10 Tips You Should Know Before Traveling to Indonesia

Is Indonesia on your bucket list? If so, you’ve made an excellent choice. Before embarking on your journey to this beautiful archipelago, there are 10 essential things you should know to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. 

Tips Before Traveling to Indonesia

This guide will help you navigate Indonesia and avoid any surprises during your vacation. Let’s get started:

1. How to Get a Visa

1. Visa on Arrival (VOA): Foreigners can apply for a visa upon arrival in Indonesia if their nationality is included on the visa on arrival countries list. (South Africa, Algeria, USA, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, UAE, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Hungary, India, UK, Iran, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Germany, Cambodia, Canada, South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Maladewa, Malta, Mexico, Egypt, Monaco, Norway, Oman, Panama, France, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, China, Romania, Russia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Timor Leste, Tunisia, Greece).
2. A holder of a Visit Visa on Arrival is given 30 days stay and can be extended in Immigration Office for 1 time, to have another 30 days stay.
3. Visa on Arrival is available at Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta Airport), Bali (Ngurah Rai Aiport), Medan (Kualanamu Airport), and Surabaya (Juanda Airport). All travelers to Indonesia must have a passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival and have proof (tickets) of onward or return passage.
4. The official price for a Visa on arrival is USD 35 and can be made in all major currencies (cash or credit card).
5. Travelers from the country that is not listed above must have their visa arranged in advance through in Indonesian Embassy or Consulates.

2. Climate and Season

Rain and summer, are just two seasons in Indonesia, which rain season normally comes from October – to February, and Summer normally comes from March to September.

Summer in Indonesia is quite hotter compared to other countries. Located on the equator line, the sun shines right over our heads every day. List of the items you should prepare such as a raincoat, umbrella, Jacket, sandals, and T-shirt (for summer).

Indonesia’s climate is perfect for your vacation, as a tropical country with almost every day in summer although it is rainy season. Geographically, Indonesia is located beside the Hindia Ocean, and Australia, which is known for its dry wind, makes Indonesia a warm season throughout the year.

3. Local Currency

IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) is the local currency of Indonesia, People call it Rupiah. For those of you who first came to Indonesia, and exchanged currencies for the Rupiah, you suddenly become a millionaire because Rupiah has a lot of zeros even though the value is not large.

1 USD = 14,200.00 IDR or 1 EUR = 16,048.82 IDR.
You have to know is the highest value of Indonesian currency is Rp.100,000,- (Equal to 7 USD or 6.3 EUR) and the lowest is Rp.1000,-.

Make sure if you are traveling to Indonesia, you are carrying a money bag to save your money so it doesn’t bother you.

4. Culture and Religion

Rich with traditions and cultural activities, Indonesia is a vast archipelago that is popular for its cultural richness. In Java Island, the way of life, rituals, and culture are strongly influenced by Hindu-Buddhist culture, although the majority of the population is Muslim. 

Therefore, even though it is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Muslim people and their way of life are different from a country in the Middle East. 

If you are interested in visiting Indonesia, especially visiting villages or holy places (Mosque, Church & Temples), you should wear trousers and clothes with closed arms, to respect the local people. Indonesian people are very friendly to tourists.

5. Language and Important Phrases

One of the problems of tourists when coming to Indonesia is that most local people cannot speak English (except those who work in Hospitality). If you are getting lost or in confusing situations, here are some important phrases that could be very helpful in asking or talking to the local people.

1. Thank You = Terima kasih
2. How are you? = Apa Kabar?
3. Eat = Makan
4. Drink = Minum
5. Food = Makanan
6. No = Tidak
7. Yes = Iya
8. Spicy = Pedas
9. No Spicy = Tidak Pedas
10. Delicious = Enak
11. Cool / Good = Bagus
12. Where is the restroom? = Dimana Toilet?
13. How much is it? = Berapa harganya?
14. Good morning = Selamat pagi
15. I want to go to (place) = Saya mau pergi ke (place)

Don’t hesitate to talk to the local people and they’ll be very happy to help you. As I said at the beginning, Indonesian people rarely speak English, so make sure you learn a little bit of Indonesian vocabulary, at least to communicate with local people if you are getting lost or in confusing situations.

6. Local Food

There are so many delicious foods in Indonesia. Most of them are spicy because Indonesian food is related to chilly sensation. Visiting Indonesia, you will see many variants of food here. 

But as a tourist, street food and ordinary restaurant can be a good choice. It can be very easy to find them even though you are in a small city. The price of local food tends to be cheaper.
Some Indonesian foods have a strong spicy taste.

If you don’t like spicy food, you should mention the waiters or sellers when ordering, you can say, “Tidak mau pedas.” 

7. Unexpected Things

Traffic is one of the unexpected things in Indonesia. It is quite hard to know the road situation here because traffic is inevitable. On the big day or local events such as 2 weeks before Idul Fitri (the peak of Ramadan) traffic jams will occur especially on the island of Java.

Another unexpected thing is a big day in Bali, namely Nyepi, where all activities in Bali are stopped in Bali, especially tourism activities, even the airport is closed. Make sure you have been informed about the big day and local events in Indonesia.

If you ever found news about Indonesia’s disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and Forest burning, don’t worry. you just need to stay calm and keep being careful of the place that you visit. Always follow the rules of your guide and listen to the local radio or news.

8. Buy a Local SimCard

We advise you to use a local SIM card to call, send messages, and get internet access in Indonesia. The advantage of using a local SIM card is you can get internet access easier and cheaper. 

An International SIM card in Indonesia seems not a good recommendation, it will cause difficulties for you to get a good signal, especially for using the internet. The local sim card with the best signal is Simpati (the official sim card in Indonesia).

You can use a Simpati SIM card throughout Indonesia, even in some remote places.
We recommend you buy a SimCard with bigger GB Internet Access, it will help you do many activities such as browsing, sharing your picture on social media, and chatting. That depends on your needs.

9. Indonesia isn’t just about Bali

Magazines, news sites, and many information sources just say that Bali is a beautiful island. One thing that every tourist needs to know is Indonesia isn’t just about Bali. very interesting isn’t it?

This Buddhist temple is located in Semarang, Central Java. This temple is unique in that it is built not using cement or adhesives, but every stone from this temple has the shape of an interlocking puzzle. Hidden paradise is spreading to every island in Indonesia, so you must try to explore other places.

10. Try to Interact With Local People

Indonesian people are good people and very friendly. They will be very glad to help you especially to help tourists. They are enthusiastic about helping and guiding tourists who are lost or need help.

Don’t be shy to talk to local people even though your Bahasa Indonesia isn’t good enough. Local people will welcome you and also try to talk to you as best as they can. Don’t be surprised if you suddenly become a celebrity, there will be many local people who will invite you to take pictures. This is because Indonesian people are happy to meet foreign tourists. 

So, that’s 10 tips you should know before visiting Indonesia. Exploring Indonesia will be a great experience as long as you know what this country works and looks like. Hope this simple guide will help you to travel to Indonesia. Have a great holiday! Let us help you to plan your visit or you can see our list of Indonesia tours below.