The meaning of the name ‘ is twofold: literally it means 'dance' by which we want to express the cultural aspect in our tours but it is also the abbreviation of 'Tapak Rimba', or 'footsteps in the wilderness' indicating both adventure and nature.

You can find our brand new office in the city of Makassar in the south of the island of Sulawesi. Sulawesi is an island located in the middle of the country with airports catering daily flights throughout Indonesia.

Office Tari Travel:
Jalan Sultan Alauddin, Graha Modern Jaya B-22
Makassar, 90223
South Sulawesi, Indonesia

phone: +62 411 870767 / 878760
fax: +62 411 878920
e-mail: taritravel@yahoo.com

The love we have for the country, the people and its culture is what we want to share with you. For more than 20 years we have experience in tourism as we have travelled to every remote corner of Indonesia because of our previous jobs as tour guides, for writing an extensive travel guide and just because we wanted to.

We are an international organisation, communication may be in Dutch, English or Indonesian, but we are located in Indonesia. If needed, we can be of assistance right away. Because of our location we handpick and make our own tours to offer very unique experiences. We do love the highlights and major sights of Indonesia, but in our opinion the real magic is to be found in the local communities and places where not many people have gone before. By intensive personal contact we can customize your perfect Indonesia holiday together!

Tari Travel supports local communities by organising lunches and short tours on the way from one destination to another. It is not only a great experience for you, but the local communities are provided with an income that supports their livelihood. We also support different organisations to support culture and nature of Indonesia as it is important for us to give back to Indonesia and help struggling communities. Please see our page ‘Responsible travels’ to find out more!

We’ll communicate mostly by e-mail as we need to attach documents and proposals. You can also contact us on skype, chat with us on the website or give us a call. Because we are located in Indonesia, the time difference with Europe and America is not always convenient, hence e-mails are easiest. If you’d like to talk with us on the phone or via skype, it is no problem to set up an appointment.

Browse our website for inspiration on your Indonesia holiday and click one of the ‘Customize Tour’ buttons to be redirected to the form. If you fill in this form it will be e-mailed to us. If there is enough information, we can get back to you with a proposed tour itinerary within 24 hours. You can also send us an e-mail directly: taritravel@yahoo.com. We’ll have thorough contact to get to the perfect Indonesia holiday! When you agree with the tour and the price, we will start making the necessary reservations. If all is available we will send you the invoice for downpayment. Remaining payment can be made 2 weeks before arrival.

We offer you custom tours, which means that you can decide yourself with whom you travel, in what way, which areas you want to visit and at which pace. To make it easier for you we offer some popular tour packages that you can use as a basis (Discover Tours, Insight Tours). These tour packages will provide you with information on what is possible in a certain time limit (Destinations). Most of the offered tour packages will take 2 to 3 weeks, but it always possible to shorten the tour or to expand. Your requests will be answered promptly and our team will make a tour that suits your demands.

A discover tour of the island of your choice will take you to the highlights of Indonesia. They are example tours to show possibilities in a certain time limit. Remember, they are only examples and can be fully adjusted to your wishes!

Insight Tours are tours focused on one particular area, designed for a deeper connection between you and the culture of Indonesia. Some insight Tours are only 2 days long (for example a trek to a local village + overnight) and some can take up almost 2 weeks. Our Insight Tours for the Moluccas and Papua for example are longer tours as we wouldn’t want you to visit these remote places any other way! With our Insight Tours you will visit local communities, joining them in the international language of food or even staying overnight, you can cycle or walk through remote villages and visit places not many tourists have gone before. Also these insight tours can be adjusted.

If you take a discover tour you will pass the highlights of Indonesia, mostly a quite common tour. But if you combine these with a few insight tours, you can get the perfect balance of major sights and experiences with the local communities and so getting a taste of the real spirit of Indonesia.

That depends on the period you wish to travel in. Highseason runs from July – September which means hotels and excursions of your first choice may be fully booked months in advance. We suggest to book as early as possible, usually it is ok to request a tour 3 months in advance, but preffered is 4-6 months when most hotels are not fully booked yet.

That depends on the complexity of your tour. A few e-mails can be enough, but exchanging ideas and suggestions from both sides can take up a few weeks. We don’t mind though, we are aiming for that perfect Indonesia holiday!

