Bukit Lawang Travel
Bukit Lawang Travel
5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
About
Welcome! We’re here to help you plan your trip that is tailor made for you… With extensive knowledge and experience of trekking, climbing, caving, rafting, boating as well as cultural sightseeing, our local-born, family-run professional team specialises in creating the package most appropriate for you. Do you love animals, wildlife, nature, adventure and want to have a great experience? Then you are at the right place. Whether you are looking for seeing orangutans in the wild, watch the sunrise at Sibayak volcano in Berastagi, visit Lake Toba which is the largest volcano lake in the world, see a Elephants in Tangkahan or raft the white water rapids of Asahan, we can take care of all that hard work for you.
Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
5.0
247 reviews
Excellent
239
Very good
7
Average
0
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Pia-Sophie S
1 contribution
Aug 2018 • Couples
We did a two-day-trek into the jungle and it was simply awesome. We were searching for a professional guide who can tell us a lot about the Indonesian flora and fauna - and we got him (thanks Merchy!). We were lucky and saw a lot of makakes, gibbons, warans and orang utans. Combined with good food and great atmosphere it was an amazing experience. We can def recommend it, had lot's of fun!
Written August 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ohlme
Berlin14 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
Me and my boyfriend did the "chicken trek", the one day trek with Leli.
First we were a bit hesitant if we should come to BL at all, as it was raining quite heavily these says. But we were so happy we did!!!
It was raining mostly in the afternoons and the morning of our trek the sun was shining. Also i was surprised the water was not too bad I the jungle.
We stayed at Riverside and our host is working together with Leli. And we were so happy to have him! We were lucky to be the only ones on the tour. There have been others with up to 7 people.
Leli was such a nice and lovely guide. He explained everything quite well. He also showed us local plants and explained what they are useful for. And most importantly he showed us the monkeys. Some even reacted and came to his calling (as for some other guides they didnt). As we were only the 3 he gave us all the time we needed. Even when my camera was out of battery I could use his phone for taking pictures. Also when one guy from a different group ran out of water and his guide didn't really seem to care, Leli helped him out by giving away his water supply.
We were really thankful to be on a tour with him. Leli is literally going the extra mile and we felt safe and taken care of all the time.
Thank you so much, Leli, and see you next time.
All the best.
Kerstin and Matthias
First we were a bit hesitant if we should come to BL at all, as it was raining quite heavily these says. But we were so happy we did!!!
It was raining mostly in the afternoons and the morning of our trek the sun was shining. Also i was surprised the water was not too bad I the jungle.
We stayed at Riverside and our host is working together with Leli. And we were so happy to have him! We were lucky to be the only ones on the tour. There have been others with up to 7 people.
Leli was such a nice and lovely guide. He explained everything quite well. He also showed us local plants and explained what they are useful for. And most importantly he showed us the monkeys. Some even reacted and came to his calling (as for some other guides they didnt). As we were only the 3 he gave us all the time we needed. Even when my camera was out of battery I could use his phone for taking pictures. Also when one guy from a different group ran out of water and his guide didn't really seem to care, Leli helped him out by giving away his water supply.
We were really thankful to be on a tour with him. Leli is literally going the extra mile and we felt safe and taken care of all the time.
Thank you so much, Leli, and see you next time.
All the best.
Kerstin and Matthias
Written April 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fabian K
1 contribution
Feb 2017 • Friends
I highly recommend going for a two day jungle trip with the guide Leli.
He was a very responsible and humorous guide who really cares about his visitors.
We started our trip at 9 am in the morning. On the way to the Orang Utans, he explained us a lot about the environment in the jungle. We saw many Orang Utans and we were lucky to get very close to them. The landscape during the hiking trip was really beautiful.
In the Night we slept in a comfortable tent between many different monkey species. On Day two our jungle tour finished with an amazing rafting tour.
Through the whole tour they provided us with delicious food and fruits.
Thank you very much guys!
Mas Boss and Fabian
He was a very responsible and humorous guide who really cares about his visitors.
We started our trip at 9 am in the morning. On the way to the Orang Utans, he explained us a lot about the environment in the jungle. We saw many Orang Utans and we were lucky to get very close to them. The landscape during the hiking trip was really beautiful.
