When Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell first explored Indonesia in the late 1980s, he found the tourism scene full of backpackers and, at least for Western visitors, almost entirely focused on Bali.
Now a Robb Report Travel Master (he’s co-owner and director of the London-based agency Cazenove & Loyd), Wilmot-Sitwell regularly arranges trips as long as three weeks in this Southeast Asian archipelago, during which his clients experience everything from traditional water blessings to private tours of UNESCO World Heritage sites. “It’s a good idea to zig when people zag,” he notes. Essentially, he offers the kind of high-touch curation that didn’t exist the first time he set foot on one of the nation’s roughly 17,000 islands.
From left: Misool island, home to stingless jellyfish you can swim with; wild horses trotting in front of Nihi Sumba.
Nihi Sumba: Perowne International
Indonesia has been drawing visitors for decades, a trend that accelerated when Adrian Zecha built Aman resorts here in 1989 and 1992. Still, it doesn’t have the same sort of tourism infrastructure as other luxury destinations. “It’s not as seamless as [the] Greek Islands,” says Edita Sgovio of Kensington Tours. So if you’re coming from the United States, a trip that can take up to 30 hours, what makes the journey worth it is getting someone who knows the area to do the heavy lifting for you.
Lamima drops anchor in Raja Ampat (left); a dancer performing on Lamima’s deck (right).
Courtesy of Kensington Tours
Earlier this year, Sgovio began doing just that as the head of the newly launched Ultraluxe, a division that aims to leverage Kensington’s expertise in land tours, villas, expeditions, and yacht chartering into frictionless itineraries.
The pool villas at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Ubud, are so serene that Bali’s bustle barely registers.
Courtesy of andapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
On its nine-day Indonesia Odyssey (about $70,000 per person, not including international airfare), guests fly to Bali and check into Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. It’s an exceedingly elegant place to overcome your jet lag. What follows is four days of sailing around the Lesser Sunda Islands aboard a traditional phinisi, Lamima, whose crew is as boisterous as it is lovable. Leave the boat on one of scores of possible excursions onshore (say, exploring Komodo to find the island’s eponymous dragons), and when you return, you’ll be greeted by song. The last leg takes you to Nihi Sumba, where you can start your day surfing and end it getting a massage while overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Left: Nihi Sumba. Right: Some of the resort’s bedrooms have sweeping views of the Indian Ocean.
Georg Schorschal/Perowne International
It was easy to relax, despite the island hopping. All of the bouncing between islands via boat, helicopter, and private plane went off without a hitch. That’s by design.
“We’re not just booking something that we can find online and taking our chances,” Sgovia explains. “It’s truly vetted.” And it means you spend the bulk of your time away from the teeming masses of travelers in Bali.
From left: A Komodo dragon on the island named for the lizards; Lamima’s chef preparing dinner.
Lamima: Courtesy of Kensington Tours
Still, that’s not to say that the undisputed tourism capital of Indonesia doesn’t have a lot to offer. Its south side is also home to several genuine luxury hotels (including Bulgari’s beloved resort in Uluwatu), with more planning to welcome guests in the coming months. The government is even developing an international airport for the north side, which will open up the island even further when it’s operational in the next several years.
The John Hardy boutique and gallery in Seminyak, Bali.
Courtesy of John Hardy
Bali, which is home to jewelry brand John Hardy, is also renowned for its craft culture. And while you can learn the techniques that make its signature silver bracelets look like ropes here—the jewelry might not be the reason you plan a return trip. “The variety of landscape and locations there; it’s kind of amazing,” Reed Krakoff, John Hardy’s creative chairman, says. “There are the beaches and the forest. It’s really rare that you have these kinds of differentiated environments so close together.”
All you need is someone to point you in the right direction.
