Indonesia

Just returned from a trip of a lifetime across Sumba, Bali and Komodo, which entailed two weeks of barefoot luxury. This really felt like Indonesia at its most raw, the kind of journey only Whalley & Ross could create.

Sumba

After 3 flights from LHR, we began on the remote island of Sumba, where life moves to a different rhythm. The island feels pretty untouched as you drive through, but there is an overwhelming (and rather moving) sensation of happiness and welcoming.

We spent our first three nights at Nihi Sumba, waking each morning in our grass-roofed, private villa to the sounds of the ocean. The whole property feels so understated but totally refined at the same time. It’s set across jungle, rice terraces and open grassland with a 2.5km private beach, which most of the time we were the only people on it. We rode horses along the beach at sunset, swam with them the following day (which was a particular highlight of the trip) as well as hiked through rice paddies to reach their cliffside spa perched above the sea, for an incredible 5 treatments across 2 and a half hours. We left feeling completely rejuvinated ready for the next part of our journey.

Ubud

We were meant to have two nights in Ubud, but a cancelled flight meant just one, spent at Capella, which was everything and more. After a stressful cancelled flight we were welcomed in to their space with a blessing and a feeling of immediate calm.

The whole property is completely tented, each tent standing alone in the jungle, our own complete with a private pool and surrounded by rainforest. As we walked around the property they told us that not one tree was cut down in the process of building the property, which may sound odd on here but if you are to visit, will see how impressive it is. Sadly we didn’t have enough time to fully explore everything they had to offer but we did manage to we indulged in a ten-course Omakase, which I would highly recommend.

Komodo

From there, we boarded Mutiara Laut, a traditional yacht that redefined everything I thought I knew about life at sea. For seven days we sailed north from Bali to Komodo, dropping anchor at secret coves and deserted beaches.

Every day brought two new dive sites, snorkelling with reef sharks, turtles, and manta rays every time. We were lucky enough one morning to also swim with whale-sharks, I say lucky, I saw them and jumped straight back in the boat, but Ruari enjoyed them. We had a beach barbecue on an island that had no other human life, swam in waterfalls, paddle-boarded across the flooded crater of an ancient volcano, rose before dawn to hike through the hills to see the sunrise and met Komodo dragons in their wild, prehistoric glory.

The crew on Mutiara Laut really made it a trip I will never forget, all 18 of them were such incredible characters. I have no doubt we will go back just so we can see them again.

I feel like this whole trip was a highlight, and it’s hard not to pull out every single incredible detail. It’s not just about what we did but also about the people around us who helped us do it.

If you are looking to book something like this, I would really recommend speaking to Whalley & Ross, they organised the whole trip for us and it was totally seamless. I definitely could not have done this sort of trip myself..