In the Night we slept in a comfortable tent between many different monkey species. On Day two our jungle tour finished with an amazing rafting tour.
Through the whole tour they provided us with delicious food and fruits.
Thank you very much guys!
Mas Boss and Fabian
Written March 6, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ThomasL
Switzerland517 contributions
May 2018 • Family
Whilst we, a family of four, had a great time in the Jungle with the guides Tyson and Didi, I must say that the rest of the trip was very poorly organized.
We booked a full package of six nights with this tour operator. He seemed more flexible then the others, which insisted upon certain dates for the start of the jungle expeditions. Their website and reviews look good.
However, I always feel uncomfortable if an official website is available as such but answers to your request are send infrequently out of a different email-address, e.g. Gmail or Hotmail address. Since I do not use the PayPal system, I was given a bank account at a reputable Indonesian bank for the payment of this arrangement. But the name of the beneficial owner of the account was neither the travel agency nor the owner himself. Anyway, the payments were confirmed immediately and this worked out well. Still, both makes you feel uneasy to book an arrangement with them.
Whilst the organisation in Bukit Lawang of the two-day-jungle trip was very good, I must admit that I was very negatively surprised about the rest.
This all started with a too small mini van for the pick up at Medan Airport. Four adults usually have four luggage pieces but luckily we only had three; otherwise we would not have made it into this car since one piece we had to squeeze into the middle section between our two seats.
During the transfer to Bukit Lawang we had a stop for dinner in a small chain restaurant. I still wonder why the guide did not take up the bill for IDR 115'000 (about EUR 8) as at that day a village tour was scheduled, which was out of reach due to long transfer from Medan Airport to Bukit Lawang of about four hours. Please keep in mind that we paid for the whole trip well over EUR 2'500 (equal to IDR 41 million) so such a small amount should be in this budget.
Our two-day-jungle trip was a highlight. Personally, I would recommend to shorten to just one day since you do all the walking/trekking on the first day and in the morning of 2nd day you just wait for breakfast and the very short walk to the waterfall being right next to the jungle camp. After lunch, they took us back to Bukit Lawang on the river by huge tires, that were tied together. That was a lot of fun, too.
Back in Bukit Lawang, we were told that we had to wait for half an hour for the car pickup at our hotel. After the wait, we stood in front of an way smaller van then the one, that had picked us up in Medan. Of course, the luggage did not fit in and we had to wait for another 60 minutes for the re-arrangement of the previously used van. We were told that on this particular day, the van had been in recondition/general maintenance. Ba the time we finally left to Berastagi, it was already 4pm and it soon started to darken. The guide (later we found out its the younger brother of the owner) started to dose off as first person in the van (and this happened during every drive, which I deem highly unprofessional for a guide). On this drive in the midst a breakdown of the lights happened (so much about good maintenance), so we had to stop but this was repaired within 30 minutes. Then we past the booked hotel unnoticed to the driver and our guide since they had a different hotel in mind.
For the volcano climbing tour the next day, we were told to be at the our hotel's lobby at 4am to see the sunrise. You can guess who showed up 25 minutes late: of course driver and guide. Their explanation was that they first had to organize a local guide to the volcano, despite that we had arrived the night before and I had booked and paid the whole trip more then half a year in advance.
It should be noted that our accompanying guide hardly spoke (except to the driver and his mobile phone) and his English was absolutely basic. Additionally, he didn't seem to have the expected knowledge of a qualified tour guide and was not capable to explain any details about the sightseeing spots or culture on the next destination being Samosir Island. Example: when I asked about the height of the waterfall he was uncertain and guessed (wrong) or at a weaving place in a small Batak village where his only add-on was "This Ulos, all very traditional". Neither could he explain how the beautiful patterns were made nor how long it took to make one meter of cloth.
In the evening before our departure, he asked us where we were heading to in Medan (hotel or airport?), this despite the fact that I had given his brother all details about our flight well in advance. The next day, I assume he wanted to be home in time (our return flight was scheduled for 3.45pm), we were asked to be ready to leave Samosir Island at 6.30am to catch the ferry. In the end, we spend nearly four hours waiting at the airport in Medan.
