Thomas' Retreat

We had such a good time at Thomas retreat. Thomas is such a funny guy, organized everything for us, even tho we arrived super late in Medan. The rooms were good and the people super nice. Everyone was super hospitable and friendly. We went one a one day jungle trek and we weren’t disappointed. We saw so much during our time in the jungle, our guides Dino and Man had so much knowledge which they shared happily and they took such good care of us! We felt really comfortable during all of the experience.
All in all we had the best time and would recommend this to everyone who is interested in the jungle orangutans and all the other amazing animals.

Thank you so much! We had a great time!
Thomas is really nice, speeks english fluently and organized everything for us (airport pickup, jungle tour, luggage storage). The Guesthouse is really comfortable and clean.
We did a 2 day 1 night jungle trekking tour with Dino and Hikal and it was great! Both were so nice and caring. The food was amazing. Dino told us everything about all the animals and nature and of course we saw Orang Utans. Also he was always funny!
Highly recommend !!!

We booked a 2-day djungel trip with Thomas and can only highly recommend it. It was an amazing experience! We managed to see quite a lot of wild animals really close thanks to our great tour guides (Agil and Pandi). They really know what they’re talking about and were also extremely motivated to show us everything. Thanks again!
We discovered Thomas Retreat watching a documentary about Sumatra on Google (watch here if interested (in German) https://youtu.be/rZOOMFg7rww?feature=shared). We really didn’t get disappointed!
So if you’re planning on going to Bukit Lawang and want to support a local business then you should go and stay with Thomas and his team! :)

We had the best time at Thomas’ Retreat. We booked through Whatsapp and the communication was super fast. Everything (stay+tour) was fixed within short time. The transfer by car from and to Medan was also very easy.

Our highlight was the jungle tour that we also booked through Thomas‘ Retreat. We had a private tour with the amazing guide Tondi, who was so motivated to show us around through the jungle. He really took the time to explain everything to us and also gave us time to really enjoy the full jungle experience. The lunch and fruits provided during the tour were amazing!

Would 100% recommend this! Thanks for the great adventure!

one of the best experiences of my life. We spent three days in the rainforest with our guide Dino. He was the best guide I've ever had! The hotel is also great and the food, accommodation and support during the tour left nothing to be desired! In contrast to other providers, real care was taken to treat the national park with respect. No plastic and proper behavior towards the animals, the guides paid close attention to this. I can recommend this tour to all age groups. Orangutans are practically guaranteed! Other providers are from abroad and don't know the area as well as the locals. It's better to support the locals and get a small group with experienced guides. The guides also speak excellent English. Ask for Dino when you book the tour!

We had an incredibly wonderful time in the Thomas retreat. All the employees were incredibly friendly and helpful. Our guide Dino, who led us through the jungle, was indescribably great and made the experiences we had even more special. I was able to gain an indescribably great life experience through the Thomas Retreat and will tell my grandchildren about this great time. I would like to thank the Thomas Retreat and all the staff, it was incredibly great.

Thomas is so kind and went out of his way to make sure our stay was amazing. He set up transport for us to and from the airport and set up a 4 day jungle trek. I cannot say enough good things about the jungle trek. The guides Ren and Diein were so knowledgeable and were able to show us so much wildlife. The food on the trek was the best food I’ve had in Indonesia- thank you Am!

Loved our stay at Thomas Retreat!
*big and clean room (we booked the one without A/C and it was fine), no hot water but it's ok as the weather is mostly hot. Beautiful spot on the river!
*food at the restaurant is good and cheap even tho sometimes they don't have few items. The pancakes are very yummy!
*Thomas is a good and friendly owner. He organised the transport from and to the airport all through our chat on whatsapp
*the jungle trekking (we did 2 days 1 night) was an amazing experience. We were lucky to have Ren as tour guide as he took the time everytime to explain us about the flora and the fauna of the jungle. He grew up in this jungle so he knows lot of things.
We managed to see 6 orangutans and many other monkeys.
The food they provided was yummy and we had soooo much fruit!!
The trekking is a bit challenging but it's all worth it. I had a cut under my foot (prior the tour) and Ren was very nice to check on me every now and then and to make sure to not go too fast as I was a bit slower.
The camping is basic camping with a mattress, sleeping bag and a pillow but it's perfect for the night!
The rafting at the end was very fun!

100% recommended to book the tour with Thomas!

Thomas and his team greeted us very warmly. Everything is super straightforward, and requests are quickly accommodated. Thomas organized a two-day jungle tour for us, which ranks among our absolute highlights in Indonesia. The accommodation is clean, the food incredibly delicious and affordable, and Thomas is one of the best hosts we've had the pleasure of meeting. Absolutely recommended!

Can’t say enough good things about the jungle trekking we did through Thomas’s Retreat. Our guides Ren and Diein were absolutely incredible— they had an amazing eye for spotting wild life, never rushed us while we were watching the animals, had an amazing sense of humor, and taught us so much about Indonesian culture! Our camp chef Am made us some of the most delicious food we’ve eaten in Indonesia so far. Anyone who gets to trek with this team is lucky!

Absolutely perfect!
The jungle trek was a proper adventure for us!
Be aware that you are literally sleeping in an open camp in the jungle! For adventure & nature enthusiasts this is a must do if you go to Sumatra.

The guides were super friendly & helpful & they spottet loads of animals that we would have otherwise never seen.

10/10

We had an amazing time at the jungle. Thomas and his team are very kind and helped us out with any upcoming issue. We did the one day trek and had such a blast with Erwin and Agghie (hope I spell them correctly). They were a lot of fun, prepared excellent food for us and shared their knowledge about all the animals we saw. We felt like VIP guests from beginning to end. We will keep these amazing memories in our hearts forever. Terima kasih banyak!

