goingtobeijing

What is the best way to travel form Jakarta to Bali? I know I can fly or take a bus. Is it poosible to travel by boat? Please help, we have never been to Indonesia and don't know where to begin. How many days would fodorites recommend we stay in each place? Thanks for any help.

Spygirl

Well, hopefully, Going, you know about the Travel Warning on Indonesia, and that Jakarta is about the most dangerous place you could be traveling to, yes?

KimJapan

When we went last, we stayed one night in Jakarta and decided it wasn't for us and just went to the airport and bought a ticket to Denpassar. It was cheap, and were in Bali in under 3 hours from the time we bought the ticket. For me, Jakarta was just too much at the time...it was my first southeast Asian city and I wasn't prepared for the shock of seeing the huge gap between wealthy and "living in the sewer ditch" poor. Now that I've been to a few more places, I think I might someday like to try Jakarta again.

Bus...I wouldn't recommend it. It takes forever, drivers in southeast Asia in general are not known for their road safety. Plane will be faster and safer.

How long...how long do you have? The more time the better, right?

Kathie

I would suggest that you fly. Jakarta is not the easiest city in the best of times, and this is not the best of times in Jakarta. Flights are not very expensive and you'll want the most time you can get in Bali.

orgy7

CITILINK by Garuda is a low cost operator.

www.ga-citilink.com

lion air is another low cost airline

www.lionair.co.id

I personly don't know much about either of them

orgy7

I took a super lux bus from bali too jakarta 3 years ago it took about 24 hours, NOT FUN. but I did get too see lots of the coutry side. OHh and also saw a bus that just turned over.

marmot

Frankly, I wouldn't recommend going to Jakarta at all (and I live there!). It's a big, hot, dirty, polluted city without any real tourist attractions. If you have to connect through Jakarta, just keep going to Bali (or to Yogyakarta if you want to see some of Java.)

Do not take a bus, boat or train to get around Indonesia unless you are a real adventurer (or masochist) and have a lot of time on your hands. Flights are cheap and frequent. Between Jakarta and Bali (Denpasar) Garuda is best. Fares vary but there in the $US200 range roundtrip.

karenhogie

Forget Jakarta right now. If you do go, travel by air and only stay a few days. Keep a low profile and stay away from large public gatherings. I would stay in Bali at least 10 days.

kanadian45

MARMOT, it sounds like you're not very happy living in Jakarta. I wouldlove to trade places with you. I'm not looking forward to spending another freezing winter here in the Great White North. You can e-mail me if you [email protected]. I used to live in Jakarta too.

marmot

kanadian45, Actually I LOVE living in Jakarta; I just wouldn't recommend it as a good tourist destination. Or to paraphrase the old saw: it's a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there. I've been here nearly 10 years and although I love my home country (American) I'm not ready to go back yet.

LucyHo

Flying is the easiest way and also you won't have to spend too much, the flights are cheap.

h2babe

If you're looking for relaxation, Bali is where you need to spend most of your time in. I wouldn't recommend travelling by boat -plane is your best bet: it would be safer and faster. I'm an Indonesian-born American and used to live in Jakarta.

Jkt is fun and exotic, but it is a big city, very crowded, has pollution problems, and probably has one of the worst traffic jams among any other Southeast Asian countries.

Have fun, and be safe.