Jakarta Indonesia Travel Guide

General information

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, its political and economic center, and one of the world's largest megacities. Located near the northwest coast of the island of Java (Jakarta on the map), in the southern hemisphere. In terms of population, Jakarta's urban agglomeration ranks second in the world, with more than 30 million inhabitants.

A bit of history

Jakarta is a very old city and an ancient capital. The first discovered mention of the capital of the Indonesian kingdom of Tarumanagara in this place dates back to the IV century, although long before that there was a settlement of Sunda Kelapa (Sunda Kelapa, and today one of the districts and the old port is called). Later, the city lost its status as the capital (it was moved to another place). On June 22, 1527, the troops of the Sultanate of Demak expelled the Portuguese fleet from the city, and called it Jayakerta, which means "Victory City". It is this date that is considered the official founding day of the city and is celebrated as city Day. Later, the city was destroyed by Europeans and rebuilt under the new name Batavia, and only in 1942 the name Jakarta, similar to the old name, was returned to the city.

Holidays in Jakarta

Jakarta is a noisy, polluted and always stuck in traffic jams metropolis, like any other Asian capital, and at first glance is not very attractive to tourists. However, Jakarta is often visited by tourists and travelers, since it is here that the main international airport of the island of Java is located, and most flights from other countries are operated here. Moreover, this is the cheapest way to get to Indonesia from the Russian Federation and other CIS countries. Then from the capital, travelers go to more attractive places on the island of Java, such as the cultural capital Yogyakarta, the world's largest Buddhist Borobudur Temple and the ancient Prambanan temple complex, numerous volcanoes, national parks, etc. Also by land and by ferry from here they get to Bali island or go to Sumatra Island. Jakarta also includes beach resorts in the nearby thousand Islands archipelago, but still they should be considered as an independent tourist destination, and not part of Jakarta, since it is quite far and expensive to get to them.

Nevertheless, there is something to see and do in the capital itself, especially for experienced and curious tourists. The city has a rich history of the colonial period, and the whole historical district of Kota, filled with ancient buildings built by Europeans, has been preserved here. There is also its own Chinatown with traditional bustling life and narrow streets. You can spend more than one day hiking in museums and galleries, get acquainted with modern architectural sights.

• Museum of History
• The Cathedral

New areas of the city are built up with modern world-class shopping centers, filled with modern discos. Yes, surprisingly, Jakarta is one of the centers of the most modern electronic club life in Asia, the best DJs of the planet are constantly touring here. There is also a place for adult entertainment in the city: girls can be found in the red light district in Chinatown, also in the central area near large shopping malls and expensive hotels.

On some sites on the Internet, you can find an outdated description of the city, which indicates that Jakarta is completely unsuitable for life, and that it is a dirty and gray anthill city. But over the past 5-10 years, the city has changed significantly. The capital is rapidly getting richer and transforming, new skyscrapers are being built, and transport is developing. Today it can no longer be said that this is an inconvenient city for tourists: there are a lot of hotels here, even a kind of tourist area has appeared; there is inexpensive public transport (there is no metro yet, but it is being built); travel agencies, restaurants, cafes have appeared, many modern shopping centers have opened. So far, there are still crumbling slums in some parts of the city, which contrast so much with modern skyscrapers, but they are gradually giving way to "licked" sterile neighborhoods, and perhaps nothing will remain of them over the next 3-5 years. Therefore, if you want to see today's contrasting Jakarta, you'd better hurry up.

Jakarta weather, tourist seasons

Jakarta is warm all year round, you can visit at any time. However, the rainy season runs from December to March. And if you can easily wait out the rains, although they are abundant but short-lived, then you can't do anything about floods. Heavy rains cause flooding of certain areas of the city, mainly the northern part, coastal areas. Even the highway to the airport is flooded, making it difficult, and sometimes even completely blocking transport links with it.

Current Jakarta weather and forecast

* - прогноз указан по местному времени. Данные получены с https://openweathermap.org. Если отображаются устаревшие даты, обновите страницу с помощью F5+Ctrl.