We can really recommend Thomas Djungle journey. Everything was well planed and organised! The food during the tour was amazing, and the guide very funny and smart! Also you help here local peoples if you book Thomas Retreat :)

We've stayed 3 nights in total in the Thomas Retreat, 1 before the Jungle Trek and 2 nights after. The rooms have a higher standard than we've come to expect from South East Asia on a low budget, especially for this price (200.000 Rupiah for the cheapest budget room, there are plenty of choices going up from that). The shower attachment was broken, but that's all the criticism I have, everything was clean and as expected. Keep in mind the budget rooms come only with fan and cold water, though! The food is also really good and fairly priced.

We also booked the 2 nights/3 day tours through Thomas, and I gotta say, it was my favorite experience so far on my 2 month of travel here. The guides (Kinol and Dondi) were amazing, they were able to answer every question, were helpful, friendly and adjusted to everyone's pace. They English is good, too. They treat the animals with great respect, no luring them in with food or anything like that. We saw 5 of the 7 kinds of monkeys living in Leuser, including Orang Utans of course. The food (4 times a day) was there in abundance, a lot of choices (vegetarian ones, too) and variety. Fruit break was the best for me!

Would recommend to everyone that can do a trek, a really special experience.

It was an adventure! We had an awesome time in Bukit Lawang thanks to the hospitality of all the different people working at the retreat. The rooms were decent - mind you, the retreat is in the jungle, so totally okay!
The jungle trek was fantastic. Our guides (Yon & Matius) were caring, funny and knew so much about the jungle. Thanks to their incredible knowledge of the jungle we spotted at least 12 Orang Utans (a little luck was also involved) and saw a few from a very close distance. The guides not only took care of us, but also of the jungle. They made sure to take all the garbage we made, including peels of fruits or any crumbs back out of the jungle. You can really tell how much they love and care for the jungle because it is their home. The food on the trek was so good, absolutely delicious and incredible to see how it is cooked over a fire at the camp. The river rafting was an adventure:)
A huge thank you too our guides for keeping us safe & also knowing how to have a good laugh:)

I really enjoyed my stay at Thomas retreat. Nice atmosphere and all people are super friendly and helpful.
I did the 3 day trek and am completely satisfied. Our guides Kinol and Dondi were perfect. They adapted to the speed of the group, explained a lot and the food was great and a lot.

Overall- a lifetime experience!

Everything was perfect! Starting from our pick up and transfer to Thomas Retreat, to the warm welcome of Thomas and his team, to the exciting adventure of the 2 day jungle trek. Everyone of the team was extremely friendly and helpful. We want to emphasize our guides Ren and Tondie who were responsible that we had an absolute amazing time during our stay. We learned so much from them from the jungle and Tondie on top made our two evenings perfect by showing us some jungle magic tricks and playing the guitar for us!
And a special thank you to our host Thomas. He was always there for us and organized everything very well. He realized a spontaneous trip for us to see the biggest flower in the Sumatra jungle.
We can definitely recommend to stay at the Thomas Retreat and do this adventure with this amazing team!
Besides: the food is great and area of the accommodation is beautifully located directly at the river. So enjoying the free time is also relaxing and fun!

We appreciate that we were able to make this experience and would definitely do it again!

All we can say is thank you. We had unforgettable days at Thomas Retreat. The staff were super nice and helpful.

The food and the accommodation were perfect.

And the jungle tour was the perfect start for our trip around the world. We always felt safe and the guides (thanks to Agil and Jon) were perfect. They were able to answer all of our questions and took great care of everything. The tent in the jungle was comfortable, swimming in the waterfall was amazing and the food that was prepared over the fire was delicious!

We can highly recommend it!

I only stayed here, I did not schedule the retreat through Thomas. But my room was very nice for the price. I stayed in other hotels in the area and this one was a very good deal for the price. The lobby area was also nice, right along the river. The water was not working for a couple hours but not a big deal.

Unforgettable jungle experience with the best guides Tondi & Agil from Thomas Retreat

We started to plan our trip looking for a jungle trip to see the Orang Utans and the wildlife in northern Sumatra and contacted Thomas via WhatsApp. He immediately called us back to confirm our request: we sent him our flight details and that was it. First, we were not sure if we really had booked the trip and the accommodation the nights before and after the trip because we didn’t have to pay anything and all we did was communicating via WhatsApp.
Once we landed in Medan, we talked to him again and he told us where we can meet the driver who drove us to Bukit Lawang. Even if the journey took us around 4 hours because of the traffic (especially in Medan) our driver answered all the questions we had while driving through little villages.
Arriving at the Thomas’ Retreat, we were greeted with a smile and a welcome drink and had a delicious dinner. The next day, we started our 3D2N Jungle Trek: with a small backpack we set off into the jungle and were warmly guided by our guides while observing all seven species of monkeys that could be seen in the national park.
Every day they served us tea & biscuits, breakfast, lunch, fruit platter and dinner without losing the smile on their faces. While the hot dishes were prepared by the cooks in the campsides, Tondi and Agil carried the lunch and fruits in their backpacks so that we could treat ourselves during the walks. After a long sleep, we rafted from the camp to the Thomas’a Retreat on the last day, which was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip.
Later in the evening we met for dinner with the whole group again and Tondi and Agil joined us later. The evening ended with a pleasant get-together and fun filled singing, which Tondi and Agil accompanied with a guitar.
We are so thankful for this experience and will never forget the time we had together!
If you ever have the possibility to go to Bukit Lawang it’s an absolutely MUST DO with the Thomas Retreat Crew!