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Sumbanese horses running through the shallows along a white-sand beach

Sample journey · 10–13 days

Bali and Sumba, slowly for two

The Sidemen valley, the hills and coast of West Sumba

Photo: Deepavali Gaind / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

For many, Bali means Ubud and beach clubs, but life moves differently in the east of the island: in the Sidemen valley rice grows in terraces beneath Mount Agung, weavers work at their looms and the evenings are quiet. An hour's flight further east lies Sumba, an island where old customs are still part of daily life and you're more likely to meet a horse than a person on the beach.

This sample route is for couples for whom a honeymoon means time together rather than a list of sights. The stays matter as much as the journey — a villa above the valley, a cottage by the ocean — so there are few places and enough nights in each. We'd tune the pace, the style of stays and how much you'd like to venture out around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Denpasar
  2. Sidemen
  3. Tambolaka (Sumba)
  4. West Sumba
  5. Bali coast
  1. Bright green rice terraces below a misty volcano at dawn, east Bali

    01Days 1–4 · Sidemen, east Bali

    A valley beneath Mount Agung

    The drive from the airport to Sidemen takes about two hours, past temples and villages. A villa on the hillside; in the mornings, mist over the terraces and, when the clouds allow, the summit of Agung. The days are slow: a walk through the rice fields with a local guide, a visit to the songket weavers, a massage after lunch. If you'd like more of Bali's culture, one day could go to Ubud or to quieter temples in the east.

  2. Golden grass hills and scattered trees in Lamboya, West Sumba

    02Days 5–7 · West Sumba

    Hills, villages and ikat

    A short flight from Denpasar to Tambolaka, and the landscape changes: hills golden in the dry season and green after rain, maize fields and roads where you'll meet horses rather than cars. With a guide you visit traditional villages of tall thatched roofs and megalithic tombs, where guests are welcome and are expected to respect local customs. Women here weave ikat with natural dyes, and a single cloth can take months.

  3. Sunset through the natural rock arch at Bawana beach, Sumba

    03Days 8–9 · The Sumba coast

    Beaches without footprints

    The south-west coast has long white-sand beaches, rock arches and waves loved by surfers. A morning could be spent riding along the water's edge, an afternoon swimming in a natural lagoon, and the sunset watched through the rock arch at Bawana beach. The remote stays here are often the only building for miles, and that is exactly their appeal.

  4. The Milky Way above dark hills at night on Sumba

    04Day 10 · Sumba

    A night with no light at all

    The last day on Sumba is set aside for nothing in particular: the pool, a book, a long lunch. In the evening, far from any town, the sky opens up in a way we rarely see in Europe; in the dry season the Milky Way is often visible to the naked eye. Dinner by the sea, and a kind of quiet that is hard to find anywhere else.

  5. Traditional outrigger fishing boats resting on the sand beneath rain clouds

    05Days 11–13 · The Bali coast

    Last evenings by the sea

    A flight back to Bali and two or three nights on the coast near the airport, so the journey home is an easy one. In the mornings the fishing boats come back to the beach; the days are spent by the water, and dinner is fresh seafood on the sand. On a shorter trip, this part could shrink to a single night.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    A morning in the Sidemen terraces

    A walk through the rice fields while the mist still lifts from the valley and Agung sometimes appears above the clouds.

  2. 02

    Sumba's villages

    Tall thatched roofs, stone tombs and living traditions, with a guide who helps you understand what you're seeing.

  3. 03

    Horses and the beach

    Horses are part of life on Sumba; in some places you can ride along the water's edge in the morning light.

  4. 04

    Skies without light pollution

    On clear nights there are so many stars that familiar constellations become hard to find.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Even slower

    Drop the last Bali nights and spend the whole second half in a single Sumba stay, heading out only when you feel like it.

  • More active

    Surf lessons on the Sumba coast, snorkelling on east Bali's reefs, or an early hike up Agung or Batur if you feel ready for it.

  • With the Gilis or Lombok

    If you'd like car-free white beaches, Sumba could be swapped for, or joined by, a few days on the Gilis or in quiet southern Lombok.

  • In another season

    In the dry season Sumba's hills turn golden, and at the end of the wet season lush green; early in the year some villages hold the Pasola festival, its timing set by the local calendar.

Practical considerations

  • Across much of the region the dry season generally runs from around May to October and the wet season from November to March, though conditions vary from year to year.
  • Flights between Bali and Tambolaka are short but few, and schedules change, so we'd plan domestic flights with some slack.
  • Sumba's roads are slow, and distances between villages and the coast are longer than they look on a map; a driver-guide is the best way to get around.
  • When visiting villages and temples, covered shoulders and knees are appropriate; your guide will explain local customs and when it's fine to take photographs.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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