How interesting is Jakarta?

[unicorn]

My hubbie and I are planning to visit Java and Bali next summer (probably August 2026), and have looked at some organized tours of the area. Obviously, we want to visit Borobudur and Prambanan temples, but some tours visit Jakarta and some don't. The Gate1 Discovery Tour visits Jakarta, but skips eastern Java, while EF Go Ahead Tours skips Jakarta but visits eastern Java. I should note that Gate1 Discovery seems to be less expensive, go to better hotels, and include more meals. I'm hoping someone here has visited Java and can share his opinions.

https://www.gate1travel.com/small-groups/small-group-asia/2026/small-groups-indonesia-15did26.aspx?Brand=DISCOVER

https://www.goaheadtours.com/guided-tours/indonesia-bali-java

 

[PeterRS]

It's some years snce I visited Jakarta, Frankly I have no desire to return. You have to be careful when you visit because the city is now prone to serious fooding.

https://wri-indonesia.org/en/insights/reasons-jakartas-frequent-flooding-and-how-nature-based-solutions-nbs-can-help-reduce-risk

[joizy]

I was very disappointed in Jakarta. I love Indonesia. One of my best trips ever was to Sumatra. No sex because I was traveling with a female friend. Oh wait…after she left, I did have fun in Medan. Went to Borobudur for my 59th birthday and climbed the temple for sunrise on my birthday. Was surprised with a birthday cake by the staff at the little resort where I stayed. And I enjoyed Bali, but nothing “fun” happened there. Oh wait, there was the guy in the bathroom at the airport…

Anyway, back to Jakarta.

It had always been my dream to go there. A college friend and I used to smoke clove cigarettes - Jakartas or Djarums, so it had always been a dream to visit. And because I’d had such good experiences in other parts of Indonesia, I figured those who said Jakarta was a pit just didn’t appreciate the kinds of places I’m drawn to.

Well, it was kind of a pit. And it did flood. And there really wasn’t anything interesting to do. It was impossible to walk around because the sidewalks were either in terrible shape or non-existent. I got excited about food because I saw a YouTuber go to this little food center and have fish fried rice that he raved about. I found the place and there were people singing awful loud karaoke and smoking, and the food wasn’t that good.

To get away from my hotel, I’d take a taxi to a shopping center to get something to eat, and then taxi back to the hotel. The shopping centers had your usual chain stores. Nothing interesting. I’d say skip it.

I’m not sure what East Java has to offer, so you might want to research that and do a comparison, but Jakarta, sadly, is not a place I’d return to unless it were a layover.

[joizy]

11 hours ago, unicorn said:

My hubbie and I are planning to visit Java and Bali next summer (probably August 2026), and have looked at some organized tours of the area. Obviously, we want to visit Borobudur and Prambanan temples, but some tours visit Jakarta and some don't. The Gate1 Discovery Tour visits Jakarta, but skips eastern Java, while EF Go Ahead Tours skips Jakarta but visits eastern Java. I should note that Gate1 Discovery seems to be less expensive, go to better hotels, and include more meals. I'm hoping someone here has visited Java and can share his opinions.

https://www.gate1travel.com/small-groups/small-group-asia/2026/small-groups-indonesia-15did26.aspx?Brand=DISCOVER

https://www.goaheadtours.com/guided-tours/indonesia-bali-java

 

Not really the question you asked, but I looked at both tours and as a person who abhors organized tours, I’m wondering if you have considered creating your own itinerary and doing it on your own. Indonesia is an amazing country and their tourist infrastructure is well-developed and affordable. On my first trip to Sumatra, we hired a driver for three days. This was in the 90s, but it was something like $25 per day. When I went to Borobudur, I had someone from the resort there pick me up at the airport in Yogyakarta and then they took me to the Hilton, where I stayed for about a week. It was a five star hotel for about $25 per night (in 2019). It doesn’t look to me like you’d get to do the sunrise climb at Borobudur, which was absolutely magical and better than taking a cooking class or learning how to make a kris. So just throwing this out there for you to consider. It’s cheap, it’s easy to get around, and there is always a local with a car or a horse cart willing to take you around. We did all kinds of tours in Sumatra organized by locals. In Ubud, there is a dance or performance every night and people sell tickets on the street. I’ve never been to a country where it was easier to get around and to find something cultural to do. And it’s very cheap. Hope you don’t mind the suggestion to think about planning your own itinerary.

[unicorn]

Thanks for the advice. Though we'll be traveling during the dry season (August), I think we'll lean towards the tours which focus on central and eastern Java. 

[floridarob]

I've been to Jakarta several times, mostly for the good flight availability on either revenue or award business class seats, makes it easier/cheaper to get to that side of the world from Mex/US.

I'm not a "visit the temples" type of person unless I need to be, I like nightlife, restaurants and fun.

The apps have never let me down there and makes it worth a couple of days layover going/coming from somewhere else. Before Covid, Apollo disco, the only Gay disco in Jakarta was lots of fun.... I like to have a few drinks with whoever I meet on the apps, almost an impossibility in Indonesia except for Bali, and also not so easy there, lol 

I was in contact with a gay tour guide that basically said, not much to do in Jakarta but he could take me to villages on the outskirts of Jakarta, which I declined.

Also a good place to take the train from to other places in Indonesia.

[unicorn]

I am leaning towards tours. I usually go for tours in countries in which I don't speak the language and/or they drive on the left (let alone both). One time I did drive all around Turkey for 2 weeks, but I learned Turkish before I went. I can hardly remember any Turkish, though I think I could re-learn it more quickly if I had to do it again. But the last time I drove in Greek Cyprus, I knocked off the car's side-mirror. I'm really not good at driving on the left. Best I can do is not get run over when I cross the street. My best friend and I toured South Africa once on our own, but he did all the driving. When my husband and I toured the UK (England, Scotland, Wales) 3 years ago, we did a tour, since neither of us can drive on the left. 

[joizy]

16 minutes ago, unicorn said:

I am leaning