My dad had always wanted to visit Bukittinggi and we have been talking about it ever since we got back from Yogyakarta in 2024. The timing was just perfect as I had a 4 day weekend in February due to the Thaipusam and Federal Territory holidays.
My aunt recommended us to take the tour from Pak Doddi. I engaged Pak Doddi directly and he gave he gave us a good quote and private itinerary.
For 3 of us, he quoted RM1,200 per person. We had to purchase our own flights, which we decided on AirAsia. The tickets were RM800 per flight per person.
Saturday, 31 Jan 2026
We landed in Minangkabau Airport around 11:30AM. We had to fill in an online form for immigration which was relatively smooth.
Our tour guide, Bang Doy Zakaria greeted us at the airport. We started the tour with a nice group photo outside the airport.
From there, we went for lunch at Ombak Lamun, a famous Padang chain restaurant. It was the perfect way to start our tour.
After lunch, we passed by the road that was damaged by the recent flood in December 2025. The damage was extensive and repair works were still in progress.
As we head towards Bukittinggi, we stopped by a few tourist attractions.
The first stop after lunch was a leather craftsmanship shop. There were a lot fine craftsmanship on display.
Next we stopped by Sulaman Istano Minang, a shop selling clothing made from local entrepreneurs. There were quite a lot of Malaysians tourists there too.
Further along, we stopped by Warung Bika Talago in Tanah Datar. It is a cafe selling the famous traditional cake from West Sumatra. There were 2 types of cakes: a brown cake, and a coconut cake. The cafe had a nice view of the green landscape.
We arrived in Bukittinggi around 4:30PM and checked in at Hotel Monopoli, one of the major hotels in the area.
We had a few hours before dinner so I went to relax at the lounge while observing the hillside scenery. The weather was a cool 20 degrees.
In the evening, Bang Doi took for dinner at Bakso Rusuk Kemenangan. The owner of the tour agency, Pak Doddi, met us there and we had a good chat.
Later in the evening, I went to explore the nearby square. There was a weekend market near Menara Jam Gadang. There was also a silek (Minang equivalent for silat) performance with fire and various stunts. The atmosphere was lively and fun.
Imran Jaafar 