I was looking at several tour operators in Indonesia for Toraja trip and found IndoGlobal Adventure looks promising – the complete itinerary and the owner, Hernan, speaks fluent English. They also replied my email fast. Being an Indonesian myself, my parents were worried me travelling solo. They thought European country would be safer to do so. If you read this and planning to travel solo or girls trip, rest assured it’s a safe place with friendly people. Majority of the tourists are foreigner so some locals could speak English, sometimes a bit of Spanish, French or German.
It was a wonderful 6 days solo trip with great itinerary. Actually the itinerary is a guidance for you, there’s no fixed timing so you can discuss where and when you wanna go with the driver/tour guide. My driver, Mr.Asri (Pak Asri), is a very polite man and good driver. The car is always clean, he drives well and ready before the arranged time. Even when we needed to wake up as early as 3.30 am so I could catch sunrise in Lolei or to catch my flight in Makassar (from Bira to Makassar is around 6hr drive). First and last day of the tour could be tiring because it’s a long drive but you can always have toilet stop/coffee break, good for you to freshen up.
In Toraja, I had Mr.Hendrik as tour guide while in Sengkang, Mr.Allu. Both of them are very friendly, knowledgeable and speak good English. Mr.Hernan even added a new activity on my 1st day because there’s a new site (Rammang Rammang – 2nd largest karst mountain). Toraja is a very cultural, exotic place to see. It may all burial but not scary, hehe! Don’t forget to wear trekking shoes/ something comfy for walking and rocky road. After eye-opener Toraja trip, I could relax a bit in Sengkang – either the hotel or enjoyed sunset in Tempe Lake. The visit to floating house was also superb – esp if you go around 4.30-5pm when it’s not too hot. Ended in Tanjung Bira with beautiful bungalow and breathtaking ocean view. Perfect!
Since I went solo, the tour guides and driver were the ones helped took my photos. If you want to see the famous ‘walking dead’ funeral, visit Toraja in August. But bare in mind that it’s gonna be packed! I went in mid September, still could see funeral ceremony but not the famous one. Plus point is not many tourist so I could have beautiful photos without being photobombed by other people.
The hotels and food arranged by IndoGlobal are great! It’s a mixture of nature, culture and modern like Pia’s Poppies where it feels homey and cultural; modern Sermani with super huge room and AC; quaint Baracoco Bungalow with lovely feeling (hammock + balcony view of the sea). I’d like to stay one more day just to enjoy the bungalow, hearing the sound of the ocean wave while sleeping inside of the room or take a nap in the hammock… If you don’t want to add extra day, I suggest you book late afternoon/evening flight home because from Bira to Makassar airport takes 6 hours.
This tour is my 2nd solo trip (after Raja Ampat) exploring my own country and it succeeded makes me fall in love again with Indonesia. Truly a wonderful solo trip in Sulawesi <3
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