Bali and Komodo private tour: 18 tailor-made days from Tanah Lot to Padar

The three bays of Padar island in Komodo national park — Padar island

This Bali and Komodo private tour is the route I travelled myself, and it is entirely private. You travel as a couple, a family or with friends, with your own driver on Bali. There is no group and no tour leader travelling along. You start slowly on the west coast at the sea temple of Tanah Lot, loop through the mountains past the Jatiluwih rice terraces, Munduk and the sunrise on Mount Batur, take two days for the Sidemen valley and three nights in Ubud, then fly to Flores for a speedboat day past Padar and the Komodo dragons. You finish on the beaches of Uluwatu.

This is my recommended route. You can change whatever you like.

At a glance

Recommended length: 18 days with 17 nights on Bali and Flores: day 1 is your arrival on Bali (you fly out of Brussels the evening before), day 18 your departure. Can be cut to 14 or extended to 24 days
Style: fully arranged private trip, from 1 traveller
Start date: any day you choose
Transport: private car with English-speaking driver on Bali, domestic flights Denpasar – Labuan Bajo return, private transfers and a private speedboat with crew in Komodo
Price: coming soon; you receive a tailor-made proposal at three levels (Budget, Comfort, Premium)
International flight: not included; I am happy to book it for you, or you book it yourself
Best months: April to October

Best time to travel

April to October is the best time for this Bali tailor-made tour. Bali's wet season runs from November to March, with afternoon storms. In Komodo the dry season runs roughly from April to November, with the calmest, clearest seas from May to September; January and February bring the roughest seas, when boat trips are often cancelled. The dry months also give you the best chance of a clear sunrise on Mount Batur. You pick your own start date. Avoid Nyepi, Bali's day of silence in spring, when even the airport closes for 24 hours.

Besakih temple with Mount Agung in the background — Besakih, the mother temple

My recommended route and why it runs this way

You fly out of Brussels the evening before and land in Denpasar on day 1. Your private driver meets you at the airport and stays with you for your whole time on Bali. In about an hour he takes you to Kedungu on the west coast, between rice fields and a black-sand beach. After a day of doing nothing you can ride a horse along the beach or take a surf lesson (optional), and at sunset you stand at the sea temples of Tanah Lot and Batu Bolong (days 1 and 2).

Green rice terraces in the Sidemen valley on Bali — Rice terraces near Sidemen

Then the mountains. On the way to Jatiluwih you visit the royal temple of Taman Ayun, surrounded by a moat, and the quiet mountain temple of Batukaru. You sleep among the tea gardens by the Jatiluwih rice terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage site together with the centuries-old subak irrigation system, and walk through the terraces the next morning (days 3 and 4). Via Ulun Danu Beratan on Lake Bratan and the Handara gate you reach Munduk, among coffee and clove plantations, with a bike ride (optional) or a waterfall walk, Pura Ulun Danu Buyan on Lake Buyan and the Buddhist monastery of Brahmavihara-Arama (days 4 and 5).

Across the north, past the Aling-Aling waterfalls (jumping optional), you climb to Kintamani on the Batur caldera. At about 3.30 am you set off with a licensed mountain guide (compulsory and included) for the two-hour climb to the summit of Mount Batur and the sunrise over the crater lake (days 6 and 7). In the east you visit Besakih, Bali's mother temple, with the compulsory temple guide, and spend two nights in Sidemen: a walk through the valley, the Gembleng waterfall and the water palaces of Tirta Gangga and Taman Ujung (days 8 and 9).

Via the Tukad Cepung waterfall and the traditional village of Penglipuran you reach Ubud for three nights: the Campuhan ridge, the lotus temple of Taman Saraswati, the Monkey Forest, optional rafting on the Ayung, and Goa Gajah, Gunung Kawi and Tirta Empul (days 10 to 12).

On day 13 you fly to Labuan Bajo on Flores (about 1h15, same time zone). Day 14 is a full day by private speedboat in Komodo National Park: Padar's view over the bays at first light, Komodo dragons in the wild on Rinca with a compulsory licensed park ranger, snorkelling at Pink Beach and Manta Point. Day 15 is a day by the pool above the bay, and the spare day if the boat could not sail. Back on Bali you end on the Bukit peninsula near Uluwatu: the cliff beaches of Padang Padang, Bingin and Suluban, and the kecak fire dance at the Uluwatu cliff temple at sunset (days 16 and 17). On day 18 you enjoy the beach once more before your driver takes you to Denpasar airport for your evening flight home.

Why this order? You land gently on the quiet west coast, loop through the mountains from west to east with reasonable drives every day, keep the adventure of Komodo (with a spare day) for after Ubud, and finish by the sea, close to the airport.

See the full day-by-day itinerary

Self-drive or private driver?

