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Indonesia - Highlights of the East: Sulawesi, Moluccas & Papua

© Red Bird-of-paradise by K. David Bishop
Indonesia - Highlights of the East: Sulawesi, Moluccas & Papua 2026

31 Jul 2026 - 16 Aug 2026 (17 days)

USD7,995 NO SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz

Wait List

Tour Price (Per person): USD7,995 (GBP6,158 * EUR7,025 * AUD12,303)

Single Supplement: USD850 (GBP655 * EUR747 * AUD1,308)

Flight costs: USD1,310 (GBP1,009 * EUR1,151 * AUD2,016)

Indonesia - Highlights of the East: Sulawesi, Moluccas & Papua 2027

14 Jun 2027 - 30 Jun 2027 (17 days)

USD8,400 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Ryan Tyrer

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Tour Price (Per person): USD8,400 (GBP6,470 * EUR7,381 * AUD12,927)

Flight costs: USD1,540 (GBP1,186 * EUR1,353 * AUD2,370)

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*

Indonesia - Highlights of the East: Sulawesi, Moluccas & Papua 2028

15 Jul 2028 - 31 Jul 2028 (17 days)

USD8,900 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Ryan Tyrer

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Tour Price (Per person): USD8,900 (GBP6,855 * EUR7,820 * AUD13,696)

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*

Indonesia - Highlights of the East: Sulawesi, Moluccas & Papua 2029

14 Jul 2029 - 30 Jul 2029 (17 days)

USD9,400 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Paul Varney

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Tour Price (Per person): USD9,400 (GBP7,241 * EUR8,260 * AUD14,465)

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*

As a result of the remarkable biogeography of the region, our Highlights of the Eastern Indonesian archipelago provides very little overlap in bird species to our Highlights of Western Indonesia, with a phenomenal number of special and endemic birds. We begin by exploring the prime highland site of Lore Lindu National Park on the island of Sulawesi. Boasting over 70 endemic species, the exceptional range of highly desirable birds we will seek include the endemic Hylocitrea, now placed in its own monotypic family, the indescribable Purple-bearded Bee-eater, bizarre Geomalia, Fiery-browed Starling, Green-backed Kingfisher (one of many endemic kingfishers), Purple-winged Roller, Satanic Nightjar and the impressive Knobbed Hornbill.

We then wing our way to the nearby island of Halmahera, where we visit a lekking site for the highly sought-after Standardwing, surely one of the most bizarre birds-of-paradise! Here we also seek a mindboggling number of Mollucan endemics including the spectacular Ivory-breasted Pitta and Moluccan Owlet-nightjar. Moving further eastwards we again enter a completely new biological zone as we arrive in Sorong, on the extreme western tip of New Guinea. Here we bird the famous Vogelkop, a veritable feast of incredible highlights may include up to seven birds-of-paradise including Magnificent, King, Lesser and Twelve-wired as well as numerous pigeons (Wompoo, Superb and Pink-spotted Fruit Doves to name a few), parrots (including the localized Black Lory) and kingfishers (Red-breasted Paradise being one of the prime targets.) We conclude our tour on the Raja Ampat Island of Waigeo, famed for the best snorkeling in the world! Here our targets in this tropical island paradise include Red Bird-of-paradise, the incredible Western Crowned Pigeon, Palm Cockatoo, Lowland Peltops and much besides. And as a way of celebrating the finale of this remarkable tour we will visit the display ground of quite possibly the most beautiful bird on Earth – Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise!

