Sumatra Jungle Tours

How to get here

Let's start your journey to where nature's wonders await, with clear directions, transportation options, and insider tips to pave the way for an adventure of a lifetime.
Packing for your Sumatran adventure is an exciting prospect, and getting here is the first step of the journey. While Sumatra feels wild and remote, it is surprisingly accessible.
Medan Airport
As there are generally no direct flights from Europe, North America, or Oceania, your trip will involve an international flight to a major Southeast Asian or Middle Eastern hub, followed by a connecting flight directly to the island.
The primary international gateway is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), located near Medan in North Sumatra. This modern airport is the ideal starting point for many of our popular tours, including jungle trekking in Bukit Lawang and exploring the magnificent Lake Toba.
Plane Wing

Sumatra feels remote and is not. Two flights and a drive puts you at the edge of the rainforest — here is exactly what those three legs are, and what each one costs you in time and money.

Where you areAny major airport
Long haul · Your longest flight
One changeKuala Lumpur or Singapore
The hop · About 1 hour
MedanKualanamu airport (KNO)
The road · 3–4 hours
Bukit LawangThe jungle starts here

Two flights and a drive. Nobody flies straight to Sumatra from Europe, North America or Australia — you change once in Southeast Asia, and the last stretch is a road through palm plantations to the edge of the rainforest.

Legs one and two

Getting to Medan

Kualanamu has six international routes. Four are short hops from Southeast Asia, and the two that are not — Muscat and Jeddah — run twice and four times a week. Nobody flies here from Europe, North America or Australia at all, so the question is never how many stops you have; it is where you make them. A change in Kuala Lumpur puts you on one of eleven flights a day into Medan. A change onto a flight that runs twice a week does not.

Schedules checked August 2026 · Northern winter 2026/27, running to March 27, 2027

Pinch, double-click, or hold ⌘ and scroll to zoom. Drag to move.

10,500 km Amsterdam (AMS) Frankfurt (FRA) London (LHR) Paris (CDG) Munich (MUC) Zurich (ZRH) Copenhagen (CPH) Manchester (MAN) Brussels (BRU) Milan (MXP) Rome (FCO) Barcelona (BCN) Vienna (VIE) Prague (PRG) Warsaw (WAW) Budapest (BUD) Bratislava (BTS) Istanbul (IST) Singapore (SIN) change here · 28 a week, 4 a day Medan (KNO) The last leg, close up SIN Medan Bukit Lawang 1 hr 30 · 620 km
The route selectedThe alternativesPaths follow the great circle an aircraft actually flies.Point at your own city, or pick it from the list below, to see the trip from there.

Which airport would you leave from?

Greyed cities have no nonstop to Singapore — pick one to see what it does have. Not listed at all? Reach the nearest of these and the rest of the trip is the same.

Every city on this map (64)

Europe

North America

Australia

East Asia

Southeast Asia

South Asia

Bali

Middle East

Europe to Bukit Lawang

  1. 1

    Amsterdam to Singapore

    10,500 km · Singapore Airlines, KLM

  2. 2

    Singapore to Medan

    620 km · Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Batik Air

  3. 3

    Medan to Bukit Lawang

    About 90 km · 3–4 hours by road

11,100 km flown against 10,000 km in a straight line.

Singapore Airlines alone flies 134 times a week from fifteen European airports this winter, which is why Singapore is the change almost every European itinerary ends up making. East of Vienna that stops being true: Prague, Warsaw and Budapest have no nonstop to any airport on this page, and Bratislava has no long-haul carrier at all — Vienna is an hour up the road and is where Slovak itineraries really start.

The last flight to Medan leaves at 19:10. A long haul landing in the evening means a night in Singapore.

Leg three

Kualanamu to Bukit Lawang

The airport is on the northeast coast; Bukit Lawang is inland at the edge of Gunung Leuser. Four ways to cover it, and the right one depends on what time you land and how much of the day you are willing to spend.

Map of North Sumatra showing the road from Kualanamu airport to Bukit Lawang Kualanamu airport lies on the northeast coast. The road runs west through Medan and Binjai to Bukit Lawang on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park, a drive of 3–4 hours. Tangkahan lies northwest of Bukit Lawang. Berastagi lies south of Medan, and Lake Toba further southeast beyond it. Gunung Leuser National Park $48.60 $70.20 $91.80 3–4 hours by road North Sumatra The road you will take Onward trips, priced per car 0 50 km Kualanamu (KNO) Medan Binjai Bukit Lawang Tangkahan Berastagi Lake Toba
Drawn to scale from real coordinates. Lake Toba really is that big — about 100km from end to end, which is why it is a trip of its own rather than a day out.

Private transfer

$43.20per car, one way, from the airport
About 3–4 hrs
Nothing to arrange on the day

Best for Arriving tired, arriving late, or arriving with children.

  1. We meet you in the arrivals hall with your name on a sign.
  2. One car, straight to your guesthouse door.
  3. Tell us your flight number and we track it — a delay does not lose you the car.
Arrange this transfer

Private transfer from a Medan hotel

$37.80per car, one way, from your hotel door
About 3 hrs
Nothing to arrange on the day

Best for Anyone who slept in Medan and would rather not find the bus station.

  1. We collect you from your hotel at a time you choose.
  2. One car, straight to your guesthouse door in Bukit Lawang.
  3. Shorter than the airport run, because it skips the coast road.
Arrange this transfer

Bus from a Medan hotel

IDR50,000plus the taxi to the station · about $3.18
Most of a day
One change, after a taxi across the city

Best for Anyone who has already spent the night in Medan.

  1. Taxi to Pinang Baris bus station.
  2. Public bus from there straight through to Bukit Lawang — 50,000 IDR.

The same ticket touts work Pinang Baris. Buy from the driver, on the bus.

Nothing to book — turn up and pay the driver.

Public bus

IDR70,000two tickets, per person · about $4.45
Half a day
Two changes, no fixed timetable

Best for Travellers on a long trip with more time than budget.

  1. Take the orange ALS bus from the airport to Binjai — 40,000 IDR.
  2. Change to the yellow bus to Tanjung Langkat, which ends at Bukit Lawang — 30,000 IDR.
  3. Buy both tickets from the driver, on board.

At Pinang Baris and Binjai stations, people will offer to buy your ticket for you. They add up to 200,000 IDR to the fare. Pay the driver directly and no one else.

Nothing to book — turn up and pay the driver.

Going on somewhere afterwards?

The same drivers run these routes. Prices are per car, not per person.

  • BerastagiVolcano country, one way$70.20
  • Lake TobaThe great caldera lake, one way$91.80
  • TangkahanElephants and hot springs, return loop$48.60

You know how to get here. Now pick what you came for.

Tell us your flight and the transfer is arranged at the same time as the trek.

See the treksAsk us about your route
  1. 1Nothing is charged todayPick a trek and a date, and tell us who is coming.
  2. 2We confirm in 24–48 hoursA guide checks the date is free and replies to you.
  3. 3Only then do you payBy secure link once you are confirmed, never before.