I do not know when you are flying, but take a note that there is a news that saying International airlines will move to T3 in batches.

I think you should look for any flight that arrive by 2pm to give you at least 3 hours.

SQ 958 should be the latest flight you should take if you are taking SQ. ETA 1315. The next flight SQ960 ETA 16:00 is simply too tight.

GA is probably better as it has one that arrive at 1310 and 1455 but I still think you should take the earlier one to avoid unexpected.

I was thinking to do similar and I was thinking to take last flight from SIN to CGK the night before and stay a night there to avoid unforseen circumstances. Anyway, there is many cheap hotel in the city. You can stay in Ibis for simply $$30-40 or even Aloft/Fourpoint/Holiday Inn can get less than S$100

Was exactly what I came up with - thank you! Read a bit about it as it hosted a bunch of UK journos on a press trip, but never stayed. Guess I will be.

Off that so many hotels in places like BKK are full of balconies, but should a shortage in Jakarta. It's one of my great joys sitting outside at Jam Maghrib watching the sun go down with a cold bintang - very atmospheric!

seriously you want to have a balcony in very polluted Jakarta?

I stayed at the Hermitage 2 times. I really likes it. It is in the quite upscale neighborhood but not too far from busy Thamrin/Sudirman area. The roof top Le Vue is a quite happening place in Jakarta. You can see those skyscraper from it.

Take a look on my blog :)

Have done - good insight!

And yes, I love having a balcony to get non-ac air. I've spent so many months in Jakarta which can be a near 24 hour a day a/c experience that just getting out into the heat can be a joy! And for some reason, when in Rome... I love a kretek!

My favourite smell in the world (as i've been doing it annually for 30 years) is when you first walk out of your long-haul plane at CGK into the open air walkways - and get hit with that heat, the intense oppressive temperature tinged with the smell of cloves, it's basically smacking your senses all other the place and telling me 'i'm at my 2nd home'!

A friend recommended Swiss Bel, however there is Swiss Bel & Swiss Belhotel. Looking for one that has shuttle service to/from CGK.

Also, are non-smoking rooms an option?

Thanks,

Swiss Belhotel is probably what he means. It's a nice little hotel attached to a nice little mall. There are definitely non-smoking rooms available and a shuttle from CGK. I usually just use a taxi anyway since Taxis are dirt cheap in Indonesia and I don't like standing around waiting for shuttles. Know in advance that the route to this hotel will take you through some areas that are a bit...rustic. The first time I started to wonder where the heck we were going but it has to do with the way the one-way roads in the area are laid out.

Domestic transit Jakarta - 1 hour enough time?
 

We are transferring from a Batik Air Labuan Bajo-flight to a flight to Medan with another airline, most probably Lion Air or Citi. How much time do we need in the airport for picking up luggage and checking in into new flight?

Separate tickets ? Allow at least 2 hours for delay, luggage retrieval, check-in, and security.
If one ticket with luggage checked through and staying in secure area, one hour would be fine.

Agree with Jaimito. Do not proceed on 1 hr connection in CGK, let alone separate ticket. Basically you're giving away the money!

My confidence level is on 2.5 + hr gap. Nonetheless, I'd advise keeping it all on same ticket/PNR. Delay factor can be unpredictable.

Batik and Lion ticket can be combined into one PNR, by the way.

As for terminal in CGK:
Batik - 1C
Citilink - 1C
Lion (Sumatera ops, incl Medan) - 1B

I agree with the others... Have at the least 2 hours between flights in the same terminal, and a lot more if you are changing terminal (I recommend 3-4 hours).

Batik and Lion (same company) are notorious for delays, so you really need to be wary of that. Batik in particular, have been reportedly having better OTPs but, I am confident that this is mainly due to schedule padding on Batik's part, so let's hope they have implemented that system wide.

Hi all, I'm planning to stay overnight at a hotel near the airport, and I was wondering if there was anything in the vicinity that could be interesting to do? I've noticed the golf course, any other ideas? Could even just be a mall, food, bars etc.

Pantai Indah Kapuk is the nearest area with decent malls and restaurants - about 15 minutes from the airport (outside of morning and evening peaks) and directly connected to the freeway. PIK Avenue Mall now has a Mercure directly connected to it, so is reasonably convenient.

There is an Airport Hub mini mall a bit closer with a couple of hotels on top, but it's pretty mediocre for anything other than just crashing overnight and grabbing a quick bite.

I am flying into cgk at 4am. I am concerned about the safety of the airport?