So, you’re looking to visit Indonesia. This is the only guide you will need to plan your next trip. Yes, I’ve visited there 5 or 6 times, each time for more than a month. So, whether you’re staying here for 30 days or a year, this guide will cover everything you need to know. Indonesia has become one of my favorite countries to travel because I am a nature lover, but also a budget traveler, and this is one of those budget-friendly destinations. By the end, you’ll know everything from the best places to travel, the best time to exchange money, and things you didn’t even think you needed to know. But if there is something more specific, you’re interested in knowing, make sure you comment below. I will try to reply with more details. So, let’s start…
Where is Indonesia
Many of you want to know where Indonesia is; well, it’s also a part of Southeast Asia. It has a land border with Malaysia and maritime borders with Thailand and other favorite countries of mine. A surprising fact: it has 17,504 islands. Island hopping is a dream activity here. In Asia, Indonesia is my favorite along with Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
When is the best time to visit?
Now let’s get into the best time to travel to Indonesia. There are two seasons you need to be aware of: the dry season and the wet season. The wet season typically runs from October to roughly about March, and the dry season is from March until about October. So, you definitely want to plan on being here during the dry season because typically, in the wet season, you’re going to have rain pretty much every single day during the afternoon. My suggestion is August, as it is the best time with not much rain, almost dry season, and budget-friendly.
Visa & Insurance
Coming to Indonesia, there will be two things you need to consider: your visa and your insurance. I won’t delve too deeply into the regulations because they may change by the time I finish writing this blog. As of April 2024, there are many nationalities that can obtain a Visit visa upon arrival in Indonesia, making it easy. The second thing you’ll need is insurance, and this is essential not only for Indonesia but for every country you travel to as a nomadic traveler. I’m sure you will need this as well. There are many online platforms that offer health insurance policies; you can choose the one that best suits your needs. Maybe I will write a complete blog about health insurance policies, so stay connected with me to get more information.
Where to start your trip
There are two best places to start for your travels in Indonesia: Jakarta or Bali. If you plan on coming into Jakarta, don’t just spend a few days here. It’s a very underrated city with a big metropolis area and there is so much to do here. Now, the second option is going to be Bali. If you’re looking for the tropical island life, that is going to be the better option for you. In the surrounding area, you have Lombok, Nusa Penida, the Gili Islands, and even Lambongan. But Bali is going to be the much more tourist-friendly area. If this is your first time to Indonesia or even your first time to Asia, it’s going to be much less of a culture shock to you and much less of a language barrier as well because almost everybody on the island speaks English. Now, how do you get across the country?
Transportation
How do you get across the country? This is probably one of the easiest parts because there are just so many options, from affordable travel to even luxury travel around Indonesia. You have everything from buses, trains, public transportation, taxis, and even motorbikes, so the options are pretty much limitless. It’s just a matter of what your itinerary is. One of the first ways of traveling from city to city is using the bus system. You can get tickets for as low as 100k IDR all the way up to 400k-500k IDR for luxury options.
We took a trip from Jakarta to Surabaya on a sleeper bus, one of the top-tier buses in the country, and that cost us only $25 US, so again, incredibly affordable, but it might take a little bit longer with traffic. Another option is using the train system. There’s a massive train network around the country. To give you an example, we went on the It’s nikon V train, and you can get tickets for as low as 90k IDR one way. If you’re looking to go on one of the more expensive routes, you can book a luxury first-class ticket from Jakarta to Surabaya for roughly about 800k to 900k IDR, and that will give you a first-class seat as well as a meal onboard. Whether it’s worth it, I’ll let you decide. But there are so many more options for transportation to get around the country. ($1= 15887 IDR)
Scooter
But if you’re looking for more independence, I highly recommend renting a motorbike. It’s a lot more difficult to do in Jakarta, but if you’re visiting cities like Surabaya, Yogyakarta, or even Bali, it is very, very easy. We visited islands like Lombok, Lambongan, and Bali, and we all rented motorbikes for roughly about 50k to 70k IDR per day. Surabaya was one of the hardest places to rent a bike because you needed like 3 or 4 forms of ID. Usually, it’s not that difficult to do; typically, they only ask for a copy of your passport, and you’re on your way. You don’t even really need an international license; however, I would highly recommend you get one before you come into the country. Most places will not ask for it when you’re renting, but there is a chance you will get pulled over by police here, and they will ask for it. If you don’t have it, then you will be paying a pretty hefty fine.
Parking
One thing you may need to consider when you’re renting a motorbike is parking fees and securities. Whenever you’re visiting any convenience stores, there’s typically a parking attendant. If you’re using a motorbike, you’ll need to pay the attendant roughly about 2,000 IDR. If you’re parking a car, then you’re gonna want to pay them at least like 5,000 to 10,000 IDR. Indonesia is one of those places where you can.
Sim Card
Now let’s quickly talk about phone plans and data here in the country. This will be very quick. The best one to use is called Telkomsel. It is the only one I would actually recommend. You can get them anywhere in the malls, and you can get a SIM card for as cheap as like 200,000 IDR. It’s very, very easy to top up; you just visit an Indomaret or Alfamart store. You can just say “pulsa Telkomsel” and tell them how much you want to put on the SIM card, and they will top it up. Then you just use your app to preload the packages that you want to purchase. That’s it.
