Indonesia

Notes from our trip in October 2011.

Travelling to Indonesia from London

We flew there from LHR on Singapore Airlines via Singapore. From Singapore airport you can catch a number of flights to Indonesia.

Currency

Indonesian rupiah (IDR) is the local currency. 1 GBP is about 14K IDR.

Timezone

It has the same timezone as Singapore and Hong Kong.

Bali

Arriving in Bali

Denpasar (DPS) is the international airport for Bali.

After landing you might need to pay 25 USD or equivalent for a visa. Australians will need to do this. The visa counter will accept various currencies.

After leaving the airport you can purchase a fixed price taxi coupon from the taxi counter. The price is dependent on destination. To get to the Nusa Dua area from the airport costs 95000 IDR. After paying you get a receipt and go with the taxi driver. There are porters following you from baggage pickup all to the way to taxi - so decide if you want their help. It is only 5K IDR per piece.

Taxis will often ask to become your driver for the day or for future days around Bali. It costs us around 50 USD for a few hours.

Departure tax

When departing Bali, you need to pay a tax of 150000 IDR per person.

Language

English is understood and spoken in Bali. The local language is Bahasa Indonesian.

Nusa Dua

This is the high end resort area.

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott. The breakfast was good - we had this every day. They've got a nice pool in the centre of the hotel. It is not fenced so keep an eye on your kids.

The beach is in walking distance but I only swam there once.

I also wandered around St Regis as Fiona held her wedding there. You can hire a beach front villa with your own deckchair. They've also got some turtle breeding program, were they will release the baby turtles when they ready.