Entry requirements

Passport and visa requirements

Health precautions

Once in the country

Time and time difference

It is 01:27 AM in Jakarta (GMT+7 )

Summer time period

Map of the time zone

Type of climate

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Getting around

By road

The 500-km highway network surrounds mainly Java. The roads and highways are jammed but they are in good condition. Fuel supply is quite satisfactory despite a limited number of gas stations. In the event of an accident with corporal damage, the police must be called: indeed the local population is likely to become rather aggressive towards the person who is supposed to be responsible for the accident. A car insurance is not compulsory, but it is better to subscribe an insurance policy covering your liability as much as someone else's.

By rail

The density of the rail network is low. It is indeed limited to an East-West connection on Java island and to the crossing of some regions of Sumatra. Some lines (Jakarta-Bandung or Jakarta-Yogyakarta) have a certain tourist charm. However, comfort and speed are not the main assets.

By air

Find an itinerary

Eating

Culinary specialties

You will discover specialties such as those of the Toraja country, in Sulawesi, where porc and buffalo is roasted in bamboo pipes, generously poured over with tuak (alcohol of palm). In Kalimantan, you will enjoy the biggest river shrimps ever seen. However, generally speaking, the warung (cheap restaurants) or pasar malam (night shops) will serve you the usual food: Ayam goreng (chicken with fried rice), bakmi (rice noodles), babur ayam (usually sweet mushy, made of chicken, sticky black rice or mung beans), gado-gado (steamed soya shoots, accompanied with vegetables and a hot peanut sauce), krupuk (preparation based on shrimps and manioc flour, sliced and fried), nasi goreng (fried rice with vegetables or meat), satay (spicy kebab made of several sorts of meat and served with a peanut sauce), tropical fruits to profusion.

Dietary taboos

Culinary taboos vary with the practised religion.

Paying

Domestic currency

The currency is the Indonesian rupee (IDR).

To obtain domestic currency

To find out the locations of ATMs in Indonesia, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Speaking

Official language

Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia)

Other languages spoken

There are 583 dialects, and English is well spoken by the urban population.

Business language

English

Getting some knowledge

Free translation tools

Freedict.com - Free English-Hungarian-Indonesian dictionary
Indonesian Language Resources - Useful links for Indonesian-English translations
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Visiting

Highlights

Jakarta: the city counts 9 million inhabitants and extends over more than 25 km. Jakarta is the main economic heart of the country and a center for business. Formerly, it used to be a real miserable and ruined hell, but today the city wishes to stand as a modern and rapidly growing Asiatic major city. However, it still attracts thousand of miserable people and, once the centre is left, shanty towns can be seen. Listed as the most expensive and the most polluted town of Indonesia, Jakarta is sometimes compared with a " big durian ", this exotic fruit with a nauseous, unbearable smell to some people, but irresistible to others.

To be seen: the old Batavia (Kota), the most ancient and invaluable testimony of the Dutch presence in Indonesia, with the paved place, Taman Fatahillah, and the bridge of the chickens Market, dating from the XVII-th century; Sunda Kelapa's old port and its Makassar's magnificent schooners; Glodok, the district given to the Chinese in 1741; the national Museum, one of the most exceptional museums of Southeast Asia; Lapangan Banteng Square and the magnificent colonial architecture; the Wayang Museum. Street peddelers and night markets enable to eat at lower prices.

Jogjakarta: Daerah Istimewa (Jogjakarta's " special territory " ) constitutes the cultural centre of Java. The most active cultural, artistic and intellectual centre of the island, Jogjakarta (or " Jogja ", pronounce Djodja) counts 500,000 inhabitants who hang on proudly to their past and culture: the city is still under the custody of a sultan, whose fenced palace (kraton), where 25,000 persons live, constitutes the bastion of traditions and the proud of the palacial Javanese architecture with its magnificent halls, the vast courtyards and the pavilions.

Sumatra: four times bigger than Java, Sumatra is rich in natural resources, fauna, architectural treasures and traditional cultures.

Bali: tropical paradise of idyllic beaches, paddy-fields and luxuriant forests, in a 95% Hindu, the island has been turning into a purely tourist consumption place. However, it still shelters some unknown and put off places, and its culture is incredibly rich. In order to explore it, take the mountain roads. From Ubud, Bali's cultural heart, and you will be able to cross villages in its vicinity and discover their rich traditions in terms of dance, music and craft, their spectacular temples perched upon the sea and their magnificent coloured celebrations.

Nusa Tenggara (small islands of the Sonde): In Lombok, you will enjoy magnificent beaches and an impressive volcano, Gunung Rinjani, some beautiful local artcraft and a picturesque atmosphere, probably more relaxed than in Bali. Sumba will offer you a magnificent mixture of traditional culture and huge white sand beaches, still virgin.

Tourism organizations

http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/">