joe_miami

I知 spending 36 hours in Jakarta on my way to Yogyakarta. I was hoping for more like 72 hours, but other plans got in the way.

I知 arriving at CGK at 2:30 am and assume it will be at least 3:00 am before I知 done at the airport. I知 staying at the Grand Hyatt. Is it safe to take a Grab or taxi at that hour?

I plan to visit several places in the area around the National Monument on my full day, and I壇 also like to visit Jakarta Old Town and Batavia Jakarta Old Town Harbor. Are all of these doable in one day? If not, could I see the latter two in maybe four hours before my afternoon flight on Day 2?

Thanks for all feedback.

BSBtraveller

Taxi’s are easy and safe and at that hour the traffic will be calm so you’ll get to your destination fast. I reckon if I had that short amount of time I’d arrange a day tour from Viator or the like. Because the traffic is insane, this will maximise your time and I think I’ve seen day tours that cover what you want to see. Enjoy.

joe_miami

Thanks for the reply. Is the taxi definitely the way to go vs. Grab? If so, do the taxis take credit cards or will I need to visit an ATM first? Thanks.

889

Do not miss the morning gamelan performance at the Kraton in Yogja. Check with your hotel about the schedule and timing: not necessarily every day. Worth the trip to Indonesia.

As well, there is the overnight public wayang kulit performance on some Saturday nights. It runs till 4am, but you don't have to stay till the end. Again, check the schedule locally and if you're lucky enough to be in Yogja at the right time it'll make your trip.

Don't forget to buy some CDs of the music.

joe_miami

Thanks very much. Sounds interesting.

joe_miami

Is Jakarta Batavia Old Town Harbor worth seeing? I thought it was a separate historical site but looking at some pics just now, nothing really jumped out.

IAN-UK

You're cropping up in a lot of forums with this trip

Grab and taxis are of course as safe as these things ever can be. But in the early hours you might be anxious to get to your hotel, so think aout throwing money at it and getting a limo from one of the booths as you exit the arrivals area. They'll spot you, so don't worry about finding them! It won't be a lot of money to throw in terms of your costs a the Grand Hyatt, or, indeed, in terms of the costs of a limo at most other international airports. The advantage is the car and driver should be ready for you, and full payment is sorted. Grab is a bit of a faff with the phone, there can be a wait for popular taxi companies (go Bluebird).

For tourism, you could walk up Thamrin to the national museum. I reckon it's about a mile and a bit. On the way, the Sarinah mall (site of the last major terrorist attack) is on your right. The monument is bang in front of the museum, in the park: but getting to it is a hot and (sometimes) convoluted walk - and i don't see the point.

The old town is a further taxi ride up Thamrin and its extension. There are various museums/exhibitions there. It's Jakarta's version of tourism central, so watch out catching taxis here. By and large taxi drivers are an honest lot, but on a first visit you might find it easier and happier to use taxi ranks where you can - just about all malls will have have a pretty orderly dispatch system with helpers, though there migh be quite a queue.

If you are a public transport fan, you can make that journey easily on Transjakarta (there's a stop close to your hotel, one right by the museum and they go on to Kota). You might enjoy the odd look from the Hyatt concierge when you ask about Transjakarta

Truth is, Jakarta doesn't really do tourism, and the traffic, heat and (possibly) rain don't make it easy to take advantage of what there is. Most tourists end up in malls: and you could do a lot worse than visit Bloc M, a combination market/mall/entertainment zone to get an idea of what the city is like away from the extreme glitz around the Hyatt. Bloc M is reachable on the splendid new metro from Bundaran Hi station almost next to your hotel.

Grab back to the airport is easy. But if you travel light, you could always try something new and use the airport train - the BNI City station is a short taxi ride (or one-stop on the metro to BNI Dukuh Atlas). Airport express trains every 30 minutes, tickets available only by card, no cash.

IAN-UK

You'll need cash for taxis but not for Grab or the limos. Cash is easiest from the booths at the airport exit, they seem to have pretty standard rates and he transaction is very speedy.

But you are unlikely to be comfortable using cash immediately after you arrive: lots of zeros and the notes are confusing.

joe_miami

Thanks very much. Very helpful.

I知 traveling light and I知 a bit of a train fan, so I might try that option back to the airport. How long would you estimate the trip from the GH to the airport would take by train, plus any needed taxis to get to/from the Airport Express stations? I have a 2:30 pm flight from CGK to JOG on Saturday, if that makes a difference. Thanks again.

joe_miami

Just so I知 clear, is there any reason not to use Grab at CGK? I know the taxi mafias make life miserable for Grab/Uber/Lyft in some places. Thanks.

IAN-UK

I can walk it in 15 minutes, so i reckon the same for a taxi. But count on 20 minutes. It's Saturday, but it's still Jakarata

The station is shiny-new and serves only the airport. Service is slick, and there'll be helpers to guide you through the booking process on the ticket machines. Snag is the machines only sell tickets for departures more than 20 minutes away - which can be frustrating, but at least there are no undignified rushes for the train after you get the ticket. The journey is 45 mniutes: comfortable, usually very uncrowded and of course air conditioned. There'll be an additional short journey by (free!) Skytrain from the airport station to your terminal. So if you count on 90 minutes hotel to terminal you should be OK. Grab should be quicker, but the train is more fun, cheaper. And note the should in the Grab timings: it has taken me over two hours - not common, but not entirely unexpected. My record by taxi from the airport was 4 hours, admittedly in an intense rainstorm. Never underestimate the time it takes you to travel around Jakarta!

IAN-UK

The downsides of Grab is the internet access (for those who rely on a free airport service), and finding the driver/pick-up point. It can be a faff. The app should point you in the right direction, but my experience wasn't always the best. I've only used it from T2, where Grab eventually had a kerbside marshalling facility. Fares have gone up with an airport surcharge and now are close to taxi tariffs - so a lot of the taxi antagonism has disappeared.

The advantage is the seamless credit card payment.

joe_miami

Thanks very much. Sounds great for my return.

The Airport Express won稚 be running when I arrive, or people are just recommending against it because it would require finding a taxi on the back end at 4:00 am?

IAN-UK

The last train from CGK is 11-something pm

joe_miami

Thanks.

One last question (at least for now): What is the current departure tax if leaving from CGK, and is it cash-only? I値l be on AirAsia; per the last info. I found online, the departure tax isn稚 included in AirAsia tickets. Thanks again to everyone for the great feedback.