Indonesia's sprawling capital and main international gateway, mixing old-town Batavia, mega-malls, museums and a high-energy food and nightlife scene. Most trips start or transit here.
6.21°S 106.85°E
The drier months from roughly May to September are the most comfortable for getting around
1 nights
CGK
$20/night
Jakarta is Indonesia's capital and a sprawling megacity of more than ten million people, a place of glass towers, vast malls, colonial-era ruins, and tangled kampung neighborhoods all pressed together. It is hot, humid, and loud, and the traffic is genuinely brutal: a few kilometers can eat an hour, so plan your day around it rather than against it. Most foreign travelers pass through here on the way somewhere else.
That said, it rewards anyone curious about modern Indonesia. The food is superb and ranges from street carts to serious restaurants, the museums and old town tell the country's story, and the bar and cafe scene is the best in the archipelago. Give it a day or two with low expectations of scenery and high expectations of food and people, and it tends to win you over.
The old Dutch colonial quarter centers on a wide cobbled square, Fatahillah, ringed by faded 17th and 18th century buildings. The Jakarta History Museum sits in the former city hall, and locals cruise the square on rented bicycles in bright sun hats. Go in the morning before it gets too hot and crowded, and pair it with a coffee at the historic Cafe Batavia overlooking the square.
Monas is the 132-meter obelisk at the heart of the city, topped with a flame sheathed in gold. You can ride a lift to the observation deck for a view across the sprawl, smog permitting, and the museum in the base covers Indonesia's independence struggle. Lines can be long on weekends, so come on a weekday morning.
Istiqlal is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, a vast modernist hall that can hold huge crowds, and it offers free guided tours to visitors outside prayer times. Directly across the road stands the neo-Gothic Jakarta Cathedral. Standing between the two, a short walk apart, is a striking picture of Indonesia's religious mix. Dress modestly and cover up for the mosque.
Jakarta's food is the real reason to linger. Hunt down nasi goreng and sate from street carts, try Padang food where dishes are stacked on your table and you pay for what you eat, and explore the restaurants and night markets in areas like Sabang and Pecenongan. For something polished, the upscale dining around the southern districts is excellent.
Getting there
Most travelers arrive at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), the country's main hub, with flights from across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, plus domestic links to everywhere in Indonesia. From the airport, the cleanest way into the city is the Railink airport train to central stations, which dodges the worst of the traffic. Taxis and ride-hailing apps like Grab and Gojek are easy and cheap, but allow plenty of buffer time, as the road trip in can take well over an hour in congestion.
Best time to visit
The drier months from roughly May to September are the most comfortable for getting around. Avoid the peak rainy season around January and February, when heavy downpours cause flooding in parts of the city and snarl the traffic even further.
Where to stay
For first-timers, the central areas around Menteng and Thamrin put you near the main sights with plenty of mid-range and upscale hotels. Backpackers gravitate to the budget guesthouses around Jalan Jaksa, while the southern districts of Kemang and SCBD suit those after nightlife and dining, with prices ranging from cheap hostels to genuinely smart hotels.
Yes, Jakarta's congestion is among the worst anywhere, and short distances can take an hour or more. Use the airport train and the MRT and TransJakarta busways where you can, and plan only a couple of areas per day rather than racing across the city.
It is not a scenic city and many people just transit, but it rewards curiosity with great food, museums, and a real sense of modern Indonesia. A day or two with the right expectations is plenty for most travelers.
Ride-hailing apps Grab and Gojek are the easiest and cheapest way to move around, including cheap motorbike taxis if you are comfortable on the back of a bike. The MRT and TransJakarta bus network are clean and useful along the corridors they cover.
Build a route across Indonesia in minutes. We work out the travel time and cost between every stop, then a local turns it into a trip.
Build your tripOften called the Elephant Museum after the bronze elephant out front, this is the best museum in the country for understanding Indonesia's history, from ancient statuary to ethnographic collections spanning the islands. It is well laid out and air-conditioned, a welcome break from the heat. Allow a couple of hours.
Glodok is a dense, atmospheric Chinatown of narrow lanes, old temples, herbal shops, and busy food stalls. The Dharma Bhakti temple is the oldest in the city and full of incense and red lanterns. It is gritty and crowded, but the street food and the sense of history make it worth an hour or two on foot.
Jakarta does sky bars better than anywhere in Indonesia, with lounges high up in the towers of the central business district offering city views and good cocktails. It is a fun way to grasp the scale of the place after dark. Dress smart-casual, as some venues enforce a dress code.
Bandung
The sights worth building a day around. Open any one for a full guide.
culturalSoutheast Asia's largest mosque, facing a cathedral, with free tours for visitors.
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culturalJakarta's Dutch colonial old town, a cobbled square ringed by museums and rented bicycles.
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viewpointJakarta's 132m marble obelisk with a gold flame and a city-view deck near the top.
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culturalIndonesia's flagship museum of archaeology and ethnography, reopened after the 2023 fire.
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islandA chain of small islands in Jakarta Bay, a speedboat ride away for sun and snorkelling.
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