your evening is free.

Overnight: Jiwa Jawa Bromo (B, L)

After an early breakfast, we say farewell to Mt Bromo and continue our journey down the hill through the spectacular East Javanese countryside to Probolinggo to catch a Pandalungan train to Kalibaru, one of the richest agricultural districts on Java.

Upon arrival in Kalibaru, we’ll enjoy some lunch before taking the Kalibaru Coffee, Cocoa, and Rubber Plantation Tour at the Glenmore Plantation. It was established by Scottish settlers in 1910, then taken over by the Dutch in 1926, purchased by Chinese businessman Liem Tek Hie after World War II, but is now wholly Indonesian owned. Coffee, rubber, cocoa, and sugar cane are grown widely here by the local farmers, and you’ll see how rubber is processed, how coffee is dried, and, if there’s time, how cocoa is fermented. They’ll be very happy to help you learn about, and participate, in their activities, although you may prefer to just watch them climb the coconut trees to get you a delicious fresh coconut to sip right there, on the spot! Before we leave, we’ll enjoy a cup of fresh coffee or tea and a delicious snack of fried banana.

Before departing, you’ll visit the historic Glenmore Railway Station, built by the Dutch State Railways of Indonesia, the building is now listed as a cultural heritage centre by the Center for Conservation and Architectural Design Unit of the Indonesian Railways. Continue by coach to Banyuwangi at the eastern tip of Java, where we’ll check in to our beachside resort and set you free to unwind for a bit before we gather for dinner.

Overnight: Ketapang Indah Hotel, Banyuwangi (B, L, D)

After breakfast we embark on a journey into another piece of Indonesian paradise – Ubud in Bali for our last bit of time together. Our coach will collect us and take us to Ketapang Harbour for our ferry crossing of the Bali Strait to the remote western side of the island of Bali.

Upon disembarking, we’ll continue by road for lunch in a village restaurant. Later, it’s on to Ubud with a stop on the way at the Beratan Lake in Bedugul to visit the magnificent Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, the most iconic landmark in Bali and a significant temple complex located on the picturesque shores of Beratan Lake.

Located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills, Ubud is a beautiful little place where traditional Balinese arts and culture imbues every waking moment, colorful offerings adorn the streets, and the hypnotic strains of gamelan are an ever-present soundtrack to everyday life.

Check into our resort hotel on arrival before enjoying a spectacular farewell dinner.

Overnight: Arma Museum and Resort, Ubud (B, L, D)

Enjoy breakfast at the resort and a morning at leisure before transferring to Denpasar Airport for your departure flight. We’re happy to arrange for you to extend your stay in Ubud or elsewhere in Bali. Call us to discuss the many options. (B)