UK citizens need a visa for Indonesia. It can be
obtained on arrival at all major airports and some seaports, including
Belawan. See
www.indonesianembassy.org.uk.
Page last
updated:
17 January 2012
Java
Train
& ferry links between Sumatra, Java & Bali...
A train system
links most main cities in Java, including Jakarta and
Surabaya via several different routes. Bookings are
computerised, and can be made up to 30 days in advance.
Indonesian trains run on narrow-gauge 3' 6" tracks.
For train times and fares
on Java, see the Indonesia Railways website
www.kereta-api.co.id. Hints for using
this system:
There used to be
an English
button at bottom right, but the latest incarnation of
their site is in Indonesian only. However, you can use
the journey planner on the right to check train times and
fares, with little knowledge of Indonesian required.
The Google Chrome browser will translate anything you don't
understand.
The main
stations in Jakarta are Jakarta Gambir, often just written
as 'Gambir', close to the centre of the modern city, and Jakarta Kota, often written as
'Jakaratakota', closer to the old colonial city centre.
There are two
main stations in Surabaya, Surabaya Gubeng and Surabaya
Pasar Turi. Gubeng is more central, Pasar Turi is
slightly to the north.
Indonesian
trains have three classes, Executive (Eksecutif), Business
(Bisnis) and Economy (Ekonomi). Executive is spacious
and air-conditioned, seat reservation is compulsory.
Business class is not air-conditioned, seat reservation is
compulsory. Economy is not air-conditioned, it can be
crowded, and seat reservation is not possible except on a
handful of very long-distance trains.
Confusingly,
the system shows fares in the search results for the whole
journey of the train in question, not just for the stretch
you've asked for. This is why different trains appear
to charge different prices!
Trains are often
identified by name rather than number. Trains with
'Argo' in the name are the best services, and are Executive
class only.
How to buy
tickets...
You can't
buy tickets online, at least not from outside Indonesia.
Just buy your tickets at the station. You'll often
find a big station has separate booking windows for
long-distance tickets. At Surabaya Gubeng for
example, there is a reservation centre for long-distance
tickets on the left side of the station, separate from
the short-distance ticket windows near the station
entrance. You may be asked to fill in a little
chit to take to the ticket window with journey, date,
train name, class, number of passengers and name.
Booking
for Indonesian long-distance trains opens 30 days ahead.
Normally it's not hard to buy tickets, but trains get
busy around Chinese new year and particularly busy
around the Islamic national holiday of Idul Fitri (Eid)
at the end of Ramadan when trains can sell out weeks
ahead.
Lots of trains
link Jakarta with Surabaya, via at least two major routes,
but the best
Jakarta-Surabaya train is the 'Argo Bromo Anggrek' service, which is
Executive class only, modern and air-conditioned, snacks and
mineral water included in the fare. It has comfortable reclining seats
with footrests. There is both a daytime service and a
time-effective overnight service. However, the night
trains no longer have sleepers, just seats.
Jakarta ► Surabaya
Surabaya ► Jakarta
Train number:
2
34
4
Train number:
1
33
3
Classes:
Eks
Eks
Eks
Classes:
Eks
Eks
Eks
Jakarta Gambir depart
09:30
17:00
21:30
Surabaya Pasar Turi depart
08:00
-
20:00
Surabaya Gubeng arrive
|
05:44
|
Surabaya Gubeng depart
|
17:00
|
Surabaya Pasar Turi arrive
19:30
-
07:30
Jakarta Gambir arrive
17:54
05:39
05:52
Trains 1,
2, 3 & 4 are the Argo Bromo Anggrek, Eksekutif class
only, fully air-conditioned.
Trains 33 & 34 are the Bima, Eksekutif class only, fully
air-conditioned.
There are no sleepers on the overnight trains,
unfortunately, only reclining seats.
Fare: 305,000 Rupiah (£23 or $37) one-way in
Eksekutif class,
snacks & mineral water included.
The distance is 725 km (450
miles). You can check train times and fares (in
Indonesian only) using the journey planner at
www.kereta-api.co.id.
An
Eksecutif class car on an Argo train...
Photo
courtesy of Indonesian young railfans community
Eksecutif class seating on an Argo train...
