Welcome to Beautiful Indonesia

Welcome to Beautiful Indonesia

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world that straddles the Equator between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. While it has land borders with Malaysia to the north as well as East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the east, it also neighbors Australia to the south, and Palau, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand to the north, India to the northwest.

Indonesia is the sleeping giant of Southeast Asia. With 18,110 islands, 6,000 of them inhabited, it is the largest archipelago in the world. With well over 230 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world — after China, India and the USA — and by far the largest in Southeast Asia. Indonesia also has the largest Muslim population in the world.

Indonesia markets itself as the ultimate in diversity, and the slogan is quite true, although not necessarily always in good ways. Indonesia's tropical forests are the second-largest in the world after Brazil, and are being logged and cut down at the same alarming speed. While the rich shop and party in Jakarta and Bali, after decades of economic mismanagement, 53% of the population earns less than US$2/day. Infrastructure in much of the country remains rudimentary, and travelers off the beaten track (pretty much anywhere outside Bali) will need some patience and flexibility.

The Indonesian people, like any people, can be either friendly or rude to foreigners. Most of the time, though, they are incredibly friendly to foreigners who make it off the beaten track.

Cities and Popular Destinations in Indonesia

Cities and Popular Destinations in Indonesia

Cities

* Jakarta - the perennially congested capital which is also the largest city of the country
* Bandung - university town in the cooler highlands of Java
* Banjarmasin - the largest town on Kalimantan
* Manado - Christian town at the northeastern tip of Sulawesi, famous for diving
* Medan - the main city of Sumatra
* Semarang - the capital of Central Java, with a blend of Javanese, Chinese, and Dutch influences
* Surabaya - Indonesia's second largest city
* Ujung Pandang (Makassar) - the gateway to Sulawesi
* Yogyakarta - Java's cultural hub and the access point to the mighty temples of Prambanan and Borobudur

Popular destinations in Indonesia

The following is a limited selection of some of Indonesia's top sights.

* Anyer - Beach in Banten province, near Mt. Krakatau, Lesung Cape, and Ujung Kulon National Park.

* Baliem Valley - the home of the famous penis-gourded Dani warriors. Located in Papua province.

* Borobudur - A largest Buddhist temple in the world. Located in Central Java province. This is the place which is Indonesia's most visited site.

* Bunaken - One of the best scuba diving destinations in Indonesia, if not the world. Located in North Sulawesi province.

* Komodo National Park - The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar. Komodo is the biggest reptile in the world, which only be found in this national park. Located in Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara province.

* Lake Toba - The largest volcanic lake in the world. There is a large island in it, Samosir island. Located on North Sumatra province.

* Mount Bromo - Some of the scariest volcanic scenery on the planet. One of the best locations in the world to see sunrise. Located in East Java province.

* Prambanan - A collection of massive Hindu temples built by the 10th century Mataram Kingdom, in Central Java province.

* Tana Toraja - Highland area of South Sulawesi province famed for their extraordinary funeral rites.

How to get to Indonesia

How to get to Indonesia

Dealing with Imigrasi serves as a useful introduction to the Byzantine complexity of Indonesia's bureaucracy. The long and short of it, though, is that most Western travelers can get a visa on arrival for US$10/25 at most common points of entry (Java, Bali, etc), so read on only if you suspect that you don't fit this description.

There are three ways of entering Indonesia:

* Visa-free. Show your passport, get stamped, that's it. Applies only to a few select countries, mostly in ASEAN.
* Visa on arrival. Pay on arrival, get a visa in your passport, get it stamped, that's it. Most visitors fall in this category.
* Visa in advance. Obtain a visa at an Indonesian embassy before arrival.

One peculiarity to note is that visa-free and visa-on-arrival visitors must enter Indonesia via specific ports of entry. Entry via other ports of entry will require a visa regardless of whether you are a visa-free or visa-on-arrival national or otherwise.

Customs in Indonesia is usually quite laid-back. You're allowed to bring in one liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 100 gm of tobacco products, and a reasonable quantity of perfume. Amounts of money carried in excess of 10 million Rupiah, or the equivalent in other currencies, have to be declared upon arrival or departure. In addition to the obvious drugs and guns, importing pornography and fruit, plants, meat or fish is (technically) prohibited. Indonesia imposes the death penalty on those caught bringing in drugs.

Indonesia Immigration maintains its own website [2], but the following is based on data from the Indonesian Embassy in London [3], which seems to be the most comprehensive.

Visa-free entry

Nationals of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile, Morocco, Peru, and Vietnam are given visa-free entry facility for maximum of 30 days. They cannot extend their stay and cannot convert their visa-free status to any other visa status.

