Trying to talk to somebody who's been recently. My partner and I are planning a trip and for some reason, I'm getting iffy feelings about the country. We've done lots of SE Asia in the past so the area's kind of familiar but we're wondering if you've had any experiences you can share. Let me know. Thanks!

there has been a big flood (3-5ft) in some cities in indonesia several weeks ago ( Jakarta and East Java) even the international airport covered with flood, (how f'''ed up is that), depend where you go. usually diseases spread with the flood.

I have an Indonesian friend, but haven't got much insight on his country.  The only useful thing I can really provide is: the food is super spicy :)  So if you are a fan of that, you're set with food.

I've done Indonesia a couple times. Both times I had much assistance. I've been to Bali for a holiday and went to Jakarta for a wedding. I'm guessing if you're going on vacation you're likely to go towards Bali or one of the luxury resorts. In Bali, there was quite a bit of security whether it meant going into the hotels or even to restaurants. This was understandable due to the bombings that occurred there. After a while you just get to use to it. On both my trips I was traveling with some Indonesian friends who had much of the stuff arranged so it was pretty easy going. I did hire a driver one day for some touring and that was about $40. My driver was highly recommended to me by others and his vehicle was in good condition. He also had a good understanding of English and was not pushy into sending me to buy stuff. Tour guides who try to get you buy stuff from the shops can be an issue from what I've been told.

As for where I stayed in Bali, I stayed at the Alila Ubud. The rooms and grounds at the Alila were amazing. The infinity pool was to die for! Ubud is known primarily as a place for the arts and museum. There are also quite a bit of shops specializing in handicrafts. After a couple nights in Ubud, we headed down to the Conrad which is in Nusa Dua area of Bali. Nusa Dua is on the eastern coast of Bali and his home to many resorts. There isn't much here but it is quite relaxing area. If you want more action and more tourists you should stay over in Kuta, which is on the western coast.

alilahotels.com/Ubud

I'm going to add more to this topic in another post as my friend has been in Indonesia in the last week.

As I mentioned a friend of mine was over in Indonesia last week and had high praise for the Losari Coffee Plantation, a luxury resort in Java. Below is her review of the Losari Coffee Plantation.

losaricoffeeplantation.c…

If you are looking for other luxury resorts I would check out the Aman Resorts.

aman.com
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We stayed 1 night at Losari last week, and wished we had stayed longer. We loved it. From the moment we arrived, we felt at peace with the property. It is extraordinary to stay in a complex of colonial Indonesia buildings. The entry is an old train station that has been moved onsite and renovated. You walk thru it onto the spacious grounds, up to the main plantation building. This is where the former owners of the coffee plantation lived. It is now the library, lounges, and verandah with comfortable tables and day beds all around the exterior.

We were given the building closest to this as our room. It was lovely, big enough to be a multi room suite, but kept as one enormous room. It had a lengthy verandah, from which we looked off into greenery and at volcanoes. The room had both a bed and a large day bed, as well as a table with chairs and a couple comfortable chairs in front of the TV. Losari should invest in better linens and pillows, the one downside of our stay.

There are lovely paths winding around the property. One leads to the beautiful infinity swimming pool, with the hamman/spa underneath. Beyond is the restaurant with both indoor and outdoor spaces. We found the Indonesian food to be better prepared than the European. Banana pancakes at breakfast are delicious.

Up the hill from the dining room is the yoga pavilion, where free yoga is offered at 9am each day. Circling back around the property is the shop and various outdoor seating areas.

Our stay at Losari was more satisfying than Amanjiwo. There were many places to sit outside, yet have a feeling of serenity. There are so many public areas that everyone is spread out and preserves a sense of privacy. Or, we could go to our room and use the day bed or enjoy the verandah.

The hotel offers a variety of free juices in the morning at a hut, and offers coffee, tea, and cakes between 4 and 5 in the afternoon on the verandah outside the old plantation house. If you are a little social, this is a good chance to see some other guests.

The Losari driver picked us up at Solo Airport. The Amanjiwo driver picked us up at Losari. Losari was roughly 2 hours from Solo City and 1 1/2 hours from Amanjiwo.

Losari is a magical place, and I am very glad that I learned about it.
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go to bali where there's a little bit more of the familiar if this is your first time to indo and are feeling tentative. i've been to bali, it's beautiful, the locals are truly friendly because their main economy is tourism based (much like thailand) and there's a lot to do and see.

pm me if you have more questions. indonesia is a large archipelago of varying levels of poverty and wealth. you'll need to be very self reliant in order to do some of the less traveled islands.

I planned a trip right after 9/11 and was going to Java, Sumatra and Bali. Because of the political turmoil, I ended up canceling Java and Sumatra and staying in Bali longer. Loved Bali (it's Hindu, not Muslim)..but I still want to go to Borobudur and the other sights when I go again. Even though they did have those nightclub bombings a few years back, I think Bali is a great destination for a week.

FYI...there was a 7.3 quake west of Sumatra today.

I'm from there, but I haven't been home for 5+ years so I'm pretty much out of touch with what's going on.

One advice though: when you get to the cengkareng airport, DO NOT let anybody get a hold of your luggage. There are usually a lot of people acting as "bell boys" asking tourists if they would like some help with their luggage to a taxi/car/whatever. If you do let them hold your luggage, they'll ask for tips and gives you attitude if they think you're not tipping them enough. Indonesians like to rip tourists off.