Top Birds

Wilson’s, King & Red Birds-of-paradise, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Standardwing, Paradise-crow, Papuan Dwarf, Blue-and-white, Lilac, Yellow-billed, Green-backed, Hook-billed, Beach & Blue-black Kingfishers, Red-breasted Paradise & Common Paradise Kingfishers, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Scarlet‐breasted, Blue‐capped, Grey‐headed, Wompoo, Superb, Pink-spotted, Orange-fronted, Beautiful, Dwarf & Orange-bellied Fruit Doves, White‐bellied, Purple-tailed, Pinon’s, Zoe’s & Grey-headed Imperial Pigeons, Western Crowned Pigeon, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Moluccan & Great Hanging Parrots, Orange-breasted & Large Fig Parrots, Palm & White Cockatoos, Emperor Fairywren, Black Berrypecker, Pygmy Longbill, Southern Variable, Raja Ampat & Rusty Pitohuis, Lowland Peltops, Golden & Pale-blue Monarchs, Sulawesi & White-necked Mynas, Sulawesi Serpent Eagle, Sulawesi Hawk-Eagle, Barred Honey Buzzard, Yellow-sided, Crimson-crowned, Olive-crowned & Halmahera Flowerpeckers, Fiery-browed, Moluccan & Grosbeak Starlings, Ivory-backed Woodswallow, Golden-mantled Racket-tail, Malia, Black-billed Koel, Black Lory, Sulawesi Myzomela, Lemon‐bellied, Mountain, Streak-headed, Cream-throated & Black-crowned White‐eyes, Sulawesi Blue, Blue-fronted Blue & Turquoise Flycatchers, Sulawesi Cicadabird, Purple-winged Roller, Azure Dollarbird, Cinnabar, Papuan & Speckled Boobooks, Eastern Grass Owl, Great Eared & Satanic Nightjars, Wallace's & Moluccan Owlet-nightjars, Great Shortwing (Heinrichia), Pygmy, Halmahera, Golden & Cerulean Cuckooshrikes, Sulphur-vented, Island & Maroon-backed Whistlers, Rusty-bellied & Arafura Fantails, Citrine Canary-flycatcher, Dark-eared & White-eared Myza, Purple-bearded Bee-eater, Chestnut-backed (Sulawesi) Bush Warbler, Geomalia, Citrine, Red-flanked & Ornate Lorikeets, Hylocitrea, Sulawesi Thrush, Ivory-breasted, Papuan & North Molucccan Pittas, Eclectus & Great‐billed Parrots, Dusky Friarbird, Goliath Coucal, Long‐billed & Brown-headed Crows, Moustached Treeswift, Gurney’s Eagle, Yellow‐billed Malkoha, Sulawesi Pygmy & Ashy Woodpeckers, Spot-tailed & Dwarf Sparrowhawks

Habitats Covered

montane and lowland forests, flooded rice paddies & wetlands, islands, beaches, mangroves

Expected Climate

mostly hot to humid with cooler nights and mornings in the highlands

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader and 1 local leader

Tour Pace & Walking

moderate pace with long days. Some longer hikes, especially at Lore Lindu on Sulawesi. Optional early starts and late finishes to days due to night-birding options.

Accommodation

variable between rustic and excellent

Ease of Birding

moderate to challenging at times

Number of Species Expected

around 300

Photographic Opportunities

good to excellent

What our clients say about us

Glen Valentine
AR, Indonesia - Remote West Papuan Islands Cruise II 2025

What an adventure! Glen and Dusan were great guides and made a good team-very knowledgable and good at making sure everyone gets on the birds. Even though most of the clients on this trip were highly experienced birders, I never felt like a second class citizen as a less experienced birder. The BOP displays exceded my expectations. I loved the liveaboard boat and crew. Shita did a great job with complicated ground logistics. My dietary restrictions were very well accommodated. I always felt safe and well cared for.

Glen Valentine
CM, Remote West Papuan Islands Cruise & Buru Extension 2017

This was a fabulous tour! Living on the Seahorse and going ashore each day to explore, in many cases, remote and under-birded locations was a truly exciting and wonderful experience. In addition, it was a fabulous and memorable experience to have Glen and Keith Valentine as leaders. They teamed seamlessly and ensured that everyone had a wonderful and got on to the birds. Oh, and of course, the sight of at least 4 male Wilson's Birds-of-Paradise displaying to multiple females was the stuff of dreams! Truly spectacular! And the local guides and drivers were all great, not forgetting the Skipper and crew of the Seahorse! The Buru extension for the Madanga and some of the owls was also so memorable, as were the few days in West Papua. All things considered, a truly wonderful and memorable tour!

Glen Valentine
JB - Lesser Sundas 2022

Although the tour was a little more strenuous than I had anticipated, it was a fantastic tour. All of the endemics except for two very rare ones—more than I’d hoped to see in my wildest dreams. Glen is an excellent guide, the local guide a very positive addition, and the driving crew was just fabulous. And when things went awry with the cancelled flight and the steep increase in the fee for Komodo, Glen, our local guide and crew handled it in complete transparency to us, so that we didn’t miss a beat. Hats off to all involved!

Glen Valentine
SL, Indonesia 2023

What a fabulous tour to such a remote part of Indonesia. As always, Glen and Keith Valentine were exceptional guides and great fun to be with. The crew of our boat, Lady Denok, were amazing whether it was in the dining room, making great coffees, getting us in and out of the dinghies or taking us snorkelling. Once we left the boat in the Tanimbars, the local agent was there to meet us and the land-based part of the tour was exceptionally well managed. The local people were very welcoming and could not do enough for us.

David Hoddinott
EL, Indonesia 2022

David and Lev are exception leaders and worked very hard to find the birds and get everyone onto them. A remarkable trip.

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