Due to privacy reasons we cannot give contact details of other travellers to you. You can however check out our ‘Travel Stories’ page where former Tari Travel guests have written about their experiences with us.

Our tours are suitable for even the youngest travelers! We can make sure the tours and activities included suit each age range.

We plot short walks, cycling trips for you or organize treks of several days, adjusted to the level of difficulty that you indicate. During the treks there is a cook joining and if requested porters to carry your personal luggage. Keep in mind Indonesia is a mountainous area, so most walks and cycling trips will have ascends and descends.

At different locations in Indonesia we organize exciting wild water rafting trips of one or several days. Besides this Tari Travel also arranges traditional sailing boat trips, during which we will stop at different islands and have the opportunity to scuba dive. You will stay the night on board in simple cabins.

If you choose for a lot of adventure in your tour than you should have a flexible mind and reasonable physical condition.

We will look for a suitable alternative and propose this to you. It is possible the price will be adjusted to the alternative.

All the tours are personally customized, meaning the price is never the same. We dont want you to be focused on a certain price as it can differ a lot when the tour is totally matched to your wishes. We feel published prices can lead to a disappointment and we do not like those! When we have agreed on an itinerary with you, we will calculate the costs of the program. If the price is higher than expected we will suggest changes in the program that can make a big difference.

You book directly with a travel agent on location. This means a chain of the booking process is removed which saves you a lot of money!

If there is enough time between the request and departure, we will confirm all aspects of the tour first so we know there are no more changes and thus no price change. We’ll then ask you to transfer a deposit (25% of the total costs) and the remaining payment can be made 2 weeks before departure or with special arrangements with us, payment can be done on arrival.

Do note the costs of flight tickets are due immediately before we can issue them. Cancellation conditions of flights are more strict than hotels and therefore we cannot take the risk of non payment.

Yes! Should anything happen, you can claim costs and help is provided. As we are based in Indonesia, we cannot book travel insurance for you. This should be done by yourself before departing to Indonesia.

In case of cancellation of a tour by you (regardless of reason) the following conditions will be applied:

• From booking date until 30 days before departure a 10% fee will be applied
• Between 30 days and 10 days before departure a 20% fee will be applied
• 10 days before departure a 30% fee will be applied
• 5 days before departure a 50% fee will be applied
• Within 5 days of departure there will be no refund
• In case Tari Travel cancels the trip, regardless of reason, Tari Travel obliges itself to find a trustable other travel agency to handle the tour or has to refund 100% of the tour price within 1 week of cancellation.

Any transfer costs will be for Tari’s account.

We could book international flights, but we always suggest not to. As we are based in Indonesia, international flights are more expensive to book from here than overseas, with the exception of Air Asia flights to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

We can certainly book the domestic flights for you. But due to strict cancellation policies of flight carriers , the costs of the tickets need to be received by us before we can issue them.

You are responsible for all required documentation to visit Indonesia, including the visa. Since June 2015 multiple visitors of selected countries can obtain a free visa for Indonesia. These countries are: China; Japan; South Korea; United States, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Qatar, South Africa, Oman, Bahrein and United Arab Emirates.

The only airports where you can obtain a free visa on arrival are Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Medan and Batam. This visa is valid for 30 days and cannot be extended or exchanged for another type of visa. The day of arrival and departure are included in the 30 days.

Important note! If you arrive on a visa-free airport, but plan to depart from as non-visa-free airport, you have to buy a visa on arrival where you arrive. It is not possible to depart from an airport that is not on the list of visa-free airports. If you do try this, you will need to fly to the airport of arrival and depart from there!

If you arrive or depart from an airport that is not visa-free or you intend to stay longer than 30 days, you need to buy a visa on arrival which costs USD 35. This needs to be paid in cash, possible in dollars or euros. The visa on arrival can be extended for another 30 days at a local immigration office.
In all cases your passport has to be valid for 6 months after arrival in Indonesia.

It is your own responsibility to get the correct information regarding health issuesfor destinations in Indonesia. Please contact your doctor or institute who can inform you about the proper vaccinations and prophylaxis.

