Know before you go: Indonesia

Indonesia’s visa system runs almost entirely through the Directorate General of Immigration’s own portal. Most visitors who need a visa for a short trip to Indonesia use the B1 electronic Visa on Arrival (e-VOA), applied for on the Directorate General of Immigration’s portal, evisa.imigrasi.go.id.

• Visa-free: the ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam), plus Hong Kong, Macau, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Belarus can enter for up to 30 days, and this stay cannot be extended.
• Visa on Arrival / e-VOA: around 87 other nationalities can use the e-VOA, which costs IDR 500,000 and gives a single-entry stay of up to 30 days, extendable once for another 30 days. It can be bought in advance online or at the airport counter. Note that an increase has been announced but not yet confirmed as implemented: Indonesia’s immigration chief described two new amounts in August 2026, IDR 750,000 for electronic applications made before arrival and IDR 1 million for applications on arrival, though the official B1 visa guidance reviewed in late September 2026 still listed IDR 500,000. Check the live price before you pay.
• e-Visa: other nationalities, or anyone wanting a longer or different-purpose stay, apply for a Visitor Visa fully online in advance.

Whatever category you use, your passport needs at least six months’ validity, and officers may ask for an onward or return ticket. Indonesia has also tightened enforcement in 2026: Indonesia has moved to a centralised e-visa platform and introduced mandatory pre-arrival registration through the All Indonesia app, alongside a One Person One Visa policy that links each application to biometric records for stricter compliance. If you need to extend your stay, be aware that Indonesia introduced a new hybrid visa extension system that requires both online registration and an in-person visit for document checks, photo capture, and interviews. If you’re heading to Bali specifically, note the separate, mandatory Bali Tourist Levy of IDR 150,000 (~USD 10), payable separately at lovebali.baliprov.go.id, on top of any visa fee.

Important: visa categories, fees, and eligible-country lists change with little notice, and even recent commercial guides disagree on exact country counts. Confirm your exact requirements on evisa.imigrasi.go.id before booking flights, and avoid lookalike third-party “visa agent” sites.

Jakarta’s MRT is a 30-minute, 16-kilometre north-south line linking Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI; it does not yet reach Kota Tua (Old Town), so use TransJakarta, the KRL commuter rail, or a ride-hailing app for that leg. A genuine 2026 upgrade: the Jakarta Provincial Government has launched EMV contactless fare payments on the MRT Jakarta network, enabling passengers to pay fares directly using contactless credit cards, the first implementation of contactless bank card payments on a public transport system in Indonesia, launched at Bundaran HI MRT Station on July 29, 2026, allowing passengers to pay fares by tapping eligible Visa and Mastercard credit cards at station gates. Jakarta plans to extend this to LRT Jakarta, Transjakarta, and Transjabodetabek, but for now TransJakarta buses still mainly use stored-value cards (JakLingko or bank e-money like Flazz/e-Toll), buyable at convenience stores or stations.

TransJakarta remains the backbone of surface transit, running about 4,700 medium-to-large buses in 2026 and, as of March 2026, serving an average of 1.4 million passengers daily and covering 92.5% of Jakarta’s area.

Outside Jakarta, apps rule: Grab and Gojek are the default way most travellers get around cities and tourist areas like Bali, and metered Bluebird taxis remain a trusted option in Jakarta. Inter-island travel leans on domestic flights and ferries, so build in buffer time for weather-related delays, especially in the wet season.

The Rupiah (IDR) dominates daily life; cards are accepted in upscale hotels and malls, but cash still rules markets, taxis, ferries, and smaller towns. For cash, use ATMs at major bank branches (BCA, Mandiri, BNI) rather than standalone street machines, since skimming is a known issue in busy tourist zones like Kuta, Seminyak, and Legian; cover the keypad when entering your PIN. Expect per-withdrawal caps, often lower than travellers are used to, so plan several withdrawals across a trip rather than one large one. When paying by card, always choose to be billed in rupiah rather than your home currency; the “home currency” option is dynamic currency conversion and adds a hidden markup. As a rough guide, budget travel, mid-range travel, and comfort travel all vary enormously by island, and Bali generally runs noticeably more expensive than Java or Sumatra for the same experience, so price-check specific accommodation and tours rather than relying on generic daily averages.

Indonesia is equatorial, so temperatures stay warm and humid year-round; rainfall is the real variable. The dry season, roughly April through October, is the most reliable window for beaches in Bali and Lombok, trekking, and diving visibility, and it overlaps with the busiest, priciest months (July, August, and the December holidays). The wet season, roughly November through March, brings heavier afternoon downpours and a higher chance of ferry or flight disruption on outer islands, but lower prices and lush landscapes. Shoulder months (April, May, June, September) often balance decent weather with smaller crowds. Because rainfall timing varies by island, check a destination-specific forecast closer to your trip rather than relying on one “Indonesia weather” rule of thumb.

Indonesia’s general emergency number is 112, which is free to call and designed to connect you to police, fire, or medical help. Traditional single-service numbers still work alongside it: Police 110, Fire 113, and Ambulance 119 (commonly given as 118 in Bali specifically, so try both if one doesn’t connect). In Bali, a Tourist Police line is also commonly listed, though reported numbers vary between sources, so it’s worth confirming your hotel’s local emergency contacts on arrival and saving the direct number for the nearest Tourist Police post (Kuta, Denpasar, or the airport) in addition to 112. Save all of these numbers before you land, keep photos of your passport and visa separate from the originals, and lean on hotel or embassy contacts if there’s a language barrier. For medical issues in tourist hubs, international-standard clinics in Bali and Jakarta are usually the fastest route to English-speaking care.