On Bali we only offer the private driver. Traffic drives on the left and is busy and unpredictable, with thousands of scooters; the mountain roads to Jatiluwih, Munduk and Kintamani are narrow and steep; and in an accident the foreign driver is usually held liable. A car with a driver costs barely more than a rental car. Your driver is available for about 10 hours a day, fuel, parking and tolls included, and you stop wherever you like. On Flores you travel with private transfers and a private boat with crew.

What I arrange for you

Your Komodo National Park entry, which works with a daily cap of 1,000 visitors since April 2026, quotas per site and timed sessions: I book it through the SiOra system on a fixed date, together with the compulsory rangers. The Batur trek with a licensed mountain guide. Small, locally run places to stay among the rice fields, in the mountains and by the sea, chosen per level. Optional activities (horse riding, surfing, cycling, Aling-Aling, rafting) booked with established operators. A personal intake meeting, a WhatsApp line with me before and during the trip, a personal 24/7 number and a follow-up call afterwards.

Budget, Comfort or Premium

The programme is the same; the difference is where you sleep. Budget means well-kept guesthouses and homestays with excellent reviews and breakfast, often with a pool or a view. Comfort means small resorts and boutique hotels with a pool, among the rice fields and with views of the mountains and the bay. Premium means the finest address in each place, such as villas with a private pool, lodges overlooking the volcanoes and resorts above the Uluwatu cliffs. Prices are coming soon.

The cliffs of Kelingking on Nusa Penida — Kelingking on Nusa Penida

Practical tips

Visa (Belgian passport): visa on arrival or e-VOA online in advance (IDR 500,000, about €25), valid 30 days. Your passport must be valid at least 6 months. Complete the digital All Indonesia arrival card beforehand. Bali's tourist levy is included.
Health: no mandatory vaccinations when travelling directly from Belgium. Hepatitis A is recommended; ask about typhoid, rabies and Japanese encephalitis. Dengue occurs, so use insect repellent. Malaria risk is low on Bali and in West Flores. See wanda.be or a travel clinic.
Komodo dragons: they are wild animals. Stay with your ranger and the group, keep at least 5 metres away, never run and carry no food on the trail.
Money: Indonesian rupiah. ATMs in Ubud, Uluwatu and Labuan Bajo; bring cash for the villages.
Flights and time: 16 to 20 hours with one or two connections. Bali and Flores are 6 hours ahead of Belgium in summer, 7 in winter.
Meals: breakfast is included every day, as is lunch on board in Komodo. For the other meals I give you my favourite warungs and restaurants, and you choose freely where you eat.
Packing: cover shoulders and knees at temples (a sarong can be borrowed at most), a fleece for the evenings in the mountains and the Batur sunrise, sturdy shoes for Batur and Padar, water shoes for the waterfalls.

Travel advice

The Belgian FPS Foreign Affairs (update 9 September 2026) says Indonesia is generally safe with the usual precautions. Non-essential travel is advised against only in the six Papua provinces, far from this route. Indonesia lies on the Ring of Fire: volcanic eruptions can close the Bali or Labuan Bajo airports for days, and the Batur trek is cancelled at raised alert levels, so we build in flexibility. For the boat in Komodo we only use licensed operators with a harbour-master permit, life jackets and insurance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive myself on Bali?

We do not offer it: left-hand traffic, dense scooter traffic, narrow mountain roads and a high risk in an accident. You have your own car with an English-speaking driver, which costs barely more than a rental car.

Does a guide travel with us the whole time?

No. You travel privately with your own driver and, as standard, without a guide. Guides are included only where they are compulsory: the mountain guide on Mount Batur, the temple guide at Besakih and the park rangers on Padar and Rinca. Prefer a guide? A local guide is available for any visit, for example in Jatiluwih, in Sidemen, at the temples around Ubud or along the Uluwatu beaches.

Do I need to book Komodo National Park myself?

No. Since April 2026 there is a cap of 1,000 visitors a day with quotas per site and timed sessions. We book your entry through SiOra on a fixed date, together with the compulsory rangers.

Do I need a visa for Indonesia?

Yes. A visa on arrival or an e-VOA bought online in advance (IDR 500,000, about €25), valid for 30 days.

Can we spend a night on a boat in Komodo?

Yes. Instead of the speedboat day you can sail for two days and one night on a phinisi sailing boat with a cabin.

What if a volcano erupts or the sea is too rough?

Eruptions can close airports for days, so we keep flexible terms on domestic flights and ask you to have good travel insurance. If the harbour master keeps the boats in port, your Komodo day moves to the spare day.

Can we change the route?

Yes. Bali only without Komodo (15 days), or longer: an extra night in Jatiluwih, a day on Nusa Penida, an overland journey across Flores, the Gili islands, a diving day in Komodo or an extra beach day with children.

Plan your trip

Interested? Plan an intake call via the interest list or email info@steennot-travels.be. Before we start selling trips, we take out the legally required insurance against financial insolvency.

Sources

Last updated: 15 October 2026.