aj411

How hard is it to get a taxi back to the airport?

IAN-UK

Couldn't be easier: taxi or Grab. Malls, at least the smarter ones, have well organised taxi ranks: if it's a hotel they'll have no problem organising a taxi, or their own (more expensive - but not crazy expensive) limo. If you have the Grab app, just order a car.

DeepUnderground

This is good advice. I recently stayed at the Mercure. It is physically attached to the PIK mall as mentioned and taxis are very simple to arrange. If you don't feel like venturing out and just want a place to rest, the Anaya hotel is attached to T3. I prefer PIK, but that's because I've spent several dozen nights in the Anara in the last few years and I'm just bored of it.

PaulDeee

So we did end up staying at The Pullman Central Park and had a really fun afternoon/evening. Our flight from CGK to SIN the next day was late morning so no real rush in the morning; taxi was about a half-hour (yes) and cost $25.

Central Park Mall is a fascinating spectacle and plenty to see/watch without spending money. Lots of shopping and food if you do want to spend money. We spent our money drinking beers at Union and had the buffet at The Pullman. The buffet is about $30 USD pp and TOTALLY worth it.


View from Central Park Mall


We liked everything about the Pullman except for the bathroom/toilet layout. Some couples are more married then others...we like to leave some things left to the imagination (or not), and the semi-transparent *everything* in the bathroom was a bit much. All of the rooms and suites are like that- we asked!

Still, nice hotel and could not be closer to Central Park; it is literally right outside the door.

aj411

followup. Are there any coffee shops, restaurants, vending of any kind precheckin on the departures level? or accessibly prior to checkin?

PaulDeee

If you have to kill 8 hours there, you can, especially during the hours you are due to be there. There are restos and everything else you would expect to find at a big international airport, including alcohol service. Coffee is big in Indonesia, so lots of that. Not our favorite airport, but definitely better than a lot of others that come to mind.

No experience with lounges there, but in our experience you are better off at a decent bar/resto than at a pay-to-play premium lounge. The First Class/Business type of lounges...no idea.

As has been recommended in this thread, a day-room at a good hotel is the best way to go. You solve the problem of bag storage, freshening up, dining, and what-to-do, all in one go. Plenty of hotels cater to this type of thing, and it's worth it, especially in a city that is relatively inexpensive - for USA travelers at least.

We went back and forth from Central Park Pullman at what you would expect to be very busy traffic hours, and it was remarkably fast. Way faster than we expected. Is that guaranteed? Of course not, but are you looking at hours stuck in traffic? I don't think so.

As a final thought, there isn't a Yotel at CGK, but if there is one at an airport on your itinerary, it's worth mentioning that we have had EXCELLENT experiences with them. Write to them directly for day rates and they will treat you right! Changi Yotel is OUTSTANDING, and could not be in a better location.

DeepUnderground

Yes - coffee shops, fast food, convenience stores, sit down restaurants and even a day spa at T3 pre security/immigration.

simonjp

Sorry, yet another international/domestic MCT question.

• CX arriving T3 2255
• GA domestic departing T3 0230+1 (next flight departing 1010)

This gives 3h 35mins CT. We will have eVOA and 1 checked bag each - is this doable?
Otherwise, I've read recommendations of just a quick sleep-over in the Anara Airport T3 Hotel.

IAN-UK

Of course it is doable ..... if things run to schedule. But aircraft go tech, delays happen and there can be cancellations.

But why take the risk? Unless you have a morning appointment at your final destination, getting a full night's sleep the airport hotel is by far the most comfortable option. It certainly beats a crack of dawn arrival after a sleepness night, and you shouldn't be out of pocket in terms of paid hotel nights.

IluvSQ

As IAN-UK said, if everything is on time, yes , it is easily doable.
But why would you want this connection? I'd prefer a good nights sleep on arrival, then travel fresh the next day.

ozymandias24

We just arrived at CGK yesterday on an international flight. The e-gates are now fully up and running. They can (currently) only be used by Indonesian passport holders or people who have a digital e-visa (so not sure why you would want to queue to get a visa on arrival now....)

Incredible how quickly arrivals are being processed. Well done CGK!

On the getting a taxi to the airport discussion, I would also recommend downloading the BlueBird and GoJek apps, in case you can't find a Grab driver quickly. Or, if you're feeling fancy, you could book a GoldenBird or the (confusingly even fancier) SilverBird.

DeepUnderground

Do you know what kind of e-visa can be used at the gate? KITAS/ITAP?

ozymandias24

Sadly not KITAS or ITAP (yet). In fact, the KITAS queue was the longest entry queue when I landed, for the first time! I think it's just the e-VOA: https://www.imigrasi.go.id/id/e-voa/

DeepUnderground

Fingers crossed for implementation on this at some point!

infrequently

Ouch, hope they will allow KITAS holders to use the digital gates soon! KITAS has supposedly been electronic for a couple of years now (no more cards - just a printout stapled to a visa page in one's passport), so it should be fairly easy to implement. Either way, IME, the longest part of arriving at CGK has always been waiting for checked bags to show up.