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Indonesia VacationsVacations in Indonesia

Get Around Indonesia By Bus

How about to get around Indonesia By Bus. There are two bus types in Indonesia, the non-air-conditioned bus (called as economy or non AC) and the air-conditioned bus (AC). If you are traveling in a larger group, you may have the air-conditioned rented bus which is especially provided for the tourists. The bus companies providea variety bus routes, either interprovincial or intercity.

Indonesian bus 300x214 Get Around Indonesia By Bus


Bus maintenance is poor, and drivers are often drunk, on drugs or just reckless. Long, overnight journeys are particularly dangerous. Guard your bags like a hawk. In the wilder parts of the country (notably South Sumatra), interprovince buses are occasionally ambushed by bandits.

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Get Around Indonesia By Train

Another on-road transportation mean that you can have is get around Indonesia by train. The train service will only be found in Java and certain parts of Sumatera. The trains across these two major islands in Indonesia are run by PT. Kereta Api. The network used for these train are old because they were built during the Dutch colonial. There are some new lines built since the Indonesian Independence, but due to the spotty maintenance and derailments, there are occasionally train accidents.

Indonesian Train 300x185 Get Around Indonesia By Train


Java by far has the best railway network, with trains connecting the capital city of Jakarta with other main cities, i.e. Surabaya both via Semarang on the north coast and via Yogyakarta and Solo through the southern main line. Bandung is connected to Jakarta by some 30 trains per day, and is itself connected to Surabaya through Yogyakarta. Bali has no railway lines, but there are trains from Surabaya to Banyuwangi, connecting with ferries to the island.

Sumatra’s networks are concentrated on the northern (around Medan) and the southern (Lampung to Palembang) parts of the island. Passenger trains on the island are much less frequent than in Java.

Type of service: Air-conditioned Eksekutif class, Bisnis, and Ekonomi classes are also available for the more budget-conscious traveler, but comfort and safety are noticeably less (due to congestion and length of travel time).

No sleeping car service is provided in Indonesia, and the best accommodation provided is air-conditioned, adjustable reclining seats in the Argo and other eksekutif class trains.

Ticket reservations can be made one month in advance, although generally tickets will still be available almost to the last minute. An exception is the very busy Lebaran season, in which time it is not advisable to travel due to the extremely high demand for tickets. No on-line ticket reservation is available, but availability can be gleaned on PT Kereta Api’s ticketing site.

The journey by taking trains in Java will commonly pass by scenic areas. Therefore, if you are not in hurry, you may consider taking the train. Even though it will be a longer journey, you will be able to enjoy the scenery along the way as the bonus. However, you must pay extra attention on your onboard goods, because there are many theft on the train who are in actions especially during the night trips.

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Get Around Indonesia By Plane

Indonesia is the largest archipelago country in the world, and the only option of rapid transportation is to get around Indonesia by plane, especially for a long distance trip. Garuda Air Lines, the state-owned domestic carrier, is known as the largest carrier In Indonesia. In the recent years, some lower cost competitors have been up spring, and among them, the famous ones are Air Asia, Lion Air, Mandala and Batavia Air. For the less popular routes, and also for the eastern routes of Indonesia, the plane services are taken by Merpati Air Lines, Sriwijaya Air Lines, Jatayu Air Lines, Air Fast Air Lines, and some other smaller ones. If you are going to a very remote destination, such as Papua’s settlements, you will not find any scheduled services. You will have to charter a small plane, or you may take a ride with the missionaries.

Indonesia Airplane 300x174 Get Around Indonesia By Plane


You need to be quite careful in taking certain carrier to get around Indonesia by plane, because some of them might not have good safety standards, and might also not punctual or even conduct frequent cancellations. There are some terrible plane crashes in the last few years, including Mandala, Adam Air and Lion Air. The planes used in these major airlines companies are commonly the plane made in the 1970s and 1980s. These planes are the flown ones from other operators, and unfortunately do not get a good maintenance. Among these companies, Garuda, Mandala, and Lion Air are the ones which just bought newest air craft directly from the manufacturers to replace the old ones in their fleet. Garuda and Air Asia are having the International standards, and are considered as the safest ones among many others. Taking a plane trip, even in the old aircraft, might be something much far comfortable regarding to the carnage of Indonesian’s roads. It is much safer as well, compared to taking the bus for the same distance trip.

Prices are low by international standards, with more or less any domestic return flight available for under US$100 even on short notice, and fares for a fraction of that if you plan ahead. The hardest part is often finding what carriers serve what route and making a reservation, as many companies have not yet discovered the joys of the Internet, much less set up online booking engines. When traveling off the beaten track, it’s imperative to reconfirm early and often, as frequencies are low and paid-up, occasionally even checked-in passengers are bumped off with depressing regularity if a VIP happens to show up. Make sure you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before the departure time, because airline staff often sell your seat to other passengers if you are late.

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