Accommodation
At the hour, Indonesia is one of those places where you can find any types of accommodations, from luxury villas in Bali to local accommodations in rural cities, and of course, high-rise apartments here in Jakarta and nearby areas. Whatever you’re looking for, though, you will find something within your budget. The best ways of booking accommodations that I found living here is using either Booking.com, Airbnb, or Facebook groups.
If you are looking for hotels or something that is just very last minute, I would definitely recommend Booking.com or Airbnb. Everything is very conveniently laid out for you, including the final price of the bill that you’re going to expect. There are no hidden fees, no security deposits, or anything of that nature. The upside of booking a hotel is that most of the international chains will have international wall outlets, but places like villas, local residences, and apartments will not, and you will need to use a converter depending on what kind of plug you have for electricity. If you’re looking for something more down to earth or even those luxury or unique experiences, I would definitely recommend Airbnb as the better option for you, although they tend to book up much quicker than Booking.com. I think you’re going to be much happier with the accommodations and the variety of accommodations on Airbnb.
If you’re looking for something a little bit more long-term, there are many Facebook groups for listings and real estates. Living in Bali, I found all of my long-term monthly accommodations for a conveniently low price through Facebook groups. So if you’re looking for something monthly or yearly, in fact, then use the Facebook groups. You can negotiate a much better deal than on Airbnb or Booking.com.
Life Hack: Useful Apps
Using apps in Indonesia, there are only 5 apps that I’ve used every single day. The first of which is Google Translate. There is a bit of a language barrier depending on what area of Indonesia you’re traveling to. Of course, the local islands and places like Jakarta can be very limited in English unless you’re in the very metropolitan area of that region. But you should definitely learn some key phrases like hello, goodbye, thank you, what is that, and how much.
Of course, the second app, as I mentioned, is Facebook because Facebook groups are a huge, huge thing here. It is the best way of finding accommodations.
The third app I use every day is Gojek. You can use it for booking food delivery and rides. So if you’re not interested in using a taxi, you can book a Gojek motorbike or even a Gojek car to get to your destination.
The fourth one is called Wise, and this has been a very extremely helpful app, very similar to PayPal or Venmo even if you’re from the United States. You can easily transfer money directly from your local account in the United States or wherever you’re from and directly transfer it to Indonesian bank accounts here in the country.
And the last One are actually essential here in Indonesia. And It’s called Traveloka. It is the best way to find hotels, buses, trains, and flights really around the country, and it accepts all the major credit cards. So, it’s very convenient and very foreigner-friendly to use here for booking things in Asia.
Money exchange Hack
Now, for purchasing things here in Indonesia, there are two ways you can go about it. The first is with your credit card, of course, but some local restaurants and places don’t accept credit cards, and as you’ve heard, cash is king. So whenever you’re coming to Indonesia, definitely have some cash on hand because you’re going to need it for things like tipping, security, parking, and everything in between.
You can bring cash in your local currency into the country and use a currency exchange to exchange your money into Indonesian rupiah. Here are two tips I have for you:
- Do not use currency exchanges that are not reputable, meaning that they are literally a box with tinted windows. Do not use those because you will probably get scammed for your money there.
- Exchange your money between 12 PM and 3 PM local time because that is when the exchange rate is at its highest.
If you’re looking to exchange your money, the two reputable companies I recommend are BMC and Central Kuta if you’re in Bali. If you’re in Jakarta, you can definitely go to any of the malls and get your currency exchanged there.
Now, if you’re using your debit card, there are many ATMs around cities, but you’re going to be charged ATM fees and for an exchange rate. So I would definitely try to stay away from the ATMs as much as possible.
Foods
Coming to Indonesia, you must definitely try the local cuisine here. Now, if you’ve done any research on the country, then you’re probably familiar with nasi goreng and mie goreng, but you should definitely step out of your comfort zone. If you’re eating street food for the very first time in Asia, then you should definitely start off slow. Some of my favorite dishes have been soto betawi, martabak, babi guling, ayam bakar. If you’re definitely a bit on the cautious side, my recommendation to you is to go to the local spots where there are the most locals. Typically, if there are a lot of locals eating there, then they’re definitely not getting food poisoning there. And there is no need to talk about cost of foods its already very much cheap.
Entertainment
As far as entertainment goes, it really just depends on what you’re looking for. In places like Bali and the surrounding islands, you definitely have a lot of options for island hopping, outdoor adventures, and activities like visiting waterfalls and beaches, beach clubs, and rooftop bars.
If you’re going to places like Jakarta and other big cities, your entertainment will mainly involve going to shopping malls, exploring the streets, and experiencing indoor activities such as ice skating, go-karting, and jet skiing around Jakarta.
It’s not too expensive to shop online. The two biggest companies are going to be Tokopedia for anything electronics, and everything else is going to be on Lazada.
So, that’s it from me. I tried my best to give you information that you can’t find on so many blogs. Indonesia is not only Bali. If you are a digital nomad like me or you don’t want in a new place, I can travel easily. Don’t get scammed; this will surely help you Out.
