The visa to enter Indonesia costs $35 USD and you can obtain it at the airport upon arrival. We didn’t find out about this cost until we arrived in the airport. Luckily we had USD cash on us. The perils of flying by the seat of your pants when travelling!
There is an airport tax when leaving the country that can vary depending on what airport you use. For example, it costs 100,000 IDR from Yogyakarta and 200,000 IDR from Bali. Yep, plan that exit carefully when possible to save some hard cash.
There is an airport tax when travelling from one city to another. For example 75,000 IDR from Bali to Yogyakarta payable when leaving Bali. AirAsia also has a mandated checked baggage charge imposed on all tickets when travelling to Yogyakarta and there is no way around it. My first thought was “WHAT? Seriously…. WHAAATTT?” This tax ONLY applies when leaving Bali. Thank you Indonesia for making your small piece of paradise extra pricey.
Airport taxis are notorious for up charging their services. Where possible use the Taxi counter to obtain a pre-negotiated taxi fare. If you’re at the curb, you will get ripped off.Even so,expect to pay extra when heading out of the airport to your destination. Especially in Bali.
Everyone will try to rip you off in the major cities. Never accept the first price from anyone and it is usually reasonable to undercut by nearly half when negotiating. You will run into that one guy unwilling to negotiate, but for every one of these guys there are 5 more willing to reason with prices.
Basically, plan to get ripped whenever you are at an airport in Indonesia. Getting there, travelling within and leaving, the beautiful paradise that is Indonesia will tax us wee travel folk ’til kingdom come. And don’t think taking a bus is any better. According to our taxi man, there’s a bus tax also when moving through certain districts.
BONUS: Sample Taxi Fares We Paid While Travelling Indonesia (you might be able to do better)
BALI
Bali DPS Airport to Jimbaran area hotel – 150,000 IDR
Jimbaran area hotel to Uluwatu Temple to Seminyak area hotel – 300,000 IDR
Seminyak city center to Tanah Lot Temple to Ubud city center area hotel – 350,000 IDR
Ubud city center to Tirta Empul Temple to DSP Airport – 350,000 IDR
YOGYAKARTA
Yogyakarta JOG Airport to hotel near Malioboro street – 60,000 IDR (taxi counter)
Malioboro Street to Borobudur Temple & return – 300,000 IDR
*Bus fare from Malioboro street to Prambanan Temple – 4,000 IDR each way
The bus took a really long time (over an hour each way) to get to/from the Prambanan Temple so if you are pressed for time, I would suggest hiring a taxi. We opted for a taxi to Borobudur since it was a lot further away and we had already experienced the long bus ride to Prambanan that was only a direct 20 mins away.
Prices are as of Dec 2014
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