Home to bustling towns and a rich culture, Indonesia’s most heavily populated island is the perfect starting point for newcomers to the country

Java is one of Indonesia’s smallest islands but as is the case elsewhere in the country, it showcases plenty of natural beauty, from the pristine beaches of Kepulauan Seribu off Jakarta’s northern coast and Ujung Kulon at the island’s westernmost tip – the last known refuge of the critically endangered Javan rhinoceros – to volcanoes ranging from Mount Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait right up to Mount Bromo and Mount Ijen in Eastern Java.

Travelling across Java is easy as the transportation infrastructure is very well developed.You can simply alternate between buses and trains to explore all four provinces and their capitals – Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta and Surabaya – en route to Bali, which is right across the strait.