Indonesia Travel Guide
For many travellers, Indonesia means Bali, and for some that’s as far as they ever get. But there is so much more to Indonesia than Bali. With spectacular mountains, tropical rainforests, pristine beaches, active volcanoes, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and national parks teeming with wildlife, Indonesia is one of the most alluring countries in Southeast Asia.
Those attributes, combined with a cultural mix that has been shaped by many religions and a colonial era that lasted over three centuries, make Indonesia a rewarding destination for an extended visit by older travellers who have the time to explore this enormous archipelago.
Indonesia is a great destination for wildlife watchers. Image: © Petr Kabal
Indonesia is made up of more than 18,000 islands straddling over 5,000 km of the equator – a distance greater than the width of either the United States or Australia. It’s not a country that can be seen in a few weeks. It’s one of those destinations that you’ll need a few months to fully explore.
Aside from Bali, it’s also not a country that would be recommended for the first-time visitor to Asia, but more experienced travellers will have no difficulty getting around in Indonesia. There is an extensive network of air routes, trains, buses and ferries connecting all the major islands, although the safety records of some of those modes of transportation may make some travellers hesitant to go too far off the beaten track.
There are many different regional cuisines in Indonesia. Image: © Space Cat
Indonesia is predominantly Muslim but there are regions that follow other religions. For example, Bali is largely Hindu, East Nusa Tengarra is mostly Catholic and North Sulawesi is predominantly Protestant. It’s wise for travellers to familiarise themselves with the various cultural norms of the different regions of Indonesia when planning an extended stay in the country.
The different cultures and ethnic histories of the islands that make up the Indonesian archipelago means it’s a fascinating destination for food lovers. There are literally hundreds of regional cuisines, many indigenous based, whilst others have developed over hundreds of years with Indian, Dutch and Chinese influences. Indonesia has one of the lowest alcohol consumption rates in the world, being a predominantly Muslim nation, but it’s not difficult for tourists to find places to buy beers, wines and spirits — especially on Bali.
Bali & Lombok
The island of Bali is Indonesia’s most well-known tourist destination attracting more than six million visitors every year. Its capital, Denpasar, makes an ideal entry or exit point for any extended visit to Indonesia, given that there are direct flights to most Asian capitals as well as Australian and New Zealand cities, and some European capitals.
Unless you are looking for nothing more than a luxury beach and spa experience (in which case you need to travel no further than Nusa Dua, about 15 minutes from the airport), most older travellers head to Ubud, a village about an hour north of the capital that is recognized as the arts and cultural centre of Bali.
Rice terraces near the village of Ubud on Bali island. Image: © Diana Grytsku
Although Ubud can get overrun with day trippers from the busier resort areas like Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran, Benoa and Sanur during the day, it offers a respite from Bali’s urban frenzy during the early morning and evening hours. There are a wide range of accommodation options in and around Ubud to suit every budget from five-star resorts and private villas to modest B&Bs and homestays.
From Ubud it is easy to organise cars with drivers to visit nearby attractions such as the picturesque Tegalalang Rice Terraces and Sangeh Monkey Forest, or take day trips to explore parts of the island further afield. Ubud is home to many small art galleries, a large art market, health spas, cooking schools, and a myriad of excellent restaurants and coffee shops.
A day trip from Bali that many older travellers should enjoy is Nusa Lembongan, a picturesque island about 20 km offshore. You can choose between taking a fast ferry from Denpasar and then hiring a car and driver to tour the island, or you can get there at a more leisurely pace on a sailing boat or catamaran, some of which offer lunch and dinner cruises from Benoa with a stopover on Nusa Lembongan.
A pristine beach on Gili Meno off the coast of Lombok. Image: © Dima Fadee
East of Bali is the slightly smaller island of Lombok. Many describe it as what Bali was like before its tourist boom. The three small Gili Islands in the crystal clear waters off the northwest coast of Lombok are popular for snorkeling and diving, and two of them — Gili Air and Gili Meno — are great spots to chill out and feel like you have detached yourself from the rest of the world (the other Gili island is a party island for backpackers). There are no cars or motorbikes on the Gili Islands. You’ll need to hire a bike to get around or walk. Accommodation ranges from $30-a-night B&Bs to $300-a-night luxury resorts.
Still further to the east are the rest of the Lesser Sunda Islands including those that make up the Komodo National Park – home to about 6,000 Komodo dragons. These massive prehistoric-looking reptiles exist nowhere else in the world.
Java & Jakarta
To the west of Bali is the island of Java, home to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, and the world’s largest Buddhist temple, Borobudur. Java is where travellers usually spend most of their time outside of Bali. Jakarta is a congested traffic-choked city, but as you’ll likely be transiting through it several times if you are touring the country, it’s well worth spending a few days there to check it out.