Conclusion:
Overall, Jungle Trip well organized, rest very poor - this has resulted in this two star rating.
We booked a full package of six nights with this tour operator. He seemed more flexible then the others, which insisted upon certain dates for the start of the jungle expeditions. Their website and reviews look good.
However, I always feel uncomfortable if an official website is available as such but answers to your request are send infrequently out of a different email-address, e.g. Gmail or Hotmail address. Since I do not use the PayPal system, I was given a bank account at a reputable Indonesian bank for the payment of this arrangement. But the name of the beneficial owner of the account was neither the travel agency nor the owner himself. Anyway, the payments were confirmed immediately and this worked out well. Still, both makes you feel uneasy to book an arrangement with them.
Whilst the organisation in Bukit Lawang of the two-day-jungle trip was very good, I must admit that I was very negatively surprised about the rest.
This all started with a too small mini van for the pick up at Medan Airport. Four adults usually have four luggage pieces but luckily we only had three; otherwise we would not have made it into this car since one piece we had to squeeze into the middle section between our two seats.
During the transfer to Bukit Lawang we had a stop for dinner in a small chain restaurant. I still wonder why the guide did not take up the bill for IDR 115'000 (about EUR 8) as at that day a village tour was scheduled, which was out of reach due to long transfer from Medan Airport to Bukit Lawang of about four hours. Please keep in mind that we paid for the whole trip well over EUR 2'500 (equal to IDR 41 million) so such a small amount should be in this budget.
Our two-day-jungle trip was a highlight. Personally, I would recommend to shorten to just one day since you do all the walking/trekking on the first day and in the morning of 2nd day you just wait for breakfast and the very short walk to the waterfall being right next to the jungle camp. After lunch, they took us back to Bukit Lawang on the river by huge tires, that were tied together. That was a lot of fun, too.
Back in Bukit Lawang, we were told that we had to wait for half an hour for the car pickup at our hotel. After the wait, we stood in front of an way smaller van then the one, that had picked us up in Medan. Of course, the luggage did not fit in and we had to wait for another 60 minutes for the re-arrangement of the previously used van. We were told that on this particular day, the van had been in recondition/general maintenance. Ba the time we finally left to Berastagi, it was already 4pm and it soon started to darken. The guide (later we found out its the younger brother of the owner) started to dose off as first person in the van (and this happened during every drive, which I deem highly unprofessional for a guide). On this drive in the midst a breakdown of the lights happened (so much about good maintenance), so we had to stop but this was repaired within 30 minutes. Then we past the booked hotel unnoticed to the driver and our guide since they had a different hotel in mind.
For the volcano climbing tour the next day, we were told to be at the our hotel's lobby at 4am to see the sunrise. You can guess who showed up 25 minutes late: of course driver and guide. Their explanation was that they first had to organize a local guide to the volcano, despite that we had arrived the night before and I had booked and paid the whole trip more then half a year in advance.
It should be noted that our accompanying guide hardly spoke (except to the driver and his mobile phone) and his English was absolutely basic. Additionally, he didn't seem to have the expected knowledge of a qualified tour guide and was not capable to explain any details about the sightseeing spots or culture on the next destination being Samosir Island. Example: when I asked about the height of the waterfall he was uncertain and guessed (wrong) or at a weaving place in a small Batak village where his only add-on was "This Ulos, all very traditional". Neither could he explain how the beautiful patterns were made nor how long it took to make one meter of cloth.
In the evening before our departure, he asked us where we were heading to in Medan (hotel or airport?), this despite the fact that I had given his brother all details about our flight well in advance. The next day, I assume he wanted to be home in time (our return flight was scheduled for 3.45pm), we were asked to be ready to leave Samosir Island at 6.30am to catch the ferry. In the end, we spend nearly four hours waiting at the airport in Medan.
Conclusion:
Overall, Jungle Trip well organized, rest very poor - this has resulted in this two star rating.
Written May 12, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travel & Treasures
Munich, Germany267 contributions
We visited the Gunung Leuser National Park via the little village Bukit Lawang. We had a private guide called Eru who took us to see the Orang Utans. He is one of the most experienced guides in the region and know the orang utans very well. Ask for him in your Bukit Lawang accommodation, he’s well known and can be requested. Maximum number of people per guide is 3! The hiking experience was amazing and we found that 2x half day treks were perfect for us. We went twice in the morning and saw many ornag utans unfettered in their natural habitat. A privilege and an unforgettable trip!
