Indonesia, what a great country! Also literally: more than 17,500 islands make up this great corner of Southeast Asia. We along 25 days, we could only step on two of these: Bali, and Java. We have a good memory of this nation, and above all we want to continue knowing it… so see you soon Indonesia!

Here we bring our travel guide to Indonesia for backpackers. A complete guide to our trip through Indonesia. Visa, currency, when to go, travel, how much it costs, what is the best and the worst, reference prices, transport and more!

VISA

For most countries It is not necessary have a visa to enter Indonesia for a period not exceeding 30 days. It is necessary to have a passport with a validity greater than 6 months and an outbound flight. Bieeeen, free!!

If you plan to stay more than 30 days and renew visa, then it is necessary that you get an “on arrival visa” upon arrival and pay the 35USD it costs. You can extend it for another 30 days by paying another 30USD.

Summarizing:

• Stays less than 30 days = free
• Stays between 30 and 60 days = 60USD (30 of the visa on arrival + 30 of the extension).

CURRENCY

The official currency of Indonesia is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). You can calculate the exchange rate updated in the following table.

WHEN TO TRAVEL

In Indonesia, two seasons are often distinguished: dry and wet, although in general the climate is hot and humid all year round. The station of rains usually starts between September and October (the further southeast later) and lasts until may. In the months of January and February it usually rains a lot. The station dry and when it is advisable to travel is from may to september.

The Molukas Islands has the seasons changed.

Keep in mind that if you are going to make excursions to the top of a volcano, you can do some scratch, especially if you go out at night to see sunrise.

VACCINES

In Indonesia there is a risk of dengue and malaria throughout the year, but in the latter case you do not have to worry too much because it is concentrated mainly in the areas of the five eastern provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua The most tourist and urban areas are free of Malaria. In any case, take all possible precautions: wear a good mosquito repellent always, sleep every night with mosquito net, avoid the hours of greatest concentration of mosquitoes (sunrise and sunset) and the areas of greatest concentration (rivers, lakes and wetlands) and wear appropriate clothes.

The recommended vaccines They are: Hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, and tetanus and rabies (which you probably already have).

• More recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Indonesia
• More recommendations from the Ministry of Health

BUDGET

Our expenses (€ 1 = approx 12,000 IRP). In total we have spent € 11.71 per person / day (It is not the sum as the accommodation is calculated between 23 days, and the total daily average between 25) Thus broken down:

• Accommodation: € 4.04 person. 23 nights, one night by plane and another included in the Bromo tour
• Food: € 2.93 person
• Transport: € 2.24 person
• Tickets, activities and parkings: € 1.90 person
• Miscellaneous: € 0.93 person (including 150 IRP airport departure fees)

Some reference prices

• Hotel: € 8-10 (double room)
• Street food: € 0.5-1.5
• Restaurant meal: € 2-4
• Beer: € 2
• Drinks: € 0.5
• Water: € 0.5
• McDonald's Menu: € 2.5-3
• Motorcycle rental: 4-5 €
• Gasoline: € 0.45

PLUG

The plugs that can be found in Indonesia are of three types: type C and F, which are like Europeans with two round pins, the less frequent G with three square pins, like the ones in the picture. You can buy a universal adapter or get a specific one as soon as you reach your destination.

ITINERARY

Our trip to Indonesia for free lasted 25 days and led us to know:

• Bali
• Bromine
• Yogyakarta
• Batu Faces
• Jakarta

HOW TO MOVE

Transportation in Indonesia is not up to Malaysia or Vietnam. The easiest way to tour the country is by hiring with Travel agencies Directly private minibuses, which you share with other travelers and are much more flexible. There's also regular buses Among the most important cities.

In Bali, a good idea is to hire a driver for several days in Bali, as transportation in vans that make trips throughout the island are quite difficult to understand. We recommend you do it with Routive.com, a Spanish company that in addition to offering super nice Spanish-speaking guides and speakers, they support you throughout your trip.

The ferry from Bali to the Gili or Lombok Islands It is better to hire it there in some agency and haggle, because it can cost half the price of what it would cost online. It usually includes pick-up at the accommodation (if you are in the southern half of Bali and relatively close to the departure ports). The round trip price can be around 600,000IDR. You can take a look at our article on how to get to Gili from Bali.

WHAT TO EAT

Although Indonesia is a huge country made up of thousands and thousands of islands, there are a number of popular recipes that share its success in any corner of the country. These are the 10 dishes you should try in Indonesia: nasi campur, nasi goreng, mee goreng, sate, gado gado, lumpia, bakso, kari ayam, pepes ikan and pisang goereng.

