Practical Information for visiting Indonesia

The currency is the rupiah (IDR), which runs to large numbers — a mid-range hotel is in the hundreds of thousands and a casual meal in the tens of thousands. Count the zeros carefully; notes for 10,000 and 100,000 look similar.

Cards are accepted in hotels, malls and mid-range restaurants in the cities and in south Bali. Everywhere else is cash: warungs, markets, drivers, temple donations, homestays.

ATMs are widespread. Use machines attached to bank branches rather than standalone ones, check for card skimmers, and note the per-withdrawal limit, which is often low relative to the fee. QRIS, the national QR payment standard, is now accepted almost everywhere including street stalls and works with some foreign apps.

Bargaining is expected in markets and for transport that is not metered, and is done cheerfully rather than aggressively. Tipping is not traditional but is increasingly expected in tourist areas; rounding up, or ten per cent where no service charge applies, is plenty.

Coverage for mobile networks is good across Java, Bali, Sumatra and the larger cities, with 4G nearly everywhere populated and 5G in the big centres. It thins fast in eastern Indonesia, in the interior of Kalimantan and Papua, and on the smaller islands, where some places have no signal at all.

A local prepaid SIM from Telkomsel, Indosat or XL is very cheap and sold at every airport and phone shop; registration with a passport is required. Telkomsel has the widest rural reach and is worth paying slightly more for if you are leaving the main islands.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafes and co-working spaces, and Bali’s remote-working infrastructure is genuinely good. On liveaboards, in national parks and on the outer islands, assume nothing — download maps, tickets and translations before you go.

Indonesia is generally safe for visitors and violent crime against foreigners is uncommon. The real risks are traffic, water and the natural environment.

• Scooters are the leading cause of serious injury and death among visitors. Many travel insurers will not pay out without the correct licence, roads are chaotic, and helmets are often inadequate. If you have never ridden before, Bali is not the place to learn.
• The sea. Rip currents on the south coasts of Java, Bali and Lombok are strong and have killed experienced swimmers. Swim between the flags where they exist, and take local advice seriously.
• Volcanoes and earthquakes. Eruptions and tremors are frequent. Follow exclusion zones, which are set for good reason, and check the national volcanology agency’s alert level before climbing anything.
• Drugs carry long prison sentences or the death penalty under a zero-tolerance policy that covers possession, use, manufacture and trafficking alike. No one has been executed since 2016, but the sentence remains available and is passed. The part that catches people is procedural: suspects can be held for long periods with no possibility of bail while police investigate before any prosecution, and cases are lengthy and costly.
• Methanol poisoning from adulterated spirits has killed and blinded visitors. Counterfeits of well-known brands often contain dangerous amounts of methanol, and incidents have happened at hotels, bars and shops in Bali, Lombok, the Gili Islands and Sumatra. Drink beer, or spirits from sealed bottles in reputable places.
• Kidnapping. There is a threat of kidnapping in the provinces of Indonesian Papua and in Aceh; foreign travellers have been kidnapped and killed, and terrorist groups have kidnapped tourists in East and West Kalimantan. In those areas, avoid travelling alone or after dusk and vary your routes and timings.
• Violent crime including armed robbery occurs regularly, and the road from Banda Aceh to Medan is singled out for armed robberies. Petty crime happens throughout the country and particularly in the tourist areas of Bali and Lombok, and criminals have forced people to withdraw cash from ATMs. Merchants do not always honour a price agreed in advance, so use judgement when engaging guides off the usual routes.
• Sectarian and social tensions are long-standing, particularly in Central Sulawesi around Palu, Poso and Tentena, in Maluku especially Ambon, and in Indonesian Papua. Sectarian violence targeting civilians has occurred, and the potential remains despite security operations. Be particularly vigilant during religious holidays and public celebrations, which have been used as occasions for attacks.
• Papua in detail. Non-essential travel is advised against to all the provinces of Indonesian Papua, except the islands of Raja Ampat Regency and the city of Sorong in Southwest Papua. Political tension and violent incidents continue, militant groups threatened in February 2023 to attack and take hostages with specific reference to foreigners, and fatal attacks have occurred on roads near the mine.
• Papua has a long-running separatist conflict, a permit is required to go, and travel there is restricted; check current advice. Raja Ampat and Sorong are treated separately — see Getting Around.

Which taxi, bus and ferry to get on, the permit Papua requires and the rest of the practical side of moving around is on Getting Around.

Medical care varies enormously. Jakarta, Bali and Surabaya have international-standard private hospitals; elsewhere facilities can be very basic, and serious cases are evacuated to Singapore. Insurance with evacuation cover is essential, and note that many policies exclude scooter accidents without a valid licence.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid for most visitors; rabies, hepatitis B and Japanese encephalitis for longer or rural stays.

Rabies is present, notably in Bali, and dog and monkey bites need immediate medical attention. The monkeys at temple sites bite and steal; do not feed them or carry loose items.

Dengue is common and there is no prophylaxis — use repellent day and night, as the mosquito bites during daylight. Malaria is a risk in Papua, Maluku, Flores and rural Kalimantan but not in Bali, Java’s cities or Jakarta.

Do not drink tap water. Use bottled or refilled treated water, including for teeth. Stomach upsets are the commonest complaint; eat at busy places where the turnover is high.

Bring any regular medication with you; pharmacy stock is unpredictable outside the cities.

Use the right hand for giving, receiving, eating and pointing. The left is considered unclean, and this is observed seriously.

Do not touch anyone’s head, including children’s, and do not point your feet at people or at religious images.

Temples and mosques. Cover shoulders and knees; a sarong and sash are required at Balinese temples and are usually lent at the gate. Remove shoes. Menstruating women are traditionally asked not to enter Balinese temples — the signs say so — and climbing on temple structures for photographs has caused genuine public anger and deportations.

Aceh is a different legal environment. Religious police enforce sharia law there, its specific applications differ by region, and it applies to non-Muslims as well. Sexual acts between Muslim men are punished by caning, and arrests are also made on charges of immoral behaviour or social ills. Dress conservatively; away from Bali generally, swimwear is for the beach and pool only.

Carry your documents. You must have adequate identification — passport and stay permit — on you at all times.

Public affection is frowned on and homosexuality, while not illegal nationally, faces conservative attitudes.

Nyepi, Bali’s day of silence in March, shuts the entire island including the airport for twenty-four hours: no lights, no going outside, no exceptions for visitors.

Emergency numbers: 112 works nationally and reaches police, ambulance and fire. Separately, 110 is police, 118 or 119 ambulance, and 113 fire. English is not guaranteed; your hotel is often the faster route to help.

Medical. In Bali, BIMC and Siloam in Kuta and Nusa Dua are used to foreign patients and to diving injuries; Sanglah in Denpasar is the main public hospital and has the island’s recompression chamber. In Jakarta, Siloam, Pondok Indah and Mayapada handle international cases. Payment or a guarantee of payment is usually required up front.

Diving. Recompression chambers are in Denpasar, Jakarta, Manado and a few other centres, and a serious hit can mean a long transfer. DAN membership is worth having.

Natural hazards. The volcanology agency publishes alert levels, and the meteorological agency issues tsunami warnings; both push alerts and both are worth following if you are near a coast or a volcano.

Keep offline copies of your passport, visa and insurance, and note your embassy in Jakarta — several countries also have a consulate in Bali.