Lombok, Indonesia

[Eli_6]

My 11-year-old son and I are taking a cruise from Australia to Singapore. I have excursions booked through the cruise company for all ports except in Lombok, Indonesia. First - Is it safe/a good idea for a woman and child to go off on our own in Lombok?  Someone on another page suggested that in Bali traffic can be bad and we might run the risk of missing the ship so opted to do a cruise company excursion there.  What would yall recommend doing in Lombok? Or should I just stick with one of the cruise excursions even if they aren't that good?  I heard there was an elephant sanctuary, but we are going to one of those in Bali.

[keysey222]

Bali has awful traffic, but there is little to no traffic on Lombok. I felt very safe in Lombok. We took a private tour on Lombok with Nas Guide and Driver (just google this) and it was our favorite day on the cruise. We hiked to waterfalls and visited beaches. We were going to stop at a cultural village, but my kid was tired and cranky by that point. He is willing to do whatever you like as its totally custom (or he will create an itinerary if you want that). We took our four-year-old on this tour and Nas was great with kids. In my opinion, use this port day to see some of the natural sites on Lombok. It's quite a beautiful place.