DATES
June 4 – June 16
SPOTS
LIMITED
PRICE
1810€
WHAT TO EXPECT
A 13-day adventure through the islands of Java and West Sumatra diving deep into Indonesia’s local culture with the highlight of living with the Mentawai tribe, one of the last semi-nomadic tribes in the world.
Scroll down to see the full itinerary 👇
Our 13-day adventure explained:
* NOTE: Everything mentioned below is included in the final price unless marked as “not included” *
Day 1 – June 4
👉 Arriving in our hotel in Jakarta
👉 Meet & greet of the team – analyzing our 12-day itinerary and getting ready for the next day
👉 Spending the night in Jakarta
Day 2 – June 5
👉 9am – Starting an 8-hour food tour in Jakarta with our local guide & food expert Ari
👉 9:30am – Trying Indonesian breakfast specialty (Soto Seger Boyolali)
👉 10:30am – Visiting the National Museum of Indonesia or an Antique area
👉 11:30am – Trying Indonesian Arabica coffee prepared in the local ‘tubruk’ style
👉 12pm – Exploring Jakarta’s chinatown, trying fish & pork dumplings, turtle soup, banana fritters and others
👉 12:30pm – Trying traditional ear cleaning (if you wanna get the full Chinatown experience)
👉 2pm – Lunch, Indo-Chinese cuisine (shrimp egg rolls, stir fry chicken in butter sauce, beef spinach hotplate and others)
👉 3:30pm – Exploring the old square and train station of Jakarta
👉 4pm – Grabbing a drink at the famous Cafe Batavia
👉 4:30pm – Finishing the tour with some ice cream at an old parlor from the Dutch colonial era
👉 5pm – Back to the hotel to rest
👉 7pm – Grabbing dinner near the hotel (not included)
👉 8:30pm – Back to the hotel – spending the night in Jakarta
Day 3 – June 6
👉 7:30am – Catching a 1 hour train to the city of Bogor
👉 8:30am – Arriving in Bogor and starting our food tour
👉 8:45am – Trying ‘Sotomie Bogor’, a beef noodle soup served with spring rolls
👉 9:30am-3pm – Street food tour trying Javanese and Sundanese cuisine specialties
👉 3pm – Exploring Bogor Botanical Garden & grabbing an afternoon tea
👉 4pm – Catching the train to Jakarta
👉 5pm – Back to the hotel to get some rest
👉 7pm – Grabbing dinner near the hotel (not included)
👉 8:30pm – Back to the hotel – spending the night in Jakarta
Day 4 – June 7
👉 7:30am – Catching the train to the airport
👉 11am – Fly to Padang
👉 1pm – Arriving in Padang
👉 1:30pm – Hotel check-in
👉 2pm – Exploring Padang’s old town & trying local street food (food not included)
👉 3:30pm – Visiting one of Padang’s beaches to enjoy the sun and relax
👉 5pm – Hiking to the city’s best viewpoint
👉 6pm – Catching the sunset at a local cafe on the hill (food not included)
👉 7pm – Visiting Masjid Raya mosque to witness the evening prayer
👉 8pm – Having dinner in the city’s most famous restaurant eating in a traditional setting
👉 10pm – Back to the hotel – spending the night in Padang
Day 5 – June 8
👉 7am – Catching a 6-hour ferry to Siberut island
👉 1pm – Arriving in Siberut, meeting our local guide and heading deep into the jungle on a traditional wooden boat
👉 4pm – Arriving at the “Uma”, the traditional wooden house we’re going to be staying and getting situated
👉 4:30pm – Meeting the “Sikerei”, the shaman of the community and other members of the family
👉 5pm – Exploring the area near the house, learning how to move around the forest
👉 6pm – Having dinner with the tribe, asking them questions about their way of life trying to see the forest through their eyes
👉 8pm – Going to sleep
Day 6 – June 9
👉 7am – Having breakfast
👉 8am – Exploring the forest with the shaman, trying to find the plants necessary to make the Mentawai poison used for hunting
👉 9am – The shaman shows us the process of making the poison
👉 10am-1pm – Following the daily activities of the tribe
👉 1pm – Lunch prepared from the family
👉 3pm – Having a walk in the forest with our guide, getting an explanation & more context about the Mentawai way of life
👉 4pm – Searching for “tamara”, the worms found inside the tree logs, one of the main sources of food for the Mentawai
👉 5pm – Explanation about the Mentawai tattoos, the oldest tattooing tradition in the world (getting a tattoo is optional and not included in the price)
👉 7pm – Dinner prepared from the family
👉 8pm – Rest, discuss with the tribe and sleep soon after
Day 7 – June 10
👉 5am – Going hunting with the tribe’s men
👉 7am – Having breakfast
👉 8am – Seeing the process of making “baiko”, the traditional clothing used by men
👉 10am – Joining the women for fishing in the river
👉 1pm – Having lunch
👉 2-6pm – Resting & following other daily activities of the tribe
👉 7pm – Having dinner and sleeping shortly after
Day 8 – June 11
👉 7am – Having breakfast
👉 8am – Making our way out of the jungle again on a traditional wooden boat
👉 8am – Making our way out of the jungle by trekking and taking a traditional wooden boat