If you want to read more about these dishes, read our complete Indonesian gastronomic guide.

THE BEST AND THE WORST

This is one of our favorite sections, here we tell you anecdotes of the trip, personal sensations of the place, things that we have loved but also that we have not liked anything ... in short summary of our passage through Indonesia.

The best

• Having rented a motorcycle to explore Bali: it is the best way to get to know the island and escape the tourist circus
• The food, maybe the country where we have best eaten, especially in Bali. It deserves a chapter of eating around Asia sooo big hehe (it will come sooner or later it will come!)
• The Bromo, although it was a bit stressful tour (if you have not read the corresponding entry do not miss it that deserves ... hihi), the views of the sunrise are these that take away the hiccups!
• Having met the crab man in the Bromo, just kidding!
• Borobudur, although we have not liked anything how expensive it is to enter! But it is a magical place, perhaps after Bagan and Angkor the most impressive ...
• The monkey sitting and thoughtful (he would have to be thinking about something very important seen his face) that looked at the sea
• The breakfasts that are included in the accommodation: getting up and having a quick meal is very cool (especially the egg and cheese waffle of the tiffa losmen mmm)
• Watch the Champions League games of Barca and Madrid, despite the results, since it was in the company of Jogyakarta's family
• The trip with my friends Adela, Eva and Emily in February, while roby was lost in the mountains of Sapa I enjoyed some beautiful days!
• That roby would tell me: “Look for the town on the map: Selamat Datang"... selamat datang is written in every village in Indonesia and means" welcome! "

Worst

• The attempt to scam the bromine tour, in the end it worked out well, they even paid us € 6, hehe.
• Jakarta traffic: 2 hours and peak to travel about 15 km!
• The airport departure fee: 150,000 IRP each that did not sit well for us since we didn't have half a rupee hihi, holy ATMs! Upgrade: This rate as of February 2015 does not apply (it actually applies directly to the plane ticket, so you don't have to worry about paying it at the airport).
• Crush my foot in a parking lot in Bali, I think my left pinky has been cross-eyed.

Is Indonesia worth it?

As we say, it is a great country and just because of spending a week in Bali worth the trip. But Indonesia is much more than Bali, we also only discovered the island of Java but we promise to return to soak up this amazing country.

OUR ITEMS

These are the posts we have written:

• TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO INDONESIA (AND NOT FALLING IT)
• THE 15 BEST THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN CANGGU
• THE 8 BEST BEACHES OF BALI (FOR BATHING AND SURFING)
• TRAVEL GUIDE TO NUSA PENIDA: ALL THE INFO YOU NEED
• THE 20 BEST THINGS TO DO IN INDONESIA
• 7 RESTAURANTS WHERE TO EAT IN UBUD WELL AND CHEAP
• 20 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN UBUD
• GILI ISLANDS: TRAWANGAN, MENO, AIR WHAT TO CHOOSE?
• THE BEST TEMPLES OF BALI
• 10 DISHES YOU SHOULD TRY IN INDONESIA
• TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO BALI (AND DON'T FALL IT)
• WHAT TO DO IN THE GILI ISLANDS
• HOW TO GET TO THE GILI ISLANDS FROM BALI
• WHERE TO SLEEP IN GILI TRAWANGAN, MARTAS HOTEL
• VISAS FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA (FOR SPANISH CITIZENS)
• 35 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN BALI
• BOOK: MOTORCYCLE BALI GUIDE
• BALI TOP 10: THE BEST EXPERIENCES
• BALI TRAVEL GUIDE FOR BACKPACKERS
• RECIPES OF THE WORLD: BREGEDEL KENTANG
• INDONESIA TRAVEL GUIDE FOR BACKPACKERS
• FROM BATU CARAS TO JAKARTA: FROM TRANQUILITY TO CHAOS
• YOGYAKARTA, THE MEC OF BATIK
• BROMO: THE BEST DAWN OF INDONESIA (AND ITS TIMOS)
• BALI, THE ISLAND WITH PERSONALITY DISTURBES
• MOTORCYCLE DIARY IN BALI. PART II
• MOTORCYCLE DIARY IN BALI. PART I

OUR PICTURES

Here you have our Indonesian photo album!

And remember that at the end of each post there is useful information about each place!

We hope our travel guide to Indonesia for backpackers be useful to you For any doubt, question or curiosity do not hesitate to write to us and we will be happy to help you.

Video: Backpacking Around Indonesia (April 2024).