I  just went last year and it was amazing.  Bali and Java.  I would love to go back and see Lombok, Borneo, and the lizard island of Komodo.  i was sad I didn't have more time.

It's not any more dangerous than traveling any other developing nation.  Ok, i lie.  It's maybe slightly more dangerous because of volcanoes, earthquakes, and overcrowding.  And riding in a car/van in Java is very scary, i can't lie.  But I lived.  I even walked the streets of Yogyakarta in Java by myself and had people befriending me.

Agreed on Ari's advice on people trying to grab your bags at the airport in Bali, they did that to me. just ignore them.

I have a ton of info on my blog, which is linked from my Yelp page.  Or send me a PM.

Where are you going, Mario?  I agree about Bali.  We go a lot (multiple times a year).  My BF used to work in Jakarta.  Bali is terrific:  really nice people, wonderful aesthetics.   Also, there are different parts of Bali, ranging from the very spendy to the very reasonably priced.  We tend to go to the beach for a few days (surf, hang out, at a place called Kerobokan (basically the Legian area) (away from all the drunken Aussies in Kuta but close enough that we can surf in Kuta) and stay at a very reasonably priced place there (Tony's Villa, $45 or $50 US, great pool) (literally 1/2 a block from all the fancy hotels (Oberoi, Legian) and near great restaurants:  Ku de Ta and La Lucciola on the beach, and the LIving Room (a great bar) and Cafe Warisan close by (former chef to the Aga Khan, run by a good-looking French guy very like Jocelyn Bulow who runs Chez Papa etc here).  I have recs for massages (Body Works in Kerobokan and in Ubud, and Nur salon in Ubud) (and a funky place on the beach in Kerobokan).  After the beach, we go up country to Ubud and also stay at the Alila (formerly the Chedi) (or have splurged at the Bhagawan Ghiri, now run by Cristina Ong.  You can stay at the Alila for $150ish (awesome hotel and very well-priced for five star and that great pool (props to Kevin L.).   You can also stay one night or two at the Ritz in Jimbaran (nothing to do but relax and go to the cool BBQ places on the beach, but you can get US rates of $120 or so.)  Good for 2 days max.  Skip Nusa Dua:  it's like Hawaii.  For food in Ubud, the chef at Mozaic used to cook at French Laundry (tasting menu isn't cheap, but it's great and better than French Laundry), and I like Arys, Batan Waru (run by a guy named Guzky and his wife Karen; they own another Italian place that's also good; Batan Waru has great eggs benedict iand amazing scones with fruit butter and an excellent latte and great butterfish and Indonesian dishes for dinner), and Lamak, run by an Australian artist gone Indo named Made something, and it's very stylish for a drink.  The restaurants are like San Francisco's finest, although much better and with better aesthetics.  The island's cool enough in the mountain regions that you get things like local goat cheese and tomatoes.  Alcohol is expensive.  We always bring some wine.  

To really enjoy Bali, you need a car (we drive) but if that makes you nervous, you can rent a scooter where you are going, or you can hire a driver (not that much more than a car rental).  We get around by bike in Ubud (free ones to use at the Alila).   If you've spent a lot of time in SE Asia, you'll love Bali.   Great art, furniture, dances, music, people, food.

I also have a $65-ish place in Ubud on the other side of Monkey Forest Road called Alam Jiwa.  Like Tony's Villa, it's great:  nice appointments, sparkling clean, etc.  But we tend to spend a bit more up there because it's one of the few places in the world that you can really stay affordably five star.  There are $700 places (like the Four Seasons -- awesome architecture) but there literally are places you can stay for $150/$200 that would be much more elsewhere.

Laurel B:

Thanks for the props regarding the Alila Ubud. As I mentioned a fabulous place to stay. If you stay at the Alila they can arrange for pickup at the airport. If I recall correctly it is about an hour from the airport in Denpasar.

Great call on Mozaic and Ku De Ta. Both are excellent recommendations. The Ritz in JImbaran is an excellent place to catch the sunset.

Ku De Ta - kudeta.net
Mozaic - mozaic-bali.com

I will and get some photos up for you all.

I got married there January 12, 2008. It's a great place. My wife is Indonesian, and I can pass for Indonesian, so we don't generate much attention. I noticed when a friend of mine went along with me, he generated more attention than me.

I would start off in Jakarta, then take the train 10 hour train to Jogya, which is in Central Java.
Jogya is center of Javanese culture, well actually perhaps Solo is too... about 60 km away.
These are Court cities, untouched by the Dutch invasion.

Fly off to Bali, but stay away from Kuta, which is just crawling with obnoxious drunks who think they own the place.
I would go to Ubud or Seminyak.

When you hire a cab, make sure you get a "Blue Bird". The rest are unreliable. Indonesian will only ride Blue Bird if they can.
You can also hire a car with a driver, which will run you about 40.00/day for everything including gas.
Make sure though to give the driver some  cash for lunch.

Speaking of lunch, it's going to be pretty inexpensive $2.00 max. Don't be afraid to join the locals when it comes to food.
Crowded warungs are the best.

message me for more details if you want.

Thank you all for your feedback! We just got back and had a wonderful time. We're more budget/backpacker travelers so special thanks to all of you who helped find bargains. Also, thanks Geordie, thanks for the Blue Bird suggestion--totally agree!