Photo
courtesy of Indonesian young railfans community
There is a train
every hour or two from Jakarta Gambir station to Bandung, with
Eksekutif & Bisnis class, taking
about 3 hours for the 173 km, fare about 175,000 Rupiah (£13
or $20) in Eksekutif. See
www.kereta-api.co.id for more details.
*
= Recommended trains with most modern and comfortable cars..
Trains
10 & 11 are the Argo Dwipangga, Eksekutif class
only, fully air-conditioned.
Trains 33 & 34 are the Bima, Eksekutif class only, fully
air-conditioned.
Trains 39 & 40 are the Taksaka, Eksekutif class only, fully
air-conditioned.
Fare: 265,000 Rupiah (£20 or $31) one-way in
Eksekutif class, snacks & mineral water included. or 120,000
Rupiah in Bisnis or Ekonomi class.
The distance is 522 km (326
miles). You can check train times and fares (in
Indonesian only) using the journey planner at
www.kereta-api.co.id.
Eksecutif class seating on the air-conditioned
train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, probably on one of
the best trains number 10 or 40. Photo
courtesy of Patrick Gage
Dining-car on the Jakarta to Yogyakarta train.
You can eat in the dining-car at a lunch counter
with bar stools or be served a meal at your seat...
Courtesy of Patrick Gage
Trains 5 & 6 are the Argo Wilis,
air-conditioned, Eksekutif class only. It's named
after the Wilis mountain in eastern Java.
Trains 37 & 38 are the Turangga,
air-conditioned, Eksekutif class only.
Fare:
235,000 rupiah (£18 or $29) in Eksekutif class.
The distance is 696 km (435 miles).
You can check train times and fares (in Indonesian only)
using the journey planner at
www.kereta-api.co.id.
Traveller Edmund Carew travelled Surabaya-Bandung on the
'Argo Wilis': "The aircon trains were only 50 to
75 per cent full: it was incredibly easy to book, with no
queues at Surabaya or Bandung. However, third class
trains around Surabaya were packed as were local trains on
the 'snappy' Bogor line from Jakartakota station.
The Indonesian railways make a real effort to run on
time. Mostly they seem to be no more than 15 minutes
late, which is good although schedules between Surabaya
and Bandung (hilly last bits) was only an average speed of
57 - 58 km/h."
Take a comfortable
air-conditioned train from to
Jakarta Surabaya, then a train from Surabaya to Banyuwangi at
the eastern tip of Java. It's a short hop by bus
or taxi to the ferry terminal at Ketapang, from where
ferries sail round the clock every 15 minutes to
Gilimanuk on Bali, from where frequent buses run to
Bali's capital Denpasar. Alternatively, Indonesian
Railways offer a combined train+bus service, with ferry
included.Feedback if you
use this route to reach Bali would be much appreciated!
Here are the details for both options:
Travel from Jakarta or Surabaya to Bali
using a combined train + bus/ferry ticket...
This is
the best option for travel to Bali. The
Indonesian Railways offer a combined train-ferry-bus
ticket from Surabaya to Denpasar on Bali.
Although the overnight service is time-effective, it's worth taking the daytime train between Surabaya and
Banyuwangi, as the scenery along the way is excellent.
Feedback would
be welcome if you travel to Bali via this route.
Jakarta & Surabaya ► Bali
Bali ► Surabaya & Jakarta
Air-conditioned train from Jakarta
to Surabaya
Train 34
Train
2
Air-conditioned bus from Bali to Banyuwangi
Bus
Bus
Jakarta Gambir depart by
train
17:00
09:30
Denpasar
Ubung bus terminal depart by bus
05:00
16:00
Surabaya
Gubeng arrive by train
05:54
19:30*
Gilimanuk
depart (bus on ferry)
??:??
??:??
Air-conditioned train from
Surabaya to Banyuwangi
Train
88
Train
90
Ketapang
arrive (bus on ferry)
??:??
??:??
Surabaya
Gubeng
depart by 'Mutiara Timur' train
09:00
22:15
Banyuwangi
Baru
station
arrive by bus (approx time)
08:30?
20:00?
Banyuwangi
Baru
station arrive
by 'Mutiara Timur' train
16:05
05:22
Air-conditioned train from
Banyuwangi to Surabaya
Train
87
Train 89
Air-conditioned
bus from Banyuwangi to Bali:
Bus
Bus
Banyuwangi
Baru
station
depart by 'Mutiara Timur' train
09:00
22:30
Banyuwangi
Baru
station
depart by bus (approx time)
16:45?
