Travel Budget Indonesia
Indonesia was an unplanned stop on our first around-the-world journey. We were in Phuket with only a few days left on our Thai visa and had to make a decision on where to go next. The rains had begun in Thailand. We studied the weather and decided that Indonesia made a great choice. Add that to the low, low $69 ticket price and we were sold! After arriving, we found that we enjoyed the vibe and consequently used every day of our 30 day visa! All airfare was purchased within the country and was a necessity for travel between Indonesia’s 17,000 islands.
Notes that Affect the Numbers
Transportation
As mentioned above, we took a few internal flights within Indonesia. These weren’t absolutely essential, as there are many ferry services and long-haul buses. We used ferries and buses as well, but the flights were very handy as our Visa got close to its expiration date. One flight was leaving the island of Flores on the eastern edge of the Indonesian archipelago. At check-in, they weighed our bags and asked us to hop on the scale in order to get the correct amount of fuel in the plane! Another interesting transportation note was the bus/ferry/bus/ferry to get from Lombok to Flores, a 57-hour saga that is much funnier in hindsight!
Activities
With beautiful beaches and untouched reefs, Indonesia is a dream for snorkelers and SCUBA divers alike. We both are SCUBA certified and took full advantage of the opportunity to get some bottom time. We dove on Gili Air, which was a great place, but the gem was Komodo National Park. Make it out that far and you will be rightly rewarded for your efforts. The whole area is a National Park, above and below the water, making some of the healthiest reefs we’ve had the privilege to enjoy. Diving is one of those activities, though, that will always be on the pricey side. This is not an activity you want to take a risk with old equipment or questionable staff. Our diving splurge in Indonesia, including Advanced Certification for Donny and Nitrox Certification for both, certainly counts for the bulk of the Activities category. It also surely increased the daily expense of being in Indonesia, though it is an optional expense.
Food
With rice and noodles as the staples, Indonesians have learned how to make these items into almost unimaginably delicious dishes. With main ingredients changing from island to island and religion to religion the one thing that you can count on is heat. Indonesian food is often quite spicy, and if it isn’t spicy enough there is always the obligatory hot sauce or sambal on the table. One of our most memorable food places in Indonesia was on Gili Air. Here they had tables where they rent snorkel sets by day and by night the fresh catch is laid for your choosing. Needless to say the fish is as fresh as you’ll ever find! For more details on the amazing flavors of Indonesia, check out Eating Asia’s Indonesia category. This is one of our favorite food blogs, focusing on Asia…with superb photography and lots of detailed information.
If you need more inspiration, check out our Indonesia Photo Gallery!