Written January 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Panini
3 contributions
Dec 2018 • Solo
I did the combination 4 day jungle trek and Berastagi (climbing Mt. Sibayak) with excellent guides Bima, Jaka, Danny, and Obay. Communication was very good and responsive with tour organizers Lisa and Sophian to make a custom and flexible tour for me. They accomodated all of my special requests (such as upgrading the hotel).
Overall the service was excellent, but the price was quite reasonable compared to other tour companies.
Overall the service was excellent, but the price was quite reasonable compared to other tour companies.
Written January 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
andreademez
Lomazzo, Lombardia, Italy16 contributions
Dec 2018 • Friends
We had a wonderful experience in the jungle thanks to Leli, who is an experienced guide and an all-around great guy, as well as the rest of the team of Bukit Lawang Travel that organized the trip. We came to Bukit Lawang for a two-day trek which included a night in the forest and rafting back to the village. We saw plenty of wildlife, including the famous oranguntans and a monitor lizard, and had the pleasure of sleeping by the river surrounded by the unique sounds of the forest. The jungle is absolutely breathtaking (figuratively and literally, thanks to the humidity), and our trek was an experience that I'll remember forever. Thanks again to Leli and to the whole team.
Written December 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KaatjeNL
Amsterdam, The Netherlands52 contributions
Sep 2018 • Solo
I did a 2 day jungle trek with them and had such a wonderful time with our group under the excellent guidance of Tyson. We saw a lot of wildlife and Tyson was very knowledgable.
They also arranged my airport transfers, hotel and elephant wash. A complete package, great service and value for money. And the evening jam sessions in the village were so much fun too. Their hospitality is endless.
Can definitely recommend these guys!
They also arranged my airport transfers, hotel and elephant wash. A complete package, great service and value for money. And the evening jam sessions in the village were so much fun too. Their hospitality is endless.
Can definitely recommend these guys!
Written September 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Markus K
9 contributions
Sep 2018 • Couples
We had a great experience with Bukit Lawang Travel (2D1N). Our guides were very knowledgeable and took care of the environment. We saw 5 1/2 Orang-Utans including Jacky, an Orang-Utan that used to live in the Rehabilitation centre, thus very used to humans. This was the only OU our guides „fed“ (handing her some leftover pineapple), all the other were left alone – as they should. In the beginning the area was pretty crowded with tourist groups but our guides did their best to avoid them. The guides told us a lot about plant life and other animals as well. The trek was quite demanding at times, as it became slippery after some rainfall. In the afternoon we relaxed at the river camp and took a swim, in the evening there was great food and funny games with the guys. Highly recommended!
Written September 16, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
trav_bug2009
Mainz, Germany13 contributions
Aug 2018 • Friends
We did a 2d 1 night tour and had a great time. First we learned a lot about Indonesian culture and some plants and animals of the jungle (thanks a lot to Anto) and then we got to see several orang utans (mostly wild ones) along the way. Anto was very eager to find orang utans for us and they were not fed and approached with due respect. The catering was great as well, fresh fruits were served several times. Tyson (our second guide) had a lot of entertaining stories to tell at the camp. The river rafting back was a fantastic finish to an awesome experience. We can definitely recommend this company.
Best regards
M&L
Best regards
M&L
Written August 25, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, what is the web site for this place? The one listed doesn’t work.
Written September 26, 2019
I booked our tour through Sumatra eco travel. If you search them on google you should find it.
So far it has been the most genuine experience on our Indonesian travel. We had an awesome trip. Ask for Leli
Written September 26, 2019
Bonjour avez-vous trouvé un guide francophone pour le trec et pensez-vous Que deux jours étaient suffisants ? Merci
Written August 25, 2017
Hola! Todos los guías hablan ingles (al menos con la compañía que yo estuve) y para mi dos días fueron suficientes. Creo que más se me hubiera hecho un poco pesado (no por la dificultad del trekking sino por el descanso por la noche)
Written August 26, 2017
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