06:15?
Surabaya Gubeng
arrive by 'Mutiara Timur' train
16:01
05:17
Ketapang
depart (bus on ferry)
??:??
??:??
Air-conditioned train from
Surabaya to Jakarta
Train 33
Train
1
Gilimanuk
arrive (bus on ferry)
??:??
??:??
Surabaya Gubeng depart by
train
17:00
08:00*
Denpasar
Ubung bus terminal arrive by bus
22:30
12:00
Jakarta Gambir
arrive by train
05:39
17:54
* =
Trains 1 & 2 'Argo Bromo Anggrek' between Jakarta
and Surabaya use Surabaya's Pasar Turi station, so
you'll need to transfer by bus or taxi between Pasar
Turi and Gubeng stations.
Combined train & bus & ferry fare: Surabaya to
Denpasar (Bali) costs 169,000 Rupiah (£13 or $21) by
train & bus/ferry with Eksekutif class on the train, or
154,000 Rupiah (weekends) or 139,000 Rupiah (weekdays)
with Bisnis class on the train. Please check the
bus times when you buy tickets, the bus times shown
above are approximate.
How
to buy tickets: In Surabaya, you can buy
tickets at the station. In Denpasar, a travel
agency in the Ubung bus terminal is an Indonesian
Railways (Kerata Api) agent and can sell these tickets
to Surabaya. Alternatively, the Indonesian
railway website lists the 'Rama Duta Bali' agency at
Jl.Diponogoro Pertokoan Gontong Biru, No.150 Blok B
No.04, Denpasar, Bali.
Or put the journey together yourself...
Step 1, take a comfortable air-conditioned train from
Surabaya to Banyuwangi...
Surabaya ► Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi ► Surabaya
Train number:
88
90
Train number:
87
89
Surabaya
Gubeng
depart
09:00
22:15
Banyuwangi
Baru depart
09:00
22:30
Banyuwangi
Baru arrive
16:05
05:22
Surabaya Gubeng
arrive
16:01
05:17
Train:
Trains 87, 88 , 89 & 90 are the Mutiara Timur
('Eastern Pearl'), with
Eksekutif class (air-conditioned) & Bisnis class
(non-air-con).
Fare:
95,000 rupiah (£7 or $12) in Eksekutif, 65,000 rupiah
(£5 or $8) in Bisnis.
How to
buy tickets: At the station. For Jakarta
to Surabaya trains,
see above.
Step
2, take a ferry from Ketapang to Gilimanuk...
Banyuwangi
Baru station is just 100 yards from Ketapang ferry
terminal, a 2 minute walk. Ferries sail from Ketapang to
Gilimanuk every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. The ferry crossing takes 30-45 minutes.
The ferry fare is 6,000 rupiah for an adult foot
passenger, about 50p or $1. One ferry operator
website, in Indonesian only, is
www.indonesiaferry.co.id, although there are several
operators. Having left Surabaya
by train at 09:00, arrived at Banyuwangi station at
16:05, you could easily be on a ferry by 17:00 arriving
on Bali at Gilimanuk at 17:30.
Step
3, take a bus from Gilimanuk to Denpasar...
Local buses
link the ferry terminal at Gilimanuk with Denpasar's
Ubung bus terminal, distance 125 km or 78 miles, journey
time 3 hours, fare around 30,000 to 50,000 rupiah (£2-£4
or $3-$6).
There are a few train services in
Sumatra, but no system covering the whole island.
Let's assume you arrive in Medan by ferry from Penang in
Malaysia, and want to reach Jakarta on Java.
Map of Sumatra.
First, take a bus from Medan
to Padang. It's 730km, the journey takes 28 hours,
buses leave twice daily. However, no information
is available on the bus times.
Then take a bus from Padang to
Palembang. It's 900km, one bus daily, probably
overnight, but no information is available on the bus
times.
Now you can take a train to
the ferry port at Panjang. Just to confuse you,
the station nearest to Panjang is known as Tanjungkarang-Telukbetung (its former name), and the
town is now known (since 1983) as Bandar Lampung.
A ferry sails from Panjang to Merak on Java twice a day and there's a
daily onward train to Jakarta, as shown in the timetable
below.
Feedback on any of
these bus services would be appreciated!
Sumatra to Java by train &
ferry...