Time in Jakarta

The time difference between Moscow and Indonesia (and its capital) is +4 hours. Current time in Jakarta (Indonesia):

Hotels and areas where to stay

There are a huge number of hotels in Jakarta, but there is a shortage of budget accommodation options. By the standards of Indonesia, prices are high here, so if you are used to traveling with a backpack and staying in hostels and inexpensive guest houses, you either need to book in advance or count on accommodation in the middle price category. You can find a bed in a hostel from 100,000 rupees(6.45 RUB, see Indonesian currency and exchange rate), a room with the most basic amenities for two will cost about 220,000 (14.2 USD), and for a clean room with the usual European amenities you will have to pay from 440,000 (28.4 USD).

The most budget and tourist area with hostels and guest houses is located in central Jakarta near Independence Square (Merdeka Square) and Gambir railway station is Jalah Jaksa Street (street on the map). Hostels and hostels, currency exchange offices, travel agencies, ticket sales for transport are located along it and in the vicinity.

Another popular place is Kota and Sunda Kelapa districts, which are located in the north, 7 kilometers from the center (Kota and Sunda Kelapa on the map). This is the historical center of the city, and here are all the historical sights, several museums, and even a pedestrian alley near the heart of the historic district – Fatahilla Square.

The most developed and modern area of Jakarta is the center (center on the map). This is a very large area, in which, among other things, the tourist street Jalan Jaksa is located. But if the stop on this back street does not really attract you, you can pick up a hotel in another place in this area. Especially interesting is the place around the ring of the hotel Indonesia (Hotel Indonesia Circle or Jakarta Hotel Indonesia Circle), where many modern shopping malls and offices, chain restaurants of world brands are concentrated, and transport is well developed.

Learn more about hotels and districts of Jakarta here...

How to get there

Transport links between Jakarta and other cities of the country, as well as other states, are very developed. In general, it is cheaper to get to Indonesia from Russia and other countries through Jakarta, and from here you can continue your journey by land, water or air to any other islands and resorts in the country. You can get here from the cities of the island of Java by buses, trains, and airplanes.

There are two international airports here, the main one of which is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soekarno–Hatta International, IATA code - CGK). Most international flights arrive here. But there is another airport named after Halim Perdanakusuma (Halim Kuzuma, Halim Perdanakusuma International, IATA code - HLP), which serves flights of several Asian budget airlines, mainly local, including from the island of Bali. When buying tickets, please specify which one you are arriving at.

From Soekarno-Hatta International to the city center can be reached by taxi, buses, minivans, train. There is a lot of transport, it goes often, you can get there without problems with any budget, and in the near future it will be possible to get there by train. If you need to travel further around the island of Java right from the airport, then in most cases you will have to transfer to a train or bus in Jakarta, since transport does not go directly to other cities.

The railway connection on the island of Java is very well developed, you can get to Jakarta by train from all the most popular tourist cities. And where there are no trains, you can always take the railway to the nearest station and change to the bus. Long-distance trains here are clean and more or less modern, not at all like cheap commuter trains, so you can safely plan a trip for them. But keep in mind that there are no sleeping places here. Whichever class you choose, even the most expensive, you will have to go sitting.

Jakarta is connected by frequent intercity bus service with all major cities of the island of Java, with the island of Sumatra (via ferry), and you can get here by bus even from the island of Bali. In general, traveling by bus is a good option, and the cheapest, even cheaper than trains. But the difficulty is to find the right bus and its place of departure.

There are several bus stations in Jakarta, and all of them are located far away on the outskirts of the city, and at different ends. Accordingly, you need to get there first to buy a ticket, and then to go. Therefore, it is best to purchase tickets online, or look for them in travel agencies on the street. With this option, you will pay a commission, but you will save a lot of time. You can search and book bus tickets to/from Jakarta through the website of one of the largest carriers https://www.redbus.id/en (in English), or through an aggregator of various carriers 12go.asia (in Russian).

Learn more about all the ways, how and how to get to Jakarta here...