Visa-free entries are only permitted via the following ports of entry:

* Airports: Juanda (Surabaya, East Java), Adi Sumarno (Solo, Central Java), El Tari (Kupang, West Timor), Hang Nadim (Batam, Riau Islands), Hasanuddin (Makasar, South Sulawesi), Husein Sastranegara (Bandung, West Java), Ngurah Rai (Denpasar, Bali), Polonia (Medan, North Sumatra), Sam Ratulangi (Manado, North Sulawesi), Selaparang (Mataram, Lombok), Sepinggan (Balikpapan, East Kalimantan), Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta), Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (Palembang, South Sumatera), Sultan Syarif Kasim II or Simpang Tiga (Pekanbaru, Riau), Supadio (Pontianak, West Kalimantan) and Minangkabau International Airport (Padang, West Sumatera).

* Seaports: Bandar Seri Udana Lobam (Batam, Riau Islands), Belawan (Medan, North Sumatra), Bitung (Manado, North Sumatra), Lembar (Mataram, Lombok), Nongsa Terminal Bahari (Batam, Riau Islands), Sekupang (Batam, Riau Islands), Sri Bayintan (Tanjung Pinang, Bintan, Riau Islands), Tanjung Balai Karimun (Karimun, Riau Islands), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya, East Java), Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Bandar Bintan Telani Lagoi (Bintan, Riau Islands), Batu Ampar (Batam, Riau Islands), Benoa (Bali), Dumai (Riau), Lhokseumawe (North Sumatra), Marina Teluk Senimba (Batam, Riau Islands), Padang Bai (Bali), Selat Kijang (Bintan, Riau Islands), Tanjung Mas (Semarang, Central Java), Tanjung Pinang (Bintan, Riau Islands) and Tenau (Kupang, West Timor).

* Land crossing: Entikong (West Kalimantan-Sarawak border).

Visa on arrival

All visitors entering Indonesia by way of visa-on-arrival must have a return ticket out of the country on their person when passing through immigration into the country. (E-tickets are acceptable.) This is checked fairly often, and visitors without one may be deported — although more commonly the problem can be solved with a suitable "fine".

Visas on arrival can issued to nationals of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and USA for a maximum of 30 days. A visa-on-arrival is not extendable and cannot be converted into any other type of visa. However, obtaining a visa from an Indonesian embassy or consulate before traveling is also possible and will allow you to skip some lines on entry.

Visa-on-arrival are only available at the following:

* Airports: Juanda (Surabaya, East Java), Adisutjipto (Yogyakarta, Java), Adi Sumarmo (Solo, Central Java), El Tari (Kupang, West Timor), Halim Perdanakusuma (Jakarta), Hassanudin (Makasar, South Sulawesi), Ngurah Rai (Denpasar, Bali), Polonia (Medan, North Sumatra), Sam Ratulangi (Manado, North Sulawesi), Selaparang (Mataram, Lombok), Sepinggan (Balikpapan, East Kalimantan), Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta), Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (Palembang, South Sumatera), Sultan Syarif Kasim II (Pekanbaru, Riau) and Minangkabau International Airport (Padang, West Sumatera).

* Seaports: Bandar Bentan Telani Lagoi (Bintan, Riau Islands), Bandar Seri Udana Lobam (Bintan, Riau Islands), Batu Ampar (Batam, Riau Islands), Belawan (Medan, North Sumatra), Benoa (Bali), Bitung (Manado, North Sulawesi), Jayapura (Papua), Marina Teluk Senimba (Batam, Riau Islands), Maumere (Flores, East Nusa Tenggara), Nongsa (Batam, Riau Islands), Padang Bai (Bali), Pare-Pare (South Sulawesi), Sekupang (Batam, Riau Islands), Sibolga (North Sumatra), Soekarno Hatta (Makassar, South Sulawesi), Sri Bintan Pura (Tanjung Pinang, Bintan, Riau Islands), Tanjung Balai Karimun (Karimun, Riau Islands), Tanjung Mas (Semarang, Central Java), Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Teluk Bayur (Padang, West Sumatra), Batam Centre (Batam, Riau Islands), Tenau (Kupang, West Timor) and Yos Sudarso (Dumai, Riau).

Note the slight difference between the visa-free and visa-on-arrival lists and the absence of Entikong for visa-on-arrival visitors.

Visa on arrival fees: As of April 2008, visa on arrival fees are US$10 for a stay up to 7 days, and US $25 for a stay up to 30 days. Exact change in dollars is recommended, although a selection of other major currencies (including rupiah) are accepted, and any change will be given in rupiah. Credit cards are accepted in Bali, but don't count on this elsewhere.

How to get visa on arrival: At the above airports/seaports, the following procedure should be followed to get your visa on arrival.

1. Before arriving, fill in the arrival/departure card. This card will be your visa application form.
2. When you arrive, go to the bank counter and pay the required amount for your visa. You will be issued a bar-coded receipt.
3. Take the receipt to the Visa on Arrival counter where your arrival/departure card, passport and receipt will be recorded by the officer. A visa sticker will be issued and stuck in your passport.
4. Proceed to the immigration counter for your passport to be stamped.

As always, there may be variations to this layout, especially at the smaller points of entry. Bank and visa counters may be placed together. Anyhow, your visa must be applied for before you reach the immigration counter.


