Travelling within Indonesia

Bus
Buses are one of the most convenient ways of travelling within Indonesia, mainly between Java, Sumatra and Jakarta. Two types of buses operate in Indonesia, air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buses.  

One can also find the 'Bis Malam' buses, which are night buses operating within Indonesia. In addition, tourists can also opt for special 'travel minibuses' that offer door to door services.

Tourists in Surabaya can head towards the Purabaya bus terminal, where Damri city bus network connects this bus station to central Surabaya. Another bus terminal, Oso Wilangun is the one from where buses regularly operate in the north coast of the city travelling to Kudus and Semarang.

Bemos which are minibuses are another option for travelling within Surabaya. These bemos are also known as Angkot and Mikrolet. One can find these bemos labelled as A, B, C and D and so on depending on the length of the journey.

Tourists travelling to Yogyakarta can board Trans Jogia buses that operate on all seven days, between 5:30 am to 9:30 pm. Another bus called Bus 2 connects bus terminal in Yogyakarta to several other parts of the city.

Pemuda, Abadi or Colts are other options for travelling to areas located near the city. One can visit Prambanan by boarding Pemuda buses, while Clots buses are the ones operating to not just the main terminal but also to the sub terminals in the suburban town.

Buses do not operate within Denpasar, however bemos or minibuses are easily available within the city. Denpasar is the bemo centre of Bali and these bemos have a carrying capacity of 5 to 10 people. Tourists looking for buses operating between Denpasar and Java can board buses from Ubung, which is the main bus terminal of Denpasar.

Train
PT Kereta Api operates trains across Java as well as Sumatra. Java has the best railway network in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta with other main cities such as Surabaya and Bandung.

Surabaya has two main stations, namely Surabaya Pasar Turi and Surabaya Gubeng. The train connects Surabaya both through Semarang on the north coast and through Yogyakarta and Solo via the southern mainline. However, the services of commuter city trains are extremely limited within Surabaya.

On the other hand, Bandung is connected to Jakarta by around 30 trains operating daily between the two destinations. However, no trains operate within Bali as the terrain is not suitable for supporting the train network. There are trains from Surabaya to Banyuwangi, which is further connected to Bali through ferries.

The train network in Sumatra is mainly concentrated around Medan on the northern coast, and Lampung to Palembang on the southern parts of this Island. However, passenger trains have a lesser frequency in this area compared to Java.

Three types of services are available in the trains, namely Eksekutif which are air-conditioned, Bisnis which are second class trains and Ekonomi class which are economy class trains.

Ferry
For inter-island travel, boats and ferries are one of the most convenient options. Pelni is one of the leading operators of boats or ferries in the island that offers journeys extending up to 2 weeks or even more. This operator uses European-built boats.

Different cabin accommodation classes that include meals as well as private lockers are available in the boats by Pelni. The cabin accommodations are classified as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th class, in which 1st class is the luxury accommodation, while the 4th class accommodation includes beds in a dormitory.

Besides, Pelni slow boats, ASDP are the other operators that have fast ferries running between the destinations which are known as Kapal Ferry Cepat. For both the operators, tickets can be booked through travel agents.

In addition, there are also several services that organise short Island hopping trips. These include Merak-Bakauheni which is an hourly trip from Java to Sumatra, Padangbai-Lembar which is also an hourly trip between Bali and Lombok and Ketapang-Gilimanuk which is 15 minutes ride between Bali and Java.

Taxi
Taxis are also available in the country. Metered taxis are available only in major tourist areas and main cities.

Two types of taxis operate within Denpasar with the major difference being on the prices. Some taxis have fixed prices for every kilometre while others do not have fixed charges and the rates can be negotiated.

On the other hand, taxis operating in Yogyakarta are metered. During night, the fare charged by these taxis is doubled.

Tourists travelling within Surabaya can hire taxis from Blue Bird Group, Silver and Express and Orenz Taxi. For hiring, air-conditioned taxis, the price charged is from $0.45 for the first kilometres and then $0.28 for every subsequent kilometre. The flag fall for a taxi is around $0.55, however, for short trips, a minimum fare of $1.50 is charged. $2 is charged for a cross-town trip, while for longer trips, the metred fare is charged.  

Angguna, which are the non air-conditioned and non-metered taxis are also available within Surabaya. These taxis are comparatively more reasonable than the metered ones.

Other
Besides, taxis, cars, buses and trains, several other modes of transportation are available for travelling within the cities. These include becaks, bajaj and ojeks which are available for travelling within different cities of Indonesia.

Dokar, a horse-drawn cart is one of the traditional transports available in Denpasar that cost around $0.60. This is the cheapest option available for travelling. Not so popular these days, Dokar is seldom seen on the streets of the city.

Another option available is motorbike. For hiring a motorbike, tourist needs to have a valid International Driving Licence or obtain a temporary permit from the Denpasar Police office.

Becaks are the traditional horse-drawn carts that are available for transportation within Surabaya. One can find both Dokar and Becaks in Yogyakarta as well.