Upon arrival in your destination you will be handed an information package that includes vouchers, an extensive itinerary, contact information and background information on places you will visit. The package also includes some presents from us to you. We assemble the packages in Makassar, Sulawesi and send these to the guides, drivers or hotels on your first day.

Sure! Just keep in mind often a single surcharge is applied.

During one month a year Muslims are fasting. Most Muslims start their fasting at around 4.00 am and will start eating again around 18.00 pm. Most of Indonesia is Islamic so most people will follow this fasting. Some restaurants can be closed during the day and some are closed during the whole month. It can be possible that the guides and drivers working for you are fasting as well. They could ask for your permission to stop the car for a moment around 18.00 hrs to have something to drink or eat. Try to avoid drinking, eating and smoking in public as much as possible.

The fasting month will be closed with the holiday Idhul Fitri. This holiday will be celebrated immensely in Islamic Indonesia. About one week before this date, many people will travel to their hometowns for celebrating the holiday with their family. This could lead to traffic jams.

If there are any food requirements, please let us know when you book the trip. Usually we can meet all dietary requirements and let you know beforehand what the possibilities are.

Tap water in Indonesia is not suitable for drinking. Best is to buy bottles of water at the shops. In our cars in South Sulawesi you will find a gallon with drinking water that can be used to refill your bottle. This is free of charge. By using a gallon of water instead of many small plastic bottles we hope to reduce the amount of waste plastic. The water used is clean and safe for drinking.

If you would like to change the trip, please contact us and we will check what is possible. An alternation may be accompanied by costs.

As you can see from our tours, we love food! From a country’s food you can learn so much about the culture and it is just an exciting part of travelling. Often you will be confronted with new dishes and ingredients you have never heard of before, but rest assured – during our trips nothing ‘weird’ will be offered. Lunches and dinners at our local families consist of simple ingredients, rice, many vegetables and just chicken or fish, but so tasty! We make sure rules about preparation of the food are followed.

On the road and in markets however, you might encounter some specialties of the region you will never see back home. Most of these small shops have an open ‘kitchen’ or counter, so make sure you like what you see in terms of hygiene.

Also keep in mind that different spices, herbs and ways of cooking are used here compared to what you are used to back home which might have some effect on the stomach.

Whenever we can, we go on the road ourselves and just talk to people. See what they are like, if their home is welcoming and if they would like to interact with foreigners. We have never been told no! They suggest a menu for a local lunch and we give a few notes they should abide and consider. And then we try it out ofcourse! Other times we suggest a new Insight Tour to our trusted partners on location, let them set it up and then we try it out before we suggest an Insight Tour to you.

Most likely you will communicate in English with the guide. At some parts in Indonesia not all guides speak English that well, only very basic. On request we can offer a Dutch, French, German or Italian speaking guide.

Tipping is a very common phenomenon in Indonesia; it is actually part of the salary system. Those who are working in the tourist industry supplement their salary with a tip received from guests.
Standard tips in Sulawesi are: around Rp 70.000-90.000 per day for a guide and around Rp 50.000-70.000 per day for a driver. Off course you are never obliged to give a tip so the decision of giving tips and the height of tips is always up to you.
In case you let hotel staff carry your back it is normally to tip them around Rp 5.000 per big suitcase / back. At airports or train stations you pay more (you have to negotiate).

Usually you can check in around 2 PM, check out time is mostly between 10 AM and midday. If you arrive early or have a late departure you can request for an early check in or late check out for which you most likely need to pay. You can always store your luggage at the reception after check out or before checking in.

That depends on where you are travelling, most local homes don’t have a western toilet. The more remote your destination is, the less likely your are to find western toilets – except for most hotels.

We would be so sorry! If there is anything not to your liking, please contact us immediately and we’ll get to a solution. Via the guide, driver or hotel you can contact us 24/7 (at night, emergencies only).

Please go to our ‘Submit your testimonial’ page and write your Indonesia story and experiences with us in the form. We will contact you and publish your text on the website within a week. A photo next to your story would be fantastic, but unfortunately these cannot be sent via the website just yet. If it’s not too much trouble we would very much appreciate it if you’d send it to our e-mail:taritravel@yahoo.com