Jakarta has an interesting old town (Kota Tua), museums where you can learn about Indonesia’s colonial history, an excellent National Gallery showcasing Indonesian art, many mosques and temples representing different religions, and some of the best value-for-money shopping and dining opportunities in Southeast Asia in both local markets and modern shopping malls.
The massive stupa of the ancient Borobudur Buddhist temple. Image: © Adel Newman
Borobudur is one of Indonesia’s most visited tourist attractions with about five million people a year climbing over this ancient stupa which is more than 1,000 years old. To avoid the crowds, it’s advisable to take one of the pre-dawn tours that enable you to view the sunrise from the upper terraces of the temple. It’s the only way these days to experience the pensive atmosphere of this iconic UNESCO World Heritage listed site.
The city of Yogyakarta provides an excellent base from which to explore both Borobudur and the nearby Prambanan temple which is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia and of a similar age to Borobudur. Prambanan is also on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Yogyakarta itself is worth spending a few days to explore. It’s known as the centre of Javanese culture, music, batik textiles and art, and home to some of Indonesia’s best universities and schools. There are some excellent accommodation options in and around Yogyakarta from small eco-resorts to five-star hotels, and some good eating places and handicraft shops around Malioboro Street near the Yogyakarta railway station.
The conical cone of Mount Merapi near Yogyakarta. Image: © Mohd Farid
There are many other cities, large and small, on Java that are worth visiting to experience regional variations of Javanese culture and cuisine, the most worthwhile being Bandung, Bogor, Malang, Semarang, Solo and Surabaya. The Bogor Botanical Gardens are world famous as they are the oldest in Asia and have been a centre of tropical plant research for more than 200 years. Whilst not as well maintained these days as the Singapore Botanic Gardens, they are nevertheless a relaxing place to spend half a day. Keen gardeners might also want to consider visiting the Cibodas Botanical Garden up in the mountains about 50 km southeast of Bogor where cooler climate plants are grown.
Java is also known for its picturesque conical volcanoes, some active and some dormant, from which the spectacular summit views can provide memories to last a lifetime. Many of these hikes are too strenuous for older travellers, but the Mt Bromo hike near Malang is one that can be tackled by anyone who is reasonably fit, as jeeps can be hired to take hikers to within two kilometres of the summit. The Mt Merapi hike near Yogyakarta is another that is not technically difficult but requires a higher level of fitness because the hike is fairly steep, climbing 1,300 metres on a path that is 3.5 kilometres long from the closest vehicle access to the summit.
Sumatra
The most westerly island in the Indonesian archipelago is Sumatra which is nearly four times as large as Java. It receives far fewer tourists than Bali or Java which is why it appeals to many older travellers who have been to all of the more popular tourist spots in Indonesia and are looking for destinations to get away from the crowds and tourist touts, and spend some time getting back to nature. Sumatra offers many such destinations as well as exposure to different cultures.
Many first-time travellers to Sumatra head to picturesque Lake Toba, a gigantic volcanic crater lake about five hours by road from Sumatra’s largest city, Medan. In the middle of the lake is an island about the size of Singapore called Samosir. The lake’s elevation at 900 metres above sea level means the cooler climate of Samosir and the surrounding mountains enables visitors to escape the heat and humidity of Sumatra’s lowlands. That is the region’s main attraction along with its low-cost accommodation options.
Toba Batak style roofs on a resort at Tuk-tuk on Samosir Island. Image: © e2dan
Samosir Island is the home of the Toba Batak ethnic people. The high-peaked roofs of their traditional houses are an architectural feature that is adopted by some of the hotels around the town of Tuk-tuk where most visitors to Samosir stay. Nearly all of the hotels in Tuk-tuk are 2-3 star budget hotels costing between $10 and $50 per night for a couple. Tours of the island can be arranged through any of the hotels. Check whether there are any Batak festivals on during the period of your stay – the ceremonial dancing and music has more of a Middle Eastern feel to it than other cultures in Indonesia.
Sumatra is home to 10 of the wildest national parks in the world which in turn are home to many endangered and rare species of animals including Sumatran tigers, rhinos, elephants, leopards and orangutans. They are a paradise for bird watchers too. The Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra and the Kerinci Seblat National Park in West Sumatra are the easiest to reach from the cities of Medan and Padang respectively. Treks and tours from one day to one week with guides can be booked from both cities.
Kalimantan & Sulawesi
Wildlife watchers also have many opportunities to hunt down animals (with their cameras of course) in Kalimantan which is the Indonesian part of the large island of Borneo. Kalimantan is even larger than Sumatra, and receives fewer visitors, so offers nature lovers the ability to get even more off the beaten track. The Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan is one of the best places in the world to see orangutans and proboscis monkeys in the wild. Two or three-day houseboat tours are a relaxing and safe way to see the wildlife in Borneo’s equatorial jungles.
