Sumatra is a great destination for traveling in Indonesia. It’s less visited than some other islands, but still relatively easy to travel around. We spent amazing 22 days on this island. We already wrote about our favourite places in Sumatra and here’s our Sumatra itinerary day by day that might help you organize your trip.
Above is the map of our journey and below is our Sumatra itinerary with the places we have visited.
Day 1: Medan – Tangkahan
Day 2: Tangkahan – Bukit Lawang
Day 3: Bukit Lawang
Day 4: Bukit Lawang – Berastagi
Day 5: Berastagi
Day 6: Berastagi – Singkil – Banyak islands (Palambak Island)
Day 7: Palambak Island
Day 8: Palambak island
Day 9: Palambak island – Taliana Island
Day 10: Taliana island – Pandan Island
Day 11: Pandan Island – Asok Island
Day 12: Asok Island – Singkil
Day 13: Singkil – Padang
Day 14: Padang
Day 15: Padang – Siberut Island
Day 16: Siberut Island
Day 17: Siberut Island
Day 18: Siberut Island – Padang
Day 19: Padang – Rimba Eco Lodge
Day 20: Rimba Eco Lodge
Day 21: Rimba Eco Lodge – Padang
Day 22: Padang – Kuala Lumpur
We visited some great places and experienced amazing things we will never forget. We had also quite a lot of time, but if you are on a shorter holiday you can easily adjust the itinerary to the number of days you have.
We mostly traveled with rented car with a driver – we found it more convenient than travel by local buses, paying for 3 tickets and wasting a lot of time and energy. Usually we asked for our transport at the place we were currently staying and compared the prices with those that a local tour operator gave us before our departure to Sumatra. For traveling to and between the islands, we took speed boats and local fishermen boats.
There are quite a few good places to sleep even if you are on a budget. The ones we stayed in you can find here.
If you are looking for a place to chill out for a couple of days, away from the tourist places, then the Banyak archipelago would be just what you need. We didn’t see a place like this till now. Crystal clear water, isolated islands and friendly local people.
For a trip to Sumatra like ours (without Padang and the visit to Mentawai tribe on Siberut) we would suggest at least ten days. But please don’t hurry, especially if you are traveling with kids.
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