Prices for flights from Moscow to Jakarta:

ЦЕНА	ПЕРЕСАДКИ	АВИАКОМПАНИЯ	ДАТА ВЫЛЕТА	ДАТА ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЯ
Купить от 65152 ₽	2 пересадки		30.09.2023	09.10.2023
Купить от 50198 ₽	2 пересадки		30.10.2023	28.11.2023
Купить от 48570 ₽	2 пересадки		24.11.2023	17.12.2023
Купить от 50481 ₽	2 пересадки		01.12.2023	03.12.2023
Купить от 54281 ₽	1 пересадка		09.01.2024	04.02.2024
Купить от 49960 ₽	1 пересадка		07.03.2024	13.03.2024

Minimum prices for flights from Russia to Jakarta:

ЦЕНА	МАРШРУТ	ПЕРЕСАДКИ
Купить от 48109 ₽	Москва ⇄ Джакарта	2
Купить от 64764 ₽	Санкт-Петербург ⇄ Джакарта	1
Купить от 90587 ₽	Самара ⇄ Джакарта	2
Купить от 99620 ₽	Красноярск ⇄ Джакарта	4
Купить от 82115 ₽	Иркутск ⇄ Джакарта	2
Купить от 99802 ₽	Челябинск ⇄ Джакарта	2
Купить от 87086 ₽	Новосибирск ⇄ Джакарта	3
Купить от 88948 ₽	Екатеринбург ⇄ Джакарта	2

Transport, what to use to get around

Moving around Jakarta is a real challenge for tourists, so prepare in advance for difficulties even at the stage of choosing a place for a hotel. Immediately try to choose such a location in order to be as close as possible to the places and attractions of interest to you, or to transport hubs.

The city is considered one of the busiest transport in the world, traffic jams are everywhere and always, so take more time to travel, especially during peak hours from 16:30 to 20:00 on weekdays. If you need to get there the fastest, then it's better to use a motorcycle taxi: it's twice as fast as cars, and twice as cheap.

You can also travel by regular taxi, city trains, buses, and in the future (approximately in 2020) the metro will also work here.

Read more about each way to travel around Jakarta here...

Food and drinks, where and what to eat

With food in Jakarta, by and large, there will be no problems, there are plenty of places to eat. However, be careful and let your stomach get used to the very spicy Indonesian food for the first few days. You can eat in cafes and restaurants for tourists, food courts, from street stalls, and in inexpensive cafes for locals (called here "varung"). Everywhere the food is safe, including because of the abundance of pepper, although in inexpensive cafes the sanitary conditions are not the best. You can find the cuisine of any country, but Asian predominates: Indonesian, Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese.

The most affordable and safest option is to eat in the food courts of large shopping centers. There are such food courts in almost every business complex and shopping center, their prices are not much higher than in street cafes for locals, but everything looks much cleaner and neater. You can eat traditional rice with egg or chicken and a soft drink in the food court from 30,000 rupees (1.94 USD).

There are also chain restaurants of world brands – McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, you can find them using Google maps. But in our experience, the price in them is one and a half to two times higher than in Russia.

The situation with alcohol in Jakarta is a little more complicated. On the one hand, as such, its sale is not prohibited, but it is almost impossible to find beer and other beverages in retail stores. The sale is carried out only in the largest supermarkets, which by the way are not very many here, in hotels and cafes for tourists, bars and nightclubs. Prices are very high due to excise taxes, for example, a bottle of beer costs from 65,000 rupees (4.2 USD).

Attractions and entertainment

There are not too many attractions worthy of tourists' attention in Jakarta, and two full days are enough to see all the most worthwhile. Conditionally, there are two districts with interesting places, for each of which one day is enough:

• City center and Independence Square. In the morning, visit the Istiklal Mosque and the Cathedral, go for a walk around Independence Square and climb to the Monas observation deck. Then you should visit the National Museum, and if you have enough energy and time, then the National Gallery. The evening can end with a shopping trip in the modern area around the Ring of the Indonesia Hotel.
• The historical center of the city in the area of Kota and the old port of Sunda Kelapa. It is better to start in the morning in Chinatown Glodok. Then move to Fatahilla Square, where you can see one or more museums, and then walk or bike along the Sunda Kelapa bicycle route to the port area, where you can visit the maritime museum and the port itself. Along the way, you can see many more interesting places. In the evening, you should return to Fatahilla Square again, where you can have dinner at one of the restaurants, or even at the famous historical cafe Batavia.

