CTcowboy

Later this year I'll be flying from the US to Jakarta and then traveling on to Bandung. Although I already have the flight to Jakarta booked, I'm deciding on how best to get out to Bandung. Has anyone taken the train between these two cities? I know we could fly, but after 20+ hours in airports and planes I was hoping to try a different mode of transportation and "see the countryside"... or something like that.

Any advice or information on this journey would be appreciated. From what I've sen online it doesn't sound like you can reserve a ticket in advance. If so, is it fairly easy to get one the day of your journey at the train station?

BuildingMyBento

There are many shuttle buses providing the service between Jakarta and Bandung; Day Trans, Xtrans and Cipaganti come to mind. They have offices on Jalan Blora ("Jalan" means "street") in an area called Menteng (in Jakarta), though I have heard you might even be able to take these shuttles from Jakarta Airport too.

dowi

Trains and shuttle buses are not so bad enough to try. Yes you cant reserve the ticket train in advance, if you are gonna go by train from Jakarta to Bandung. You need to go to Gambir station find Argo Parahyangan, buy ticket to Bandung economic class or executive class, then the train will lead to drop you off in Bandung (station hall). Hope you feel different mode of trip

GibSpmuh

I've taken the Argo Gede between Jakarta and Bandung a few times and I recommend the journey - there's some nice scenery once you get closer to Bandung (though the journey through the suburbs of Jakarta might be an eye-opener if you haven't been to that part of the world before). The train itself is reasonably comfortable in my experience though, even if the carriages are starting to look a little worn.

That being said, from a time perspective it's only really worth taking the train if you're staying in the city centre of Jakarta - from the airport I'd definitely recommend a direct bus transfer to Bandung, the traffic into the city centre of Jakarta can be absolutely horrendous at times. Whereas if you're already in the city centre the train at least bypasses the traffic mayhem to get out of the city.

As for buying tickets in advance, I had no issues with going to Gambir station a couple of days before my trip to buy tickets - certainly didn't need to buy them on the day. From looking at their website at http://www.kereta-api.co.id/ it appears that online ticket sales commenced on the 3rd of August as well, so you may well be able to purchase it online now.

IAN-UK

If you are staying in Jakarta, take the train from Gambir station. It's a civilised, comfortable and scenic journey. For peace of mind you might like to get tickets sorted out the day before, but unless its a weekend or holiday there shouldn't be a problem.

I had no idea there were flights between Jakarta CGK and Bandung. But there are certainly buses and vans!

ShrinkTheGlobe

If you go to Gambir station to buy an advance ticket, be sure to bring a pen to fill out the ticket form.

I believe the advance ticket window was #16.