5 Things to Do When Visiting a Tourism Village

A trip to villages in suburban areas outside the bustling city is always fun, especially for those living a busy life with various activities every day. Add to that the stress from noise and traffic jams. Seeing green rice fields, thundering waterfalls, fresh morning air, and serene rural life is genuinely heartwarming. 

Thus, it was unsurprising when the government established the Tourism Village program through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to attract tourists to come and visit the villages and revive the community’s economy. 3,419 villages from 34 provinces have become tourism villages and are included in the Tourism Village Network (Jadesta) of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

There are plenty of things to do on vacation in the tourism village; among the things are:

1. Spending a night at a typical tourism village homestay

Most tourism villages provide visitors with homestays that you can opt to spend a night at. There are many unique homestays that you can find, like the one in Bejijong Tourism Village, Trowulan, East Java. There, you can spend a night at the Majapahit Kingdom-styled houses. You can also add to the experience by staying at the Saribu Rumah Gadang Tourism Village by the Pagu River, South Solok, West Sumatera, where the homestays are shaped like Minangkabau Gadang-styled houses. The homestay usually lives in the pavilion or the back of the house, make sure the co-staying doesn’t interfere with guest privacy,

2. Going on an adventure, getting to know the nature better

Belimbing Tourism Village, Kendal Regency, Central Java, offers a unique river tubing experience in the middle of the village, while Kiluan Tourism Village in Tanggamus Regency, Lampung, offers white sand beach tours and dolphin-watching off the coast of Kiluan Island. 

In Meat Tourism Village, Toba Samosir Regency, North Sumatra is also no less exciting. Besides offering a majestic view of Lake Toba, you can also feast your eyes with an overlay of terraced rice fields like the ones you see in Bali. 

Come for the experience, stay for the adventure. Many other tourism villages offer more challenging adventure experiences such as rafting, rock climbing, and cave tubing.

3. Visiting historical and cultural sites

Many tourism villages offer tours to take you back in time and see the historical relics of the past. Gunung Padang Tourism Village, Cianjur, West Java, for instance. There, you can tour the largest megalithic stone complex in Southeast Asia. In Bejijong Village, you can rent a bicycle at the homestay and go cycle around the village to visit temples, palace ruins, and the Majapahit history museum. At the same time, the Bugisan Tourism Village in Klaten offers bicycle tours to temples around Prambanan.

4. Learning to farm and raise livestock

There are many villages where the residents make a living by farming and raising livestock. When you come here, why not try to live like a local by following the daily activities? 

In Citorek Tourism Village, Banten, children can learn to plant strawberries, make palm sugar, herd goats, and make manure. Hanjeli Tourism Village, Sukabumi, West Java, offers hanjeli-picking tours - also called jali-jali or millet - then processed into a rice substitute. Bintang Hulu Tourism Village, Dairy Regency, North Sumatra and Gunung Suku Tourism Village, Central Aceh Regency, Aceh offer coffee plantation tours.

5. Dancing, batik painting, and weaving

Panglipuran Village is a traditional village and well-known as a tourism village in Bali that provides visitors with dancing and Balinese gamelan day courses in which both adults and children can take part. In the Nyarai Tourism Village, Padang Pariaman Regency, West Sumatra, children can learn Silek Bungo, a silat martial arts, but without any physical contact. The movements of Silek Bungo are similar to dancing. 

The Masalili Tourism Village, Muna Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, is the province’s weaving capital. There, you can learn to weave masalili cloth with unique antique motifs. Some tourism villages also offer batik painting tours or making handicrafts from rattan or silver.

Besides the five activities, don’t miss out on trying and indulging in the local cuisine. Almost all tourist villages offer traditional delicacies to guests, both at the homestays and around the village. Bring out your inner cook by helping the locals cook. Some villages offer that experience like in Minang Nagari Sumpu Village, Tanah Datar Regency, which invites visitors to make rendang sumpu and learn how to catch bilih fish and cook a pengek bilih fermented cuisine.

Some tourism villages even offer all five activities in one village. The Skyline Tourism Village, Bantul, DIY, has up to 12 excellent photo spots, but they are far apart. So it will be more time-efficient if you visit it by bringing your car or using the TRAC car rental service, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic.

To ensure your safety and comfort throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, TRAC implements the SMART Protocol as a health and safety protocol at your service. The SMART Protocol includes the following:

1. Disinfecting all units before and after duty
2. Providing hand sanitizer in all units on duty
3. Social distancing in all units on duty
4. Installation of fiber-made barrier between the driver and passengers
5. All drivers on duty are required to undergo a series of health checks
6. All drivers on duty are required to wear a mask and gloves
7. Drivers are not allowed to make physical contact with passengers

For more information about TRAC’s car rental service, reach our Customer Assistance Center at 1500009 or email rco.nasional@trac.astra.co.id. Also, download the TRACtoGo application on Google Playstore and Apple App Store to make a reservation. There are many exciting offers and promos that you can benefit from when riding with TRAC.