If you have more time planned for Jakarta, then you can still go to the city of Bogor for one or more days, or go to the beaches of the Thousand Islands resort near the shores of Jakarta.

As for entertainment specifically for tourists, this is also not very good in Jakarta. Not far from the port of Sunda Kelapa there is an Ancol water entertainment complex with a water park, dolphinarium, aquarium, but by the standards of foreign tourists this is an uninteresting and not a cozy place. For children there is an entertainment complex Kidzania with playgrounds, slides, etc., located far to the south of the city in the Pacific Palace shopping center. A lot of huge and modern shopping centers are located south of Independence Square, and this is also one of the attractions for tourists, since there will be nothing else to do during the day. And yet, right from Jakarta you can buy excursions to the western part of the island of Java, including the famous and terrible volcano Krakatoa.

There is nightlife in Jakarta, and it is developed, but you will have to look for it. The most popular area with bars, nightclubs and "moths" is located far to the south of the city around the Blok M shopping center. There are establishments in the area of Jalan Jaksa Street, as well as in shopping and business centers around the Hotel Indonesia Circle. In the old town, the concentration of establishments for a night's rest is much smaller. Basically, you need to look for them in the Glodok Chinatown. Well, for simple evening walks and dinners with the late restorns, the pedestrian alley next to Fatahilla Square is suitable.

Learn more about all the sights of Jakarta here...

• Observation Tower of Syahbandar
• Old drawbridge

Shopping

Shopping in Jakarta is one of the most favorite activities for tourists, unless of course you have the money and time. There are many large modern shopping centers, street shops and markets. You can buy anything, including branded items of excellent quality at good prices, and they are sold both in shopping centers and in street shops and markets. Which is good, you can bargain everywhere, even in salons and boutiques. If you don't know how to bargain or don't know the language, then just ask for a "discount", and at least they will give you a small discount. The only place where it is not customary to bargain is supermarkets.

The main place of concentration of shopping centers is the city center around Independence Square and the Monas Monument and a little south of this area. Many shops are concentrated around the Hotel Indonesia ring (Hotel Indonesia Circle). Here are the most popular malls in the city: Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, Mal Taman Anggrek, Plaza Senayan, Pondok Indah, Gandaria City, Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta Gem Center, Pacific Place, Blok M. For souvenirs and traditional goods, you can go to the market in the Glodok Chinatown area, where almost the entire area is a huge market, or visit the markets on Jalan Surabaya Street, in the Alun Alun Indonesia shopping center.

Useful information

• Security in Jakarta. Jakarta as a whole is a safe city for tourists. But do not relax, as property crimes happen often. We are talking about petty theft from hotels, pickpocketing, tearing off bags. And in no case do not get involved with drugs, because for this the death penalty is due.
• Road safety. The city is very poorly adapted for pedestrians, there are very few pedestrian crossings. To cross the road even at a pedestrian crossing, it is better to let the drivers know about yourself with your hand raised high, and do not lower it until you finish crossing the road.
• Prohibition of smoking. There is a law in Jakarta according to which you can be fined $5,000 for smoking in a public place, including on the street! Smoking is allowed only in designated areas. This law almost doesn't work, they smoke even in public transport, but it's better not to smoke in front of the police.
• The Internet. For a permanent Internet connection, it is best to buy a local SIM card (see mobile communication and Internet in Indonesia). Free Wi-Fi is not available in all hotels, some provide access only in the lobby near the reception. You can connect to Wi-Fi for free in most large shopping centers (a password is given on request), in fast food chain restaurants, at the airport.
• Currency exchange. Currency can be changed on arrival at the airport, where the exchange rate is quite acceptable. It is worth exchanging the amount for the first few days of your stay, since it is not so easy to find exchange offices on the streets in the city, especially on weekends and in the evening. Look for exchangers in the Chinese quarter of Glodok, on the tourist street Jalan Jaksa, or in shopping malls. Also an acceptable exchange rate in banks, but lower than in exchangers.
• A day off in museums. When planning a trip, please note that all city museums and galleries have a day off on Monday.