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AIR: Indonesia
has a good internal air system linking most of the larger
towns to Jakarta. Domestic flights from Jakarta depart
from Terminal 1 at Soekarno Hatta International Airport
(except Garda Airlines flights, which leave from Terminal
2). Domestic operators include: Bouraq Indonesia Airlines
(BO), Garuda Indonesia (GA), and Merpati Nusantara Airlines
(MZ).
Cheap fares: The Asean Air Pass
offers special fares on domestic flights and gives access
to varying numbers of cities depending on the ticket bought.
Passes must be bought at Garuda Indonesia offices in Europe,
USA, Australia and Japan (not available inside Indonesia).
For prices and further information contact Garuda Indonesia
on (tel: (020) 7486 3011; fax: (020) 224 3971).
Departure tax: Rp11,000 if departing
from Jakarta airport. Rp9900 if departing from all other
airports (infants under the age of 2 are exempt).
SEA: PELINI, the state-owned
shipping company, has six modern ferries serving all the
main ports across the archipelago. Foreign cruise liners
also operate on an irregular basis. Luxury cruise ships offer
trips to various destinations, including the eastern islands
(leaving from Bali). For further details, contact the Indonesia
Tourism Promotion Office (see Contact Addresses section).
RAIL: Children under
three travel free. Children aged three to seven pay half
fare. There are nearly 7000km (4350 miles) of track on Sumatra,
Madura and Java. In Sumatra trains connect Belawan, Medan
and Tanjong Balai/Rantu Prapet (two or three trains daily)
in the north, and Palembang and Panjang (three trains daily)
in the south. An extensive rail network runs throughout Java.
The Bima Express, which has
sleeping and restaurant cars, links Jakarta and Surabaya;
there are also other express services. There are three classes
of travel, but first-class exists only on principal expresses.
There is some air-conditioned accommodation.
ROAD: Traffic drives
on the left. There are over 378,000km (234,360 miles) of
roads in the country, of which about 28,500km (17,670 miles)
are main or national roads and 200km (125 miles) are motorway.
Nearly half of the network is paved. There are good road
communications within Java and to a lesser extent on Bali
and Sumatra.
The other islands have poor
road systems, although conditions are improving with tourism
becoming more important. Road tolls are in operation on some
major city roads and need to be paid for by visitors if using
a taxi. Chauffeur-driven cars are widely available, with
rates varying according to the type of destination.
Bus: There are regular services
between most towns. Bus trips can be made from Jakarta to
Bali (two days). Indonesia is the land of jam karet (literally ‘rubber
time’) and complicated journeys involving more than
a single change should not be attempted in a day. Bus fares
are about the same as third-class rail. Vehicles can be extremely
crowded, although many of them are air-conditioned. The crew
includes three conductors who also act as touts. There are ‘Bis
Malam’ night-buses on a number of routes, running in
competition with the railways. Pre-booking is essential.
Special ‘travel minibuses’ offering a door-to-door
service are also available in cities and major tourist areas.
Visitors should note that Indonesian bus drivers are notorious
for reckless driving.
Taxi: Widely available in most
large cities and some smaller towns. Metered taxis are usually
only found in the main cities and major tourist areas. Taxi
drivers do not always know how to get to the desired destination
and passengers may have to tell them. Like all public transport
vehicles, taxis have yellow number plates (for private and
rented vehicles, the number plates are black, while government
vehicles have red plates).
Car hire: Car hire is available
from a number of companies and from taxi firms, some of which
also provide a limousine service. Documentation: An International
Driving Permit is required.
Alternative Transport: There
are two forms of tricycle rickshaws available in Indonesia:
the motorised version is called bajaj (pronounced ‘baj-eye’),
which is a bright orange colour and seats two passengers,
with the driver in front; and the becak (pronounced ‘be-chak’)
is pedal-powered by a rider sitting behind a maximum of 2
passengers. Fares should be negotiated in advance. Rickshaws
are an extremely popular and cheap form of transport and
can be hired almost everywhere (though becaks have now been
banned from the Jakarta city centre).
Motorcycles and bicycles can
be rented on a daily or weekly basis; for motorcycles, an
international driving licence is recommended and a helmet
should be worn. Bemos and Colts are small buses, seating
up to ten people, and can be chartered on a daily or weekly
basis for travel away from the city centres; fares should
be negotiated in advance. Horse carts may still be hired
in rural areas (though they are no longer available in Jakarta).
URBAN: Jakarta is the
only city with an established conventional bus service of
any size. Double-deckers are operated.
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