Luxury glamping in Alas Purwo

In November 2022 I went to Banyuwangi (again), to a place Google says is haunted, Alas Purwo, and this time I got to stay at Luxury Glamping Jawa Jiwa G-Land.

This trip was sponsored by Jawa Jiwa. My first trip there, in May 2022, wasn't that memorable, even though the WSL international surf contest was on at the time.

So this time I wanted to really enjoy Alas Purwo, the place that's supposedly haunted.

The trip

The drive from Bali to Banyuwangi took us more than 12 hours. Yup! Google Maps says it's only 7, but a road trip isn't fun if it doesn't drag on.

From waking up late (we left at 4am Bali time) to stopping a few times to take in the views of West Bali.

As usual for crossing the Bali Strait, the car ferry from Gilimanuk in Bali to Ketapang in Banyuwangi was Rp215,000. Nothing much to report here. Except that I, the driver, chose to sleep in the car, since I'd only had 2 hours of sleep before we left. (Read: partied the night before.)

We got to Banyuwangi at 8am, and I finally got to visit Banyuwangi train station and try its toilet. We stopped at the station to pick up a friend from Jember who was coming with us.

We were starving, and after talking it over with our Jember friend, who knows Banyuwangi, we went for nasi pecel. I ordered it extra spicy, but the spice levels are different here, so to me it tasted sweet.

After breakfast we bought snacks for later at the Jawa Jiwa villa. Since the villa is so remote, we wandered around a fair bit buying snacks and cigarettes. And we didn't forget fresh milk, because we wanted to enjoy BGS coffee, which turns out to have a branch there.

Wait, why buy the milk yourselves? Well, BGS was closed for a while back then, and one of my friends happens to work there. So to enjoy the coffee that's so famous in Bali, we bought the milk ourselves, and my friend made and served our coffee the whole time we were there.

Staying at Jawa Jiwa

TL;DR: a holiday at Jawa Jiwa G-Land is perfect for anyone who wants to heal, rest away from the noise of the city, unwind from work, or have some time alone or with a partner. It's in a remote area, Alas Purwo, so it really feels like a private villa, but with glamping comforts thanks to Jawa Jiwa's facilities. There's wildlife, forest, a beautiful beach just 100 metres from your room, and water sports like surfing.

When we went it was still low season, so lots of rooms were empty. It wasn't surf season either, so there weren't any foreign guests.

Oh, and Alas Purwo G-Land has some of the most famous waves in the world. Last May it hosted an international surf contest.

So in surf season, loads of foreigners come here to surf. Jawa Jiwa has surf classes for beginners too, and if you can already surf, you can borrow their boards.

Back to the rooms. Since the place was empty, we could pick any room we wanted, and we went for a bungalow because it's the closest to the restaurant, and there aren't many monkeys roaming around.

It's a very standard room: twin beds, AC, a toilet with hot water, and wifi that runs smooth. If you want the real glamping experience, pick the Luxury Glamping.

Why so many monkeys? Well, it's a forest, Alas Purwo National Park, with monkeys everywhere, so you really should keep your valuables in your room and lock it.

Besides the monkeys, there's lots of wild and unusual wildlife here, great for anyone who likes wildlife trips.

Lots of mosquitoes too, so bring your Autan from home.

The food is really good, at tourist prices, but worth it. Big portions too. I ended up ordering every dish on the menu (it's a short menu, hahaha).

What this place is known for is the beach and the savanna, but we didn't get to visit the savanna because the road was blocked, sob.

So we just enjoyed Plengkung beach, which was so empty it felt like a private beach.

Since we were working at the same time, there was a lot we couldn't do. There's plenty on offer, like trekking, a cultural visit to Pura Alas Purwo, and mountain biking, but we didn't get round to any of it.

Oh, the villa also has games like table tennis, board games, shooting games and so on. Best of all, the owner is super friendly, it's like chatting with a friend. They said they're going to build a beach deck and a swimming pool. 100% coming back.

Costs

Here's the full breakdown for the trip from Bali to G-Land:

• Fuel, Bali to Alas Purwo and back: Rp500,000
• Return ferry tickets: Rp445,000
• Jawa Jiwa bungalow, 2 nights: Rp1,500,000

I didn't include food and snacks here, since that's personal. If you want to save money, bring food from outside, like Indomie, Pop Mie and friends.

Oh, I almost forgot, there's a funny story. The owner told us some guests had cancelled because they were "scared" to stay in Alas Purwo.

So I showed them what Google says about Alas Purwo, and yep, what comes up is news about how scary Alas Purwo is.

Speaking for myself and my friends, we didn't experience any "things" like that. We had a great time and really enjoyed glamping at Jawa Jiwa.

But if you believe in that kind of thing, it's best to mind your manners when you enter Alas Purwo.