Indonesia is a vast and inspiring country to travel in, one of the last
bastions of truly remote travelling. Russ Brooks explains how to
prepare a budget for a country where prices vary wildly depending on
where you are..
Visas in Indonesia
Citizens of 64 countries
arriving in Indonesia at anyone of 20 international airports or 23
seaports may apply for a Visa on Arrival (VOA) from the Indonesian
Government. The cost of the VOA is $25USD – payable in US dollars cash
or Indonesian rupiah cash (no credit cards accepted) – and is valid for
30 days. It is possible to extend your VOA one time for an additional
30 days at any one of the country’s immigration offices located in most
major cities. Note that some offices take longer than others to process
and you should apply for the extension with a least a week left on your
current VOA. If you’re planning to stay longer,
multiple entry tourist visas
may be obtained outside of Indonesia and are valid for one year,however
you can’t stay longer than 60 (sixty) days in Indonesia at any point so
you must leave and return. The fee for a multiple entry visa is $100USD.
Indonesia Money – Rupiah and US Dollars
Indonesia’s currency is the rupiah and it’s roughly trading at about 11,000 to the USD and fluctuated around 1% during my time there. Coins
exist but are not frequently used as many vendors will simply round to
the nearest banknote, often in your favor, but occasionally not.
While I didn’t see many businesses openly advertising that they
accepted US dollars, most will roughly know the exchange rate and will
accept US dollars if needed, but don’t expect to get a good rate if you
need to use USD in a pinch.
ATMs and Currency Exchange in Indonesia
Since most people arriving in Indonesia will be arriving by plane,
obtaining rupiah on arrival at any airport is easy enough. There are
ATMs and currency exchange booths at every international airport and is
also available for exchange prior to flying in the airports in
Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur and most other connecting airports.
While the rate at airports is slightly (1-2%) lower than the published
rate, it’s usually a good idea to change a bit before leaving the
airport.
Most big cities will have myriad exchange booths and banks. In the
tourist areas beware of the booths located down alleyways advertising
extraordinary high rates in popular tourist areas as I heard more than
one story of problems and travellers being shortchanged. In small
communities and rural areas, exchanging foreign currency might be
challenging, so be prepared before setting out.
Indonesia has four state owned banks, BNI, BRI, BTN, and Bank
Mandiri. Most ATMs operate as kiosks or outside bank branches and
therefore are available 24 hours. Once you leave larger cities and
tourist areas, ATMs become more difficult to find, so be prepared
before you head off the beaten path by visiting an ATM.
Many ATMs will have a sticker on the front denoting the denomination
in which cash is provided, either 50,000 or 100,000 notes. While it
means more bills, try and stick to the 50,000 notes as it will save you
headaches in the future. The 100,000 rupiah note is often tough for
many business and vendors to break in many places so think ahead and
break them as often as possible at 7-11s or other larger businesses.
Trying to break one in a rural area can be a challenge sending a food
cart vendor scrambling around to borrow money from others to provide
change. Having many small bills are they key to easy purchases in
Indonesia.
Credit Cards in Indonesia
Credit cards are possible to use in most major cities and tourist
areas, but are rarely accepted in rural areas or with budget
accommodation operators. Wherever you are except for the most high-end
establishments, expect to be charged a 2-3.5% premium to use your card
as most businesses won’t pay the credit card’s fee. Visa and Mastercard
are king in Indonesia and while it’s possible to use American Express
in some places, it’s rare and the fee will be even higher.
Getting around in Indonesia Indonesia is comprised of
more than 17,000 islands with almost 1,000 of them inhabited. Mostly,
there are two ways to get from island to island, either take one of the
ferries that often run in between places or hop on one the many budget
airline that fly hundreds of routes within the country.
Flights
There are almost 70 major airports in Indonesia so flying can often be
the easiest way to get from island to island. It may also be the
cheapest as well as there are many budget airlines and it’s possible to
fly for as little as $25USD. You can check for flight times and prices
on flight aggregators like
Skyscanner.
However, one of the challenges to be aware of with flying in
Indonesia is that it’s not possible to book a flight online unless you
have an Indonesian credit card. Seek out local travel agents to book
your flights or just show up the day of your flight and book at the
airline’s ticket window. Make sure you give yourself enough time for
this, but I took dozens of flights in Indonesia and never had
difficulty getting a seat the day of the flight.
