10/10 would recommend Bob
We started planning our trip to Indonesia a year in advance and wanted to get a driver for five days to explore Medan, Lake Toba and the Highlands. We had managed to get in contact with exactly one driver (despite contacting many other agencies), however, after three texts he stopped replying.
Having such issues with finding a driver we were about to shorten our trip, when I read about Bob in another TripAdvisor forum. I texted him over WhatsApp and received a reply within five minutes. As we had already informed ourselves about certain hotels we asked him whether we could change them and he accommodated our wishes immediately. We did choose the Tamam Simalem Resort as one of our options which Bob warned us about and turned out to be right - better listen to Bob. The other hotels which we chose were very nice but we also saw some of his options and they seemed just as good so it’s up to preferences.
We quickly agreed on a price and got an overview of the itinerary. We paid the deposit upfront via Western Union which worked quickly and without issues. As we came from Bukit Lawang with another driver instead of arriving at Medan airport we worried that there might be issues meeting up, however, Bob was very flexible and communicated with the other driver directly to find a meeting spot.
He is a very safe driver, which isn’t usual in Indonesia, and managed to deal with the difficult traffic extremely well!
After a day he had quickly understood what we were mainly interested in and adapted the itinerary for the rest of the tour accordingly. He speaks English very well so there were no communication issues and on top of that functioned as a translator with the locals - very few of them speak English. He knew a lot about the country, its different regions and locals as well as plants so we learnt a lot of interesting facts apart from also seeing plenty.
All in all Bob is very interesting and fun to hang out with and managed to fulfill our expectations! Would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Sumatra and would definitely book again next time!
Medan 2023
Esther from Singapore wrote a review Mei 2023
It was an awesome experience for 6D5N with Bob exploring Medan! It’s my 2nd time in Medan. We had lots of food and fun throughout. We learnt about the Batak culture. Saw the best views of lake toba from taman simalem resort. Highly recommended to go on a tour with Bob!
Revisited Medan Lake Toba after 30 years
Angela wrote a review Jun 2019
We were 7 in a group recently had a wonderful tour experience with Bob. I found Bob's contact in one of the travel blogs and contacted him to arrange a private tour for us. I just paid him the deposit, then we arrived on 2 June morning and Bob was there greeting us at the airport with his black van.
Overall it was an enjoyable tour for all of us. Bob is friendly, very helpful, reliable and knowledgeable guide.
Bob drove us to Samosir Island via Medan-Berastagi. We put up a night at Berastagi, visited the fruit market and one of the unique Karo Batak style Catholic Church. Along the journey we did stopped at some interesting places, such like Lumbini Natural Park, a replica of “Shwedagon Pagoda” in Yangon and the beautiful Sipisopiso Waterfall. Bob also took the trouble to drive us up to Gundaling Hill to view some amazing scenery, but that day was cloudy the view is not so clear.
We spent 2 days in Samosir Island. The views at Lake Toba is so beautiful, and comparable to New Zealand South Island. It’s one of the awesome natural wonders of the world and glad that it still preserved the natural beauty as what I have seen 30 years ago.
We all love the spicy Indonesian local food, drank avocado smoothie almost every day. We saw and experienced many things throughout our journey. Lastly thanks to Bob.
Tour Guide that become our friend.
nanie44 wrote a review Jun 2018
Bob has been great tour guide for our trip, we spend 6 days in Medan and Danau Toba and Berastagi. All the places visited is good and wonderful and Bob has treated my family with the best hospitality services. Along the way we also visit few places extra places such as fruit picking (orange and strawberry).
We plan to visit Medan in near future and will use his service.
Tour in Sumatra - July 2018
Fabrice R wrote a review Aug 2018
Hi, I had an excellent stay with Bob during 10 days in Sumatra; Bob is very helpful, friendly, explain nicely, safe driving, well security throughout the whole trip. I recommend Bob ; If you want to spend a pleasant stay in Sumatra, you can contact him; You will be delighted;
All the best for you Dear Bob, and dont forget "Mama Muda" :-)