Palembang (Sumatra) ► Jakarta (Java)
Jakarta (Java) ► Palembang
(Sumatra)
Palembang to Panjang
by train...
Train S5
Train S1
Jakarta to Merak by train...
-
Train 138
Palembang
(Kertapati station)
depart by train
09:00
day 1
21:00
day 1
Jakarta Kota station depart
by train
-
08:35
day 1
Tanjungkarang (= Bandar Lampung) arrive by train
16:41
day 1
05:39
day 2
Merak station arrive by train
arrive
-
11:37
day 1
Panjang (Sumatra) to
Merak (Java) by ferry...
Ferry
Ferry
Merak (Java) to
Panjang (Sumatra) by ferry...
Ferry
Ferry
Panjang
depart by ferry*
(8 km by taxi from B.Lampung)
23:00
day 1
10:00
day 2
Merak
depart by ferry
11:00
day 1
23:00
day 1
Merak arrive
by ferry
05:00
day 2
16:00
day 2
Panjang
arrive
by ferry*
(8km by taxi from B. Lampung)
17:00
day 1
05:00
day 2
Merak
to Jakarta by train...
Train 139
-
Panjang to Palembang
by train...
Train S2
Train S6
Merak
station
depart by train
12:30
day 2
-
Tanjungkarang (= Bandar Lampung) depart by train
21:00
day 1
09:00
day 2
Jakarta Kota arrive
by train
15:27
day 2
-
Palembang
Kertapati station arrive by train
05:42
day 2
17:10
day 2
Use
this timetable as a guide, but check all times when
you're there. Compiling it has been more like
detective work than anything else!
Trains S1,
S2, S5, S6 have Eksekutif class (air-conditioned) and Bisnis
class (non-air-con). All trains run every day.
The station in Panjang is normally referred to as just 'Tanjungkarang'
and the town is now (since 1983) called Bandar Lampung, and
you'll often see the station in Palembang referred to as
just 'Kertapati'.
Trains 138,
139 between Jakarta and Merak are Ekonomi class only.
This train route just runs once a day. Buses are also
available between Jakarta and Merak.
* =
The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable shows two direct ferries
a day from Panjang to Merak, as shown in
the timetable above. Panjang is just around the bay,
8km by taxi from Bandar Lampung. However, most other online
resources refer to a ferry every 20 minutes between
Bakauheni and Merak, Bakauheni being 1 hour
30
minutes by taxi or bus southeast of Bandar Lampung, less
convenient for the train connection.
Feedback if you use
this route would be very welcome!
A daily ferry operates from Penang
in Malaysia to Belawan (the port of Medan) in Sumatra,
Indonesia's northern island, sailing at 09:00 and
arriving 13:00. Returning, it sails from Belawan
(Medan) at 10:30 and arrives Penang at 14:30. The fare
is about 90 Ringgit (£15/$25). For more information on
this ferry,
see
www.langkawi-ferry.com.
Medan is the
largest city on Sumatra, located at the north-western end of
the island. For information on how to reach Palembang
in southeastern Sumatra, then travel by train and ferry to
Jakarta on Java, see the Sumatra
section.
For connections
between Penang and both Singapore and Bangkok, see the
Malaysia page.
Europe to
Indonesia without flying?
You can reach
Indonesia overland from Europe, taking a train from London,
Paris or Amsterdam to Moscow, the Trans-Siberian Railway
from Moscow to Beijing, the twice-weekly train from Beijing
to Hanoi in Vietnam, train to Saigon, bus through Cambodia
to Bangkok, and trains south to Penang for the ferry to
Sumatra. To piece together such a journey, start with
the Trans-Siberian page.
Then see the Russia page for
London-Moscow, and the Vietnam page
for Beijing-Hanoi and Hanoi-Saigon. The
Cambodia page covers Saigon to
Phnom Penh and on to Bangkok. The
Thailand page covers Bangkok to
Penang.
There are no
ferries between Indonesia and Australia.
Travel insurance...
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance..
Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up a £1,000 bill
in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also works for laptop or PDA data
access. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Overland travel by train & bus
around Southeast Asia is an essential part of the experience,
so once there, don't cheat and fly, stay on the ground!
But a long-haul flight might be unavoidable to reach Indonesia in
the first place. For flights to
Jakarta, start with
www.e-bookers.com. Seat61 gets a small commission through this link.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
