Jakarta to Bali
 

I will be visiting Indonesia and Bali next month and was wondering about the best way to get from Jakarta to Bali. Plane, bus, train, ferry? Any recommendations on places to see along the way would be appreciated. Also, my travelling partner and I are Asian-American and I am a little worried about possible anti-Chinese sentiment throughout the country (excluding Bali). I understand that the Jakarta riots were in 1998 (quite a number of years ago) however I do want to be aware of any potential risks of related hostility.

You should not worry a/ the anti-Chinese sentiment in Jakarta. It sounds really bad but actually it is not that bad.
Definitely take the plane from Jakarta-Bali. The airlines are competing so badly, you'd get a good deal on the plane tix. Bus/train will take you more than 20 hrs in land, while with plane you could get there in less than 2hrs. Hope this helps. Enjoy Bali!

I took the 24 hour bus form bali too jakarta and it sucked. actually the busses were very good and spaciouse but the 24 hour things just beet me up. Take the plane unless your on a strict budget.

to p3t0t:
which are the airlines options from jakarta to Bali? I usuually fly Jal because i have had bad experience w/ garuda. which is a good site where i could book accomodations?
thanks,
mohan

You should definitely fly from Jakarta to Bali. If you're already in Indonesia you must fly a local carrier. Among the Indonesian choices Garuda is the best option. They're still a third world airline, but they've improved a lot over the years.

There are over 10 million ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. The instances of anti-Chinese sentiment are very rare. Don't worry.

If you have time to visit Yogyakarta, Borobudur is worth it. You can fly to Yogya then continue on by airplane to Bali.

In 2001 I flew Garuda from Bali to Jakarta. My flight got cancelled, and there was a flight leaving within an hour that they didn't offer, but when I saw the board and that there was a flight leaving within an hour I asked about it and they put us on that flight. Surprising since the flight was 3/4 empty in coach. They wanted to put us on a flight 2 hour later. I don't know what they were thinking.
The plane itself was nice. Very new feeling plane. An Airbus A300 or A330 or something. I thought the flight was expensive (approx. $150-200) for such a short flight that was domestic no less.

As far as anti-Chinese sentiment. I didn't feel any. I'm Chinese-American and my girlfriend was Korean-American. Although most of the time in Jakarta was for business and a wedding, so except for a short trip to the Plaza Senayan Mall, and a short visit to the PC expo at the convention center, I spent alot of time in the hotel. Most of the big anti-Chinese violence was during the overthrow of the Suharto government in 1998. It was chaotic then and it was a riotous mob situation. I think under normal circumstances you don't have to worry. In Bali however, I was asked by a snorkelling company employee, if I was Chinese. I thought it was a weird question to ask straight out in the beginning.

However, as a cultural note, their is a very visible economic class distinction between ethnic Chinese and Indonesians. One good example you'll see in Jakarta while travelling by street is that many Chinese are driven around in BMW's, by their personal drivers, while the Indonesians are crowded on a non-AC public bus. There are other examples of course, but this one you can't miss.

Fly to Bali check Garuda web site , also Citi link( tickets are cheaper and the planes are smaller I think 50 pax).Citi Link is own and operated by Garuda . Citi link has a web site but not working well.www.garuda-indonesia.com and www.ga-citilink.com.
Buy with Travel agent in Indonesia or at arrival in Jakarta airport

There are a number of small airlines in Indonesia. None are particularly good. Overall, you are best off with Garuda, as bad as it is. The smaller airlines mostly have VERY old planes (I saw old dc3s a few years back that were still being used!). Some of the smaller ailriles fly only little planes - "puddlejumpers." I always check to see what kind of aircraft an airline uses before I book.

Citilink from Jakarta to Den Pasar use Fokker 27 or Boing 737. It is Garuda .Check www.ga-citylink.com
I used it for DPS to Lombok DPS in 2002 and 2003.