Ferries and Speedboats
The other option to get from island to island is by ship. Pelni is the
national shipping company of Indonesia and operates twenty-five
passenger ships that run a variety of routes between islands mostly on
a bi-weekly schedule. They have different levels of services from
air-con 2-person cabins to just space on the deck. Their website is out
of date and I’ve been told schedules change constantly and can be
difficult to obtain, but they are cheap and can be booked up to a week
in advance, so plan ahead if you’d like to travel by Pelni ferry.
Between the more common tourist destinations such as crossing from Java
to Bali or Bali to Flores there are private companies running ferries
and speedboats. Inquire with local travel agents to determine schedules
and prices.
Once on each island there are a number of different modes of
transport available. PT Kereta Api operates rail lines across most of
Java and some of Sumatra. Java has trains connecting the capital city
of Jakarta with other main cities such as Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and
Bandung while Sumatra has a few lines centered around Medan in the
north. Train travel is a great way to make your way across these
islands. There are also local and public buses that run between major
cities and points of interest. These range from high quality A/C buses
in places like Java to rickety minibuses in West Papua. Often public
buses aren’t always the cheapest or most efficient option for
transport, so also look into tourist shuttles as well as car and
motorbike rental. Most guesthouses will know the local transport
options and are happy to help arrange these services.
International Flights To Indonesia
As with domestic flights, there are a number of different routes to
enter Indonesia from abroad. There are many short flights to airports
around Indonesia from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore as well
as hundreds of longer distance flights from Asia and Europe into Bali
and Jakarta. Check
Skyscanner to compare numerous airlines and find the best prices.
Accommodation in Indonesia
Rooms in Indonesia can be had at all price levels and there are a number of different types of accommodations. Check
Agoda.com
for a wide array of hotels in Indonesia that you can book online –
prices range from budget guesthouses to luxury hotels. On the budget
end, hostels with dorms aren’t that prevalent, but there are losmen or
small budget hotels in all cities and in rural areas. Outside of major
tourist hubs and big cities rooms can be found for as little as 40,000
rupiah (4USD) but don’t expect much at that price except a bed. I found
that 75,000-100,000 (8-11USD) provided a nice, clean fan room in most
places, often with a private bathroom. Sometimes it was possible to
find rooms with more amenities at this price, but expect to spend a bit
more for air-con, hot water, and a TV. Many places provide breakfast
with the room as well. In the more popular tourist areas expect that
price to double for accommodations on the low end and expect the gap to
increase between services and value. At most places, depending on
vacancy and season, bargaining for the room price was possible and I
was often able to reduce the price. It is also quite common to ask to
see the room before booking as well and can be a good way to judge
what’s a fair price in a given place. There are a number of ways to
book arrangements online, but often the cheaper places do not have
websites and can be found by just walking around when you arrive in
town.
Food in Indonesia
Traveling across Indonesia, I met few people who raved about the food
as people often do after visiting Vietnam, Malaysia, and especially
Thailand and I found it to be basic and healthy. Indonesian dishes such
as nasi goring (fried rice), mie ayam (chicken noodle), mie goreng
(fried noodle), gado-gado (vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce
dressing), sate, and tempe (soy patty) are popular and available
everywhere in the country. While street food is possible to find in mid
to larger cities, warungs (small family restaurant/market) are the key
to easing cheaply with dishes often starting as low as 10,000-15,000
rupiah ($1-$1.50USD) and it’s easy to eat well on $5-7USD a day. In the
bigger cities and tourist areas there is cuisine from all around the
world at every price level.
Beer And Cigarettes In Indonesia Cigarettes are widely
available in Indonesia and everyone smokes everywhere. Prices ranged
slightly depending on what island I was on, but a pack of Marlboros
often was 10-15,000 rupiah a pack with most costing 12,000 rupiah
(1.35USD). Local Indonesian cigarettes could be bought cheaper,
anywhere from 4-9,000 depending on the brand.
While finding a beer that was truly cold outside the tourist areas
was challenging, and maddening at times, Bintang is the national beer
and is sold everywhere. Liquor is highly taxed in Indonesia and it’s
obvious in the prices. A small bottle or can of Bintang often went for
22-25,000 ($2.50USD) rupiah and a large bottle 35-37,000 rupiah
($4USD). Hard liquor is even more expensive with a mixed drink starting
at 60,000 rupiah ($6.75USD) in most places with a bottle of Absolut
costing in excess of 500,000 rupiah ($56USD) in a liquor store.
Tours & Activities
When it comes to booking tours and activities, prices vary widely. Do
your research and seek out quotes from different operators to make sure
the price you pay is fair. Travel agents will offer different prices
for the same activities so seek out other travelers to gets their
recommendations to make sure you book with a reputable vendor. Ask
questions about what to expect as the difference in price might be the
quality of transportation, how many people are on the tour or whether
or not they provide food. There are trips to the major sites at all
price levels and different levels of service.
There are so many different activities in Indonesia from taking a day-long trek in Bukit Lawang to see Orangutans ($25USD) or
two dives at the USS Liberty in Tulamben, Bali
($60USD) or visiting the world famous Borobudur Temple ($13USD). With
each of these activities I saw different prices and different levels of
service as the accompanying good and bad stories in the bars afterwards.
The Internet in Indonesia
While not the fastest or most reliable in Southeast Asia, the internet
is widely available in most areas of Indonesia. Rates in Indonesia at
Internet cafes are extremely cheap, even in the more touristy areas.
I’ve seen them as low as 200 rupiah/minute ($.02) in many places. Wifi
is also very easy to find and many guesthouses, hotels and restaurants
offer it for free to their customers. While I carried a laptop with me,
during my time in Indonesia I never paid for internet usage and was
surprised at how easy it was to find free wifi.
Mobile phones in Indonesia
Mobile phones are almost as ubiquitous as cigarettes in Indonesia and
there’s rarely a small town or island that doesn’t have service. There
are two predominate companies, Telkomsel and XL. Both are available as
a prepaid service and finding sim cards is as simple as walking into
7-11, Circle K, or an Indomaret store. Prices for the sim card should
be around 2,000 rupiah ($.20) and with fairly high voice and data use,
100,000 rupiah ($11USD) lasted me almost a month. You’ll also find many
warungs in small villages sell “top-up” cards as well. If you have a
smart phone and want to get data, you’ll need to inquire within a
mobile phone store in a larger city to get the proper settings. During
my travels I used both Telkomsel and XL and found the rates to be
similar and while both worked well, Telkomsel had greater 3G coverage
and worked more often in far-flung rural areas.
Daily Budget for Indonesia
Indonesia is a difficult place to nail down a daily budget as the
country is so diverse and a budget that will work for traveling just
through rural Sumatra may not work for one spent on the beaches in
Bali. Also, your budget will depend on how much distance you’d like to
cover as Indonesia is bigger than you’ll think and transportation costs
can skew your budget.
Overall, $20-25 USD a day for a solo, bare budget backpacker is
quite doable an will get you basic accommodations, 3 meals and a few
beers or transport everyday, but will be stretched in the highly
touristed areas or if you plan to move around frequently. Couples
shouldn’t spend much more since most accommodations are guesthouses and
losmens and therefore charge the same price if there are 1 or 2
occupants. Couples can get by on $30-35 USD a day.
If you increase those figures by half as much, you can travel quite
comfortably and move about quite freely. Indonesia is slowly becoming
more expensive as tourists discover more of Indonesia, but cheap food,
transport, and accommodation are still widely available if you don’t
mind basic accommodations, stick to your budget, and bargain
respectfully for prices. In tourist areas, bargaining is more difficult
and higher prices are quite common because hotels and vendors know
there are people who will pay those prices without question, so walking
around to find the best deal becomes even more necessary.
Lastly, also remember that Indonesia in most areas is very poor and
doesn’t see many travellers, so know that the 10,000 or 20,000 rupiah
you haggle for means much more to them than it probably does to you. I
found that a smile and joke goes much further than a hard charging
bargainer and especially in the homestays, the difference was being
included in the family’s activities and lifestyle which was worth way
more than the few dollars I could have saved by bearing down.
Source: travelhappy