If you prefer exploring cities, then Banjarmasin, located on the Barito River delta in South Kalimantan should be on your itinerary. It’s an interesting city because many of its homes are built on stilts over the water. The longboat canal tours are an easy and interesting way to explore the city. Another fascinating Kalimantan destination is Kakaban Island in East Kalimantan where you can swim in a lake with thousands of stingless jellyfish. It involves a lot of travel to get there, but it’s a unique experience and one of only two places in the world where you can do it.
Traditional ancestral houses called tongkonan on Sulawesi. Image: © Michal Knitl
East of Kalimantan is the large and strangely shaped island of Sulawesi that straddles both sides of the equator. Like Kalimantan, it’s a relatively undeveloped part of Indonesia. It tends to attract a few more international visitors than Kalimantan because of its many dive sites and four world-renowned marine parks. Sulawesi is also easier to get around as more English is spoken there, especially in the cities of Makassar and Manado which are the two principal entry points to Sulawesi.
Unlike the other major islands of Indonesia, there are no major tourist attractions on Sulawesi that attract large crowds, so it’s a part of the archipelago that will appeal those who enjoy ‘slow travel’, exploring places where there are few other tourists around, and interacting with the locals. That said, Tana Toraja (famous for its unusual death rituals) in the highlands of South Sulawesi and the village of Rammang Rammang (a relaxing getaway amidst beautiful limestone karst scenery) about 25 km from Makassar are two destinations that should not be missed by older travellers.
Best months to visit Indonesia
Indonesia is a tropical country so essentially has two seasons – a wet season and a dry season. However, as parts of the country are in both the northern and southern hemispheres, the rainy months vary a little between different parts of the country.
Most of the country and most of the places that are visited by travellers are south of the equator where the wettest months are October to April with January recording the highest rainfall figures. During the ‘dry season’ most parts of Indonesia still receive some rainfall, although the further east you go the drier the dry season months tend to be.
North of the equator in regions like North Sumatra, North Kalimantan and North Sulawesi the wet season starts earlier, often around September, and the so-called dry season months receive a lot more rain than in other parts of the country.
The temperature (daytime highs around 30-32 C) doesn’t vary much through the year in any part of the country. It varies more by elevation. So if you have difficulty in coping with tropical heat and humidity, it’s best to plan an itinerary that includes as many highland destinations as possible. And if you are planning to hike any volcanoes, you’ll need to pack warm clothing.
All factors considered, May to September are the best months to visit Indonesia but check the regional variations for the shoulder months because April is a relatively dry month in some places and October in others.
Currency and exchange rates
The rupiah is the currency of Indonesia. Its currency designation is IDR – not to be confused with the INR designation for the Indian rupee. The rupiah is considered one of the world’s weakest currencies having lost nearly half its value over the past 10 years. However, it’s been relatively stable over the past five years sitting at around 1,400 to 1,500 to the US dollar, although at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it did weaken for a while to over 1,600 to the dollar.
Banknotes are issued in dominations of IDR 1,000 to IDR 100,000. The highest value banknote is worth less than US$7 so be prepared to carry a lot of notes when travelling in Indonesia. You’ll need them in places away from cities or tourist centres where it may not be possible to access money changers or ATMs.
The 1,000 and 5,000 rupiah notes are similar in colour, but what usually confuses many older travellers are all the zeros on the notes. It’s a good idea to keep the 1,000 to 10,000 notes (effectively small change) in a separate pocket to the 20,000 to 100,000 notes. In 2020 the Indonesian central bank (Bank Indonesia) issued a new 75,000 denomination note that looks different to the other denominations because the ‘000’ numbers are shown in a much smaller font size. Try to obtain as many of these as possible when changing money because they are less likely to confuse and it’s easier to remember their value as they are worth roughly the equivalent of US$5 in your own currency.
You can exchange any hard currency into rupiah on arrival in Indonesia and freely exchange any notes not used back into your currency on departure, or use ATMs in the cities to withdraw money from your bank account or credit card. Don’t try buying rupiah outside of Indonesia because the exchange rate (if indeed you can find anywhere with rupiah to sell) won’t be good because of the risk that currency traders incur in holding rupiah.
As is the case in most other Southeast Asian countries, you should ensure that the currency notes you bring for exchange are clean, not torn and don’t have pencil or pen markings on them (because most money changers won’t accept those). Larger denomination notes will get the best exchange rates, and most city-based money changers will offer better rates than airport money changers.
While most money changers in Indonesia are honest, there have been a few reports of unscrupulous ones in tourist areas trying to short-change visitors through sleight of hand when counting out the large bundles of notes. So always check your notes before leaving the counter if the money changer hasn’t used a machine to count out bank-wrapped bundles or if you feel that there is anything ‘dodgy’ about the money changer you are using.
When travelling to highland areas, never leave the lowland cities without sufficient cash to tide you over until you return, because ATMs in some highland towns may not always be stocked with cash, and credit cards may not be accepted in more remote areas.
Header image: © Davide Angelini