👉 11am – Arriving at the port, having a coffee or going for a walk near the beach
👉 2:30pm – Taking the ferry back to Padang
👉 6:30pm – Arriving in Padang
👉 7pm – Checking in to our hotel
👉 8pm – Going out for dinner (optional – not included)
Day 9 – June 12
👉 8am – Starting our roadtrip towards Bukittinggi
👉 9:30am – Stopping at Lembah Anai waterfall & checking out the old train tracks nearby
👉 11am – Trying a local snack made out of rice flour, shredded coconut and coconut milk
👉 12pm – Exploring Ngarai Sianok valley, hiking and enjoying the breathtaking view
👉 1pm – Visiting a local house in Koto Gadang village, having a cooking class and lunch with the family
👉 3pm – Short walk to admire the village learning about its history
👉 4pm – Exploring a 1.400m long tunnel build by the Japanese occupying army in 1942
👉 5pm – Arriving at our hotel in Bukittinggi & getting some rest
👉 5:30pm – Exploring Bukittinggi’s main market & square (food not included)
👉 8pm – Dinner at a local restaurant (food not included)
Day 10 – June 13
👉 9am – Heading to a small local village by Lake Singkarak where we’re gonna be spending the next two days
👉 10:30am – Arriving at the village & getting welcomed by the family
👉 11am – Going harvesting fruits with the family and learning about the ‘Minangkabau’ culture
👉 12pm – Having traditional lunch with the family
👉 1pm – Tour of the village & the traditional ‘Rumah Gadang’ houses accompanied by members of the community
👉 3pm – Visiting Lake Singkarak, seeing the local fishermen & going fishing ourselves
👉 6-7pm – Taking some rest
👉 7pm – Having dinner with the family
👉 Spending the night in the village
Day 11 – June 14
👉 7:30am – Having breakfast
👉 8:30am – Hiking to the village’s best viewpoint overseeing the lake in the distance
👉 10:00am – Going rafting in the Sumpu river
👉 12:00pm – Having lunch back in the house with the family
👉 2pm – Learning how to embroider and knit with the local women
👉 4pm – Having a cooking class about ‘Rendang’ the most famous beef dish in West Sumatra
👉 8pm – Having dinner with the family
👉 Spending the night in the village
Day 12 – June 15
👉 7am – Having breakfast
👉 8am – Heading to Sungai Pisang
👉 11am – Arriving Sungai Pisang, starting an amazing 6-hour boat tour visiting 4 different islands (lunch included)
👉 5pm – Heading to Padang
👉 6pm – Checking in our hotel & getting some rest
👉 7:30pm – Having dinner in a local restaurant & reflecting on the trip (food not included)
👉 Spending the night in Padang
Day 13 – June 16
👉 8am – Heading to the airport
👉 11am – Flying to Jakarta
👉 1pm – Arriving in Jakarta & saying goodbye – till next time!
INCLUDED:
NOT INCLUDED:
PRICE: 1810€
PAYMENT DETAILS:
– You only need 30% (543€) of the total amount to book your spot on the trip.
Your payment is fully refundable within 7 days of your purchase. After this 7-day window, you’re only entitled to a 50% refund.
– If you have any questions you can contact us at contact@unseenexpeditions.com OR book a free call with us.
Watch the full documentary on the Mentawai tribe so you can get a better idea of what our experience with them is going to look like:
Meet the team
Our experience wouldn’t be the same without our local guides helping and providing context for us to understand in depth the culture of each place we’re going to be visiting.
Ari
Indonesian food expert
Laijet
Mentawai tribe member & local guide
Puji
West Sumatra local & guide
Got any questions?
Where To Go
Our Adventures
PAST EXPERIENCES
Testimonials
“This trip made me think. The way Mexicans perceive death is so different compare to my country, Greece. This deep understanding of the culture wouldn’t be possible without Tasos’ approach to the trip. Learning through the locals made everything stick with me. Also, while I was traveling outside of Europe for the first time, and more so in Mexico that doesn’t have the best reputation, at no point during the trip did I feel unsafe – Tasos did an incredible job taking all the stress away from us and let us live the true essence of the experience.”.
– Nikos, Mexico 2023
“It was an unforgettable experience, I still reminisce about this trip. The warmth of the people and their energy was amazing. We ate perfect street tacos that made you lick your fingers. Tasos had organized a very strong itinerary with activities that helped us experience the places and people like locals.”.
– Elisavet, Mexico 2023
“A lifetime experience! Tasos knows Mexico as a local and the trip with him was truly amazing! I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot about the “Day of the Dead” and Mexicans’ local culture due to his incredibly well organized trip. I highly recommend to travel with him!”
– Dimitris, Mexico 2023
