One month solo travelling in Bali and beyond, tips+advice?

[Wingy]

I book domestic flights in Indonesia online from Australia without a problem. Just log onto their site and hit the english translate button. Jakarta airport is kind of a new type of hell so I personally would book flights online rather than deal with the airport booking booths. Or you could use skyscanner and book through them - Cheap domestic flights in Soekarno-Hatta

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[chillyinCanada]

CamiloPlonger, please let us know how it goes for you booking on line. I have been unsuccessful from Canada. In any event, had my domestic flights booked by the liveaboard company. Also, was told flights could not be booked by anyone until within thirty days of flight departure.

 

[bill_oregon]

Have a great trip Bjorn.

As far as the domestic flights go, I used Nusatrip.com for tickets using a US credit card from the US and also after I was in Indonesia. It worked very well for me for flights last November. I haven't seen much about using Nusatrip and I'm interested in knowing if anyone has any input? I'd like to take another extended trip in that area myself.

 

[ebiatawodi]

Wow this trip sounds great! I'm off to Bali today and just figuring out what I want to do as well. Sort out my AOW and then do a Komodo live aboard and Bunaken island. Not sure if I can fit all this in two weeks?

What live aboard have you selected?

 

[CamiloPlonger]

ChillyinCanada,
One operator gave me the following information for the flights:
"Domestic Carriers in Indonesia only accept Indonesian Credit cards for online bookings, making it impossible for most people to book flights direct. GARUDA ACCEPTS ONLINE BOOKINGS, this is an international carrier !
For all other airlines you can try to book your tickets with www.ticketindonesia.info, www.tiket2.com; nusatrip.com which SOMETIMES works for certain foreign credit cards." Also Vifaholiday seems to be a local Agent who can book tickets.

Ebiatawodi,
I checked two liveaboards for my trip in september which are the SY Monalisa and the SY Jaya. These two go to Komodo Island and start from Labuan Bajo. SY jaya is operated by wickeddiving which is the operator people in this forum have talked about. I'll do that liveaboard, Unfortunately they don't have nitrox

One more question i would like to ask if some might guide me: do you recomend to spend some time in Jakarta? I wont dive the whole time so I'll use a couple of days to see some other stuff. I'm not sure though if spend that time in Jakarta, in Bali or somewhere else.
I appreciate your advise!
Cheers


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[matts1w]

For Camilo....

1. Wicked Diving is a good outfit- especially at their price point. I can only say positive things about crew, safety procedures, and attitude. For me, the only downside is the lack of air-conditioning in their cabins where it gets hot and uncomfortable at night. That being said, one is able to sleep on the top deck, and that is a pretty nice experience. I think they offer four dives a day, an there was never an issue with NDL times or me feeling shortchanged by dives that would have been better completed with nitrox.

2. I live in Jakarta. Despite what you read on SB, it is an a amazing city full of great people, great food, and fun places to go out....for the people who live here. I love it. Still, Jakarta is also an urban nightmare of traffic, poor planning, missing infrastructure, etc... In other words, there is no reason in the world for a tourist to hang out here as it is overwhelming and there is not much to visit besides restaurants, pubs, clubs, and malls. Unless you are here on business or very much into the EDM scene, spend your time in Indonesia elsewhere. There is much to do topside in Bali, Lombok, and Flores- cultural exploration, trekking, surfing... The list goes on and on.

 

[ocdiver1]

ChillyinCanada,
"One operator gave me the following information for the flights:
"Domestic Carriers in Indonesia only accept Indonesian Credit cards for online bookings, making it impossible for most people to book flights direct. GARUDA ACCEPTS ONLINE BOOKINGS, this is an international carrier !
For all other airlines you can try to book your tickets with www.ticketindonesia.info, www.tiket2.com; nusatrip.com which SOMETIMES works for certain foreign credit cards." Also Vifaholiday seems to be a local Agent who can book tickets."


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FYI...you can actually book Sriwijaya at their website using a US credit card. It's usually my second airline choice after Garuda

 

[jamesdiving]

I haven't been to Jakarta myself but the rest of Java does have some notable attractions. Yogyakarta (known universally as "Jogja") is close to the ruined Hindu temples at Prambanan and the must-see Buddhist temples at Borobodur. There are also some very active volcanoes in that area that you may be able to visit depending on their current state of activity.

Surabaya is the access point for the spectacular volcanoes and incredible unearthly landscapes of the Gunung Bromo region.

I think I'm right in saying you can fly to/from Bali from/to both Surabaya and Jogja cheaply and quickly so may be worth looking into that if you want to see some of Java.

 

[ebiatawodi]

Thanks Camilo,

I looked up Wicked Diving, looks great and interestingly enough they have a schedule that fits perfectly into mine. I'm going to create another thread now as my questions might just overtake this conversation!