Visa before arrival

Nationals of countries not listed above, and visitors wishing to stay for more than 30 days are required to apply for visas through the nearest Indonesian Embassy or consulate. Single-entry visas are valid for 60 days and fairly routine if pricy at US$50-100, but multiple-entry visas (quite convenient esp. for visiting East Timor) are generally difficult to obtain and very expensive at US$200. Visa applications will usually take at least one week to be processed.


By plane

The two main international airports are Soekarno-Hatta (CGK) at Tangerang, Banten, near Jakarta, and Ngurah Rai (DPS) at Denpasar, Bali. There are however many cities which have air links with neighbouring countries which can be interesting and convenient entry points into Indonesia. They include: Medan with flights to/from Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well as Singapore; Pekanbaru in Sumatra with flights to/from Malacca, Malaysia and Singapore; Padang in Sumatra with flights from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore; Palembang in Sumatra with flights from Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru in Malaysia as well Singapore; Pontianak in West Kalimantan to/from Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia ; Tarakan in East Kalimantan to/from Tawau in Sabah, Malaysia; Manado in North Sulawesi to/from Davao in the Philippines and Singapore; and Kupang in West Timor to/from Darwin in Australia, and Dili, East Timor.

Currently all Indonesian airlines are on the European Union black list and barred to fly to Europe. Therefore travellers can't buy tickets for internal Indonesian flights in Europe. Several travel agencies organise tickets through subsidiaries outside the EU but it's still combined with hassles.

Garuda Indonesia [4], the state airline, provides links to Asian and Australian destinations and while its planes are a bit tatty, they are a fairly safe and often a cheap option.

Travel to Indonesia from America costs around US$1000. As travel from most of Europe or anywhere in the USA will take over 20 hours, many flights stop in Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei or Singapore before arriving in Jakarta. Sydney, though, is just 6-8 hours away.

The fares for flying within the Southeast Asia region have gone down a lot with the advent of low cost carriers. Among them are Air Asia [5], Tiger Airways [6] and Jetstar Asia/Valuair [7].


By boat

Ferries connect Indonesia with Singapore and Malaysia. Most connections are between ports in Sumatra (mostly in Riau and Riau Islands provinces) and those in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, although there is also a ferry service between Malaysia's Sabah state with East Kalimantan on Borneo. Onward boat connections to Jakarta and other Indonesian islands are available from these ports. See the pages for each city for more details.

From Singapore

* Frequent ferries to/from the various ports of Batam (Sekupang, Batu Ampar, Nongsa, Marina Teluk Senimba and Batam Centre).
* Frequent ferries to Tanjung Pinang and Bandar Bintan Telani Lagoi (Bintan Resorts) on Bintan.
* Several ferries daily to/from Tanjung Balai in Karimun Island.
* One daily ferry, increasing to two during weekends, to/from Tanjung Batu in Kundur Island.

Please note that Tanjung Batu is NOT a visa-free or visa-on-arrival port of entry. There may however be exceptions for visa-free visitors.

From Peninsular Malaysia

* Daily ferries run from Penang to Belawan, the port for Medan, Sumatra.
* Daily ferries go from Port Klang near Kuala Lumpur to Dumai in Riau, Sumatra and Tanjung Balai Asahan in North Sumatra.
* Daily ferries between Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan and Dumai in Riau province, Sumatra.
* Daily ferries link Malacca with Dumai and Pekanbaru in Riau province, Sumatra.
* Frequent ferries go from Kukup, Johor to Tanjung Balai on Karimun Island in the Riau Islands.
* Frequent ferries link the Johor Bahru with Batam and the capital of Riau province Tanjung Pinang at the Island Bintan in the Riau Islands.
* Regular ferries also link Tanjung Belungkor in Johor with Batam.

Please note that Tanjung Balai Asahan is NOT a visa-free or visa-on-arrival port of entry. There may however be exceptions for visa-free visitors.

From Sabah, Malaysia

* Daily ferries link Tawau with Nunukan and Tarakan, both in East Kalimantan province on Borneo.

Please note that Nunukan and Tarakan are NOT visa-free or visa-on-arrival ports of entry. Again, there may be exceptions for visa-free visitors.

By land

From East Timor: The main crossing is at Mota'ain between Batugade in East Timor and Atambua, West Timor.

From Malaysia: The only formal way to enter by land from Malayia is at the Entikong-Tebedu crossing between West Kalimantan and Sarawak, Malaysia on Borneo. The crossing in on the main route between Kuching, (Sarawak) and Pontianak, the capital of (West Kalimantan). As the crossing is listed only as a visa-free entry point, nationalities who do not qualify for this will have to apply for visas beforehand.

From Papua New Guinea: The only recognized crossing into Indonesia is at Wutung, between Vanimo in Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea, and Jayapura, the capital of Indonesian Papua.

Note: It is not guaranteed that you will be able to enter Indonesia through these crossings and non-Indonesians are required to apply for visas at the nearest Indonesian Embassy or Consulate.