Travelling Low Budget in Indonesia

 5 USEFUL TIPS TO TRAVEL ON A BUDGET IN INDONESIA

(Prambanan Temple, Sleman - Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

(Broken Beach, Nusa Penida - Bali, Indonesia)

Tourists around the world have travelled to Indonesia during holiday season to enjoy the beauty and culture of Indonesia. To keep being on budget while travelling with your loves ones, I've got some tips for you:

1. Book a kost instead a hotel. 

A hotel room is even though cheap here, only around USD 47/night, booking a kost can save a lot more money, only USD 99/month, but no breakfast and swimming pool. The facilities are also complete, from the bed, pillows, wardrobe, bathroom, an AC, and free wifi. Plus, you can blend with the locals and they are usually very friendly and willing to help in case you need some information about anything.

The prices however vary dependeng on the room and the facilities. The better the facilities are, the more you need to pay. Yet still it is far cheaper than a hotel.

2. Eat at warung, kedai, ampera, or emperan (street food) instead of at restaurant. 

How about USD 1 for one time eating? The price of food at these places varies, but typically not even more than USD 1. You won't get bored as lots of options of food that you can try sold there. But you should also be picky as the hygine may not be a priority for some food stalls on the street. The key is always see the cleanliness of the seller before deciding to buy their food.

3. Take a bus, or ride gojek/grab instead of Taxi (Bluebird is the typical taxi in cities). 

Source: Tirto.id

Gojek and Grab are everywhere, except in an airport. It's not that cheap but it's a lot cheaper than taxis/cabs. A much cheaper transport is a bus, but it's hard to know the route and where to wait if you don't have a travel guide with you.

Depending on how far you travel, the fare can even be negotiated sometimes. 

4. Better to have an Indonesian buddy to travel with as it is safer and protect you from "crazy people" who usually fool visitiors at tourism sites and money changer. 

It's uncommon, but can happen to anyone if you are not careful. To avoid this to happen, always check the recent rate of money exchange before going to money changer.

5. You must have CASH! 

Cashless transaction can only be done at malls and online shopping. Local retails, such as indomaret and alfamart, although can be paid cashless are usually only serving cash. So always prepare your cash at lesst Rp 500,000 (USD 33) while going out. 

You won't need that much, because almost everything is cheap. But you'd better prepare in case of emergency.