Travel Info

The Republic of Indonesia is situated in the largest archipelago in the world, comprising 13,466 large and small tropical islands fringed with white sandy beaches, many still uninhabited and a number even still unnamed. Straddling the equator, situated between the continents of Asia and Australia and between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, it is as wide as the United States from San Francisco to New York, equaling the distance between London and Moscow. Indonesia has a total population of more than 215 million people from more than 200 ethnic groups. The national language is Indonesian, spoken by the majority of the population as a lingua franca across the country.

Indonesia has three time zones—Western Indonesia Time (WIB), which is GMT +7 (covering Sumatra, Java, Madura, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan), Central Indonesia Time (WITA) at GMT +8 (covering East and South Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa Tenggara), and Eastern Indonesia Time (WIT) at GMT +9 (covering Maluku and the Indonesian parts of Papua). The capital Jakarta is GMT + 7 or 16 hours ahead of US Pacific Standard Time.

Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch breaks are typically from noon to 1 p.m. Offices are usually closed on Saturdays, including government offices. Government office hours start at 8 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.

Standard banking hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday. However,some banks open their branches in hotels (and some in malls) longer than office hours, and a few are open on Saturdays so you might want to check first. Jakarta has a number of international banks, though you can also exchange currencies in some hotel cashiers and official money changers.

The currency of Indonesia is the Rupiah (IDR). Information on daily exchange rates can be found in newspapers or online. Some Indonesian banks provide this on their websites. IDR and US$ are the most widely accepted currencies. Most tourist resorts have money changing facilities. When you are traveling to remote areas, it is advisable to exchange your money first. Credit cards are only acceptable in big hotels, restaurants, shops and traveling agencies.

Jakarta, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the current capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of the world’s most populous island, Java, it is the economic, cultural and political capital of Indonesia.

Jakarta has a tropical monsoon climate (Am) according to the Köppen climate classification system. The wet season in Jakarta covers the majority of the year, running from October through May. The remaining four months (June through September) constitute the city’s drier season (each of these four months has an average monthly rainfall of less than 100 millimetres (3.9 in)). Located in the western part of Java, Jakarta’s wet season rainfall peak is January and February with average monthly rainfall of 299.7 millimetres (11.80 in), and its dry season low point is August with a monthly average of 43.2 mm (1.70 in).

Jakarta's business districts are spread across several parts of the city. The top four areas are:

1. Thamrin

2. Sudirman

3. Kuningan

4. Sudirman Central Business District