Tips for Travellers

Health and safety are top concerns for tourists when travelling abroad. Here are a few tips to help you on your trip through Indonesia.

Money
The official monetary unit of Indonesia is the Rupiah.

It is possible to exchange money at bank counters upon arrival at international airports or seaports. In town, most of the foreign currencies can easily be exchanged at banks and authorised money exchange counters. ATM’s are widely available everywhere for cash operations, even in smaller cities.

Health
The areas that most visitors want to go to are safe for travel for health conscious tourists. Malaria today is eradicated in all urban areas and most of the large tourist areas. Malaria transmission can occur after dark in rural, forested areas not usually frequented by tourists, except in Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya), where risk is widespread.

However, over the past few years, malaria cases have been observed in Central Java Province. Insect protection measures (anti-mosquitoes cream or lotions) are advised against mosquito-borne diseases like malaria or dengue fever. They are available in any pharmacy or drugstore in Indonesia. The country also has a large number of well-equipped hospitals to international standards, especially in the largest cities and tourist areas.

Safety
Indonesia is an exceedingly safe country for foreign tourists and Indonesians will take pride and happiness to help and give their best to a traveller. However, as in any country in the world, in big cities such Jakarta, Surabaya or very popular tourist areas like Bali or Yogyakarta, it is advisable not to go out carrying too much cash or flashing expensive jewellery. To travel within a city, use only taxis with the name of the company. They are all equipped with meters.

Which destinations to visit?
Indonesia and is fully open to foreign visitors. The regions receiving the most tourists are currently Bali, Java, Lombok, Sumatra, Sulawesi and the islands of Batam and Bintan across Singapore.

As Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, events happening in one specific part of the country do not mean that the whole Indonesia is affected. For example, the tsunami disaster affected only the Northwestern tip of Sumatra island in Aceh. In Bali, Yogyakarta, Jakarta or even in the rest of Sumatra, life continued normally.