Know before you go : Indonesia Edition

In this article, I’ll make an overview of everything useful to know before going to Indonesia, including some travel tips.

You’ll find : 

Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia and is the largest archipelago in the world, with 17,508 islands. 7,000 of those are uninhabited, and the 5 main islands are Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi and Papua. It shares borders with 2 countries : Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital and largest city. The city is located on the northwest coast of Java (see picture 2 below).

The country covers 1,904,569 km² and Indonesia’s population is around 279 millions, making it the 4th most densely populated country in Asia.

The best time to visit Indonesia will depend on the places you want to see but basically :

• The rainy season in Indonesia is from November to March
• The peak season is in July and August, so prices are higher, accommodations are booked up and it is very crowded.

With all that said, the best months to come would be in April, May, June and September.

We went in April and I would ABSOLUTELY recommend it because there weren’t that many tourists, we had one rainy afternoon in Lombok, but otherwise the weather was perfect.

The currency in Indonesia is the Indonesian Rupiah and 1€ equals 17 650 IDR (on average you can get a great lunch for 90 000 IDR or 5 euros). A lot of little restaurants, bars and visitation sites accept only cash for paiement. However in nice hotels, restaurants and shops in Bali they will often accept the card. The best ATMs in the country are Maybank and Mandiri, there are no fees plus you can find them everywhere.

The prices for restaurants vary depending if you go to touristy areas or more local places, but overall it’s very cheap : we tried different types of restaurant and cuisine and the most expensive was around 9€ per person for many (delicious) dishes to share. But if you want to spend less you will definitely have a nice meal for 2€ or less. Cheapest lunch we had was 1€ per person for a very tasty Indonesian fried rice.

Regarding the places to visit such as the various temples or viewpoints, the entrance fees were not expensive either : from 1€ for little temples, rice fields or waterfalls, to 6€ for the most famous temples.

Regarding accommodations, you can find most nice Airbnb / hotels, for 15-20€ per night per person. More basic ones will be half that, you can even find accommodations for 5€ per day if you plan in advance.

Clothing : I would suggest packing something light clothes because temperatures are around 30 degrees all year round.

Of course, bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen because the sun in no joke here.

If you plan on going on hikes to Mount Rinjani or Mount Batur, take a thermic shirt, a sweater, and a pair of trousers because temperatures can fall lower than 15 degrees.

Medication : Bring some insect repellent, there are some mosquitoes in the most humid areas.

Pack a safety kit with disinfectant, bandaids, pills in case you do not tolerate the local food well, the basic survival tools !

Adapter: Indonésia uses Type C and F power outlets, like most European countries. Travelers from outside Europe will need a plug adapter. A power bank is also handy for keeping your devices charged during a long day of exploration !

There’s a lot to bring back from Indonesia !

Traditional items : Traditional souvenirs include sarong (Indonesian skirt made with one piece of fabric wrapped around the chest), Balinese paintings or Wayang puppets (shadow puppetry).

Of course there’s also homeware, pottery, silver jewellery, rattan bags and much more !

Food : First of all, coffee. Indonesia produces some of the best coffee in the world (Luwak coffee, Java coffee…). You can also bring back spices, tea (rosella or mangosteen tea are simply the best), satay mix, or sweet treats like Pie Susu (milk pie).

Indonesian is the official language in Indonesia.

Most people will understand and speak english on the main islands or otherwise they will use a translator to communicate. But here are a few words in Indonesian that you can use :

Hello : Om Suwastiastu 

Thank you : Suksma gati

You’re welcome : Suksma Mewali

I (don’t) understand : Tiang (ten) ngresep 

Sorry : Permisi / Maaf

My name is… : Adan tiang…

Yes / No : Nggih or Inggih / Ten or Nenten

First off, you need to have minimum 6-month passport validity.

The passport must be in very good condition: many people are refused entry to Indonesia because their passport is damaged (pages torn, cover in poor condition, etc.).

And regarding visas, French people and most nationalities wishing to stay in Indonesia for less than 30 days don’t need a visa and can get a ‘visa on arrival’ at the airport, valid for 30 days. It costs 500000IDR (30€) and you will have to provide a return ticket / proof of leaving the country.

Travel tip : To save some time on arrival you can get it online here. This is also where you will be able to check what kind of visa you can apply for depending on you nationality and desired length of stay.

Important notice : Any foreigner staying in Indonesia after the expiry of their visa can get a fine of one million IDR (around 58€) per day for the first 60 days of overstay. After 60 days, you will be expelled from the country and banned from entering Indonesia. The immigration authorities are extremely vigilant, and if you are found to be overstaying, you will not be allowed to leave the country unless you have paid the fine, and you may be detained if unable to regularise the situation quickly.

Bali tourist tax : From 14 February 2024, anyone visiting Bali as a tourist must pay a tax of 150000 IDR (around 8,8€) each time they enter the country.

Now onto mobile plans and car rentals :

As we came from France, our mobile plan did not include internet and calls in Indonesia, so we bought a Telkomsel SIM card at Denpasar airport for 250 000 IDR / 14€. If you can, try buying the SIM card in a shop outside the airport, it will be way more advantageous. Coverage was great everywhere we went (Bali, Lombok, Gili, Nusa Penida).

For hoping from one island to another, there are many fast boats and ferries. However, once on the islands you will need a scooter or a car. For safety reasons (the roads are narrow and in bad conditions, plus there are many scooter accidents) and for confort (AC, room for luggage, better conditions for longer distance), we opted for a car and rented it with Easy Rent which I would definitely recommend. We could pay with debit/credit card, the car was in good conditions and it was perfect for our time in Bali.

There’s a lot of things to see in Indonesia ! You can visit many islands, such as the famous Bali, or Lombok, Komodo island, Raja Amat, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Flores island…You won’t be bored a second !

Here’s a list of the best things to do in Bali, the most visited island in Indonesia :

That’s it for my Indonesia travel tips ! To have a lot more information and pictures about these places, you can read my article about the top places to see in Bali or the food specialties and best places to eat in Bali.

I have also wrote an article about a day in Nusa Penida, an unmissable when coming to Bali.