In one of its most exciting and most significant product developments to date, small group adventure company G Adventures has launched 20 new trips in the beautiful islands of Indonesia. In line with G Adventures’ commitment to community tourism, the new adventures, which join the Classic travel style, allow travellers to discover untouched regions in the archipelagic country while introducing them to fresh and impactful community initiatives that take them off the beaten path in the more popular island hotspots such as Bali.
As always, the small group adventure operator is working closely with local communities to bring the benefits of tourism to the regions where it’s needed most and highlight areas of the country that have remained unseen without much access to the tourism chain. The new itineraries will immerse travellers in barely-known, underexplored islands such as tropical Sulawesi, where they’ll discover the culture of the Torajan people and may even have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend a local funeral celebration. In Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo, they’ll spend time at a sanctuary for rescued orangutans, hike in the jungle, and appreciate the region’s unspoiled beauty while staying in a traditional klotok boat. These experiences are carefully arranged and designed to positively impact communities while showing travellers the cultures and corners of the world that are often unseen.
The Indonesian island of Bali has experienced overtourism in recent years; to address this, the new G Adventures trips will continue to operate consciously in regions such as Bali, Lombok and Borneo, steering travellers away from popular sites, or ensuring the group experiences them in sensitive, locally beneficial ways, by spending time at community projects developed by G Adventures’ non-profit partner, Planeterra.
The 20 new trips join a handful of other new trips, launched earlier this year, straddling the Geluxe travel style (for those seeking one-of-a-kind accommodation and a comfortable yet active adventure) and Solo-ish, for solo travellers keen on the independence of exploring the world without existing friends or family, but with the chance for new connections and memories with people along the way. The new Classic trips can be combined back to back, allowing travellers to see more of the country if they choose several shorter week-long trips, while there are also longer 21- to 29-day itineraries.
Yves Marceau, vice president of products at G Adventures, is excited that the new trips will help to disperse tourists across Indonesia and take travellers on bold new adventures to quieter islands in the country.
“We wanted to bring something exciting to Indonesia that introduced G Adventures travellers to the true culture and adventure there,” he says. “Indonesia is undoubtedly a popular tourism destination, but most travel opportunities in the region focus on Bali and Lombok, while other locations and communities remain unseen. We wanted to revamp our trips to the country – and create entirely new ones – to give travellers the chance to spend more time at community projects in well-known islands or travel deeper in the country, taking them much further off the beaten path. This brings the benefits of tourism income to other parts of Indonesia, but also allows travellers to be truly adventurous, and learn from the fascinating communities that live here.”
“The new trip to Sulawesi is unlike anything else out there,” he continues. “The communities in Tana Toraja have a unique perspective on how life, death and the afterlife are intertwined and this trip offers travellers the opportunity to understand more about this unique belief system” he adds. “The Torajan people honour the passing of loved ones with village-wide funeral celebrations, which families save for years to afford. We’ve worked with the communities to allow our groups visiting the villages to attend these once-in-a-lifetime celebrations when they are held. By taking G Adventures travellers to the region, we’re helping often overlooked communities access tourism income, and use it in ways that matter to them.”
New G Adventures trips in Indonesia
Sulawesi Adventure: The Culture of Tana Toraja
This nine-day trip takes travellers truly off the tourist trail as they journey into the heart of Sulawesi, home to misty highlands and lush paddy terraces. In Tana Toraja, life, death, and the afterlife intertwine in ways that will challenge and surprise visitors. The group will explore villages where traditional cliffside tombs and elaborate funeral ceremonies honour loved ones for generations, and meet the Torajan people, hear their stories firsthand, and gain a deeper understanding of a culture that sees death not as an end, but as a sacred continuation. As part of the trip, the group will experience life through the eyes of locals and may even have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend a Torajan funeral – a ritual steeped in tradition that symbolises the respect for ancestors passing to the afterlife and a celebration that’s a privilege to witness.
Indonesia: Borneo Orangutans of Tanjung Puting National Park
This seven-day adventure journeys deep into the wild heart of Indonesian Borneo in search of the elusive orangutan. Three nights are spent aboard a traditional klotok boat, with delicious local meals prepared on board, and there are treks through dense rainforest by day and night, exploring hidden corners of this remote paradise. Visiting the Tanjung Harapan Orangutan Rehabilitation Center for orphaned orangutans gives a unique opportunity to see these magnificent creatures up close in a semi-wild environment. Meanwhile, time at Camp Leakey, a renowned and crucial orangutan conservation and rehabilitation center established by the renowned primatologist Dr. Biruté Galdikas in the 1970s, comes with a chance to watch rangers feeding the orangutans. A visit to Tanjung Harapan village gives insight into the local people and their relationship with the rainforest – something the group will appreciate all the more by the end of the adventure.
Highlights of Sumatra
This seven-day journey through Sumatra Island in Western Indonesia immerses travellers in a side of Indonesia that few get to see. Travellers will revel in jungle treks, explore hidden villages and experience epic wildlife encounters, including a hike through the lush Gunung Leuser National Park to search for the elusive Sumatran orangutan. The itinerary includes exhilarating river tube rides and soaks in steamy hot springs under the stars, plus trips to several local villages, including the traditional Karo Batak village, Dokan Village. The Karo ethnic group of the Batak people are known for the exceptional conservation of their traditions and culture, more so than other Batak groups, and the group will hear first-hand from them about this.
