A couple of weeks' back I fully intended taking the train - attraction being the novelty and knowing exactly how long the trip will take. But in the end I couldn't be arsed, and took a Grab. While I wasn't looking, Grab has got itself organised at CGK and now has a waiting & pick-up area although fares have increased (I think with an airport fee included).

I'll bite the train bullet some other time ....

The return trip was a Grab from Gambir to CGK in the early hours of the morning. The highway was eerily empty - a joy of a journey :D

Ah ok. I got fed up with the Bluebird queue last time around and tried uber - turned out there were 4 Uber's in the whole of Jakarta! I'm in Singapore and Bali the same trip so i'll try it out.

Is it easy to pick up one from T3? How does Grab wirk with tolls and so on?

Feel free to PM a refferal code if it gets you a free ride or so!

I thought uber doesn't exist in SEA anymore? hmm

The one time I used Grab in Jakarta, I was charged the toll fees in cash by the driver. They had some sort of a promotion where my fare was only ~Rp. 20,000 (£2) for what was a 30 minute trip, which would otherwise have cost something along the lines of Rp. 80,000 (~£4), so I gave him Rp. 50,000 to pay the Rp. 10,000 toll fee, and asked him to keep the change.

GoJek also pretty usefuk. Not here in Papua, but when I'm other places I use the heck out of GoFood. Awesome.

I agree I use the heck out of GoFood/GoJek here in Surabaya. The number of things I get delivered now is astonishing. :)

Sorry, I'm still a T2 person :eek: I've departed T3 and transferred T3 to T2, and my only (pure) arrival into T3 I was being met.

But I can't believe there's much difference in the Grab system. At T2 you use the app to arrange a pick-up and then find Grab's kerb-side waiting area (with seats). There's an agent there who can help you if you're having problems.

I paid 139K + 16.5K tolls to (easily accessed) Kemayoran/Sunter in north Jakarta. Drivers usually pay the tolls with their cards - you pay them back if you are using cash, but if you have your credit card on the app the driver can put the toll charge through the final bill. And be careful, he will probably do that even if you give him cash for the tolls.

So there's no longer much of a $$ advantage in using Grab. The positives are not having to worry about cash (if you have your cc on the app), and having a good chance of getting an interesting driver. If things go wrong, i find the Grab team are responsive and will put things right pretty quickly.

My only issue is it seem they always want to call you and talk which just adds confusion as my Bahasa isn't 100%. If you do it right, no need to talk, just follow the order!

139K?! That's actually quite a lot for Grab :o

You could almost do the same with a blue bird

Yeah, I think part of the deal for airport access and "facilities" at the airport was accepting an airport fee built into the fare. In the past you needed to track down your Uber/Grab driver in the car park, all a bit furtive :)

The surcharge is certainly there at the much improved Bandung airport

Higher Grab fares keeps taxi driver militancy down as it sort of equalizes the fees.

Every single time. I would pick up my phone as soon as I hit the request button as I know the driver will call me. My favorite was when the driver was already parked outside the restaurant because he was on his break. He still called, only to say "Boss, I'm already here" lol

I am looking to do a solo trip including Jakarta (29th-1st) at the end of March, and I am hoping 3-4 days lets me see the sights, museums and other treasures that the city has to offer. How hard will it be to get around Jakarta in regards to language? From what I have seen, a bit of English speakers are present, but I am not 100% certain if a solo tourist can handle the city.

You will be fine.

Hello CGK experts,

first timer to Jakarta, with three nights in November. For various reasons, we are expecting to spend more time than usual in and around our hotel during our visit. I am looking to find the best location to do so.

To make the best use of status benefits, our curent hotel choices are

1) JW Marriott/Westin, both next to Kuningan Shopping Mall
2) Grand Hyatt, next to Selamat Datang Monument
3) Sheraton Grand, next to Gandaria Mall

While opinions on the hotels itself are of course also appreciated, I am more interested in learning about the surrounding areas. We are essentially looking for restaurants and especially pubs/bars (not night clubs or discos!) within safe walking distance to these places. We like to sit and talk for lengthy periods of time, but are not looking for a party. Is any of these areas better than the other? Or is there a different area altogether that would be recommended - would certainly consider ditching the Marriott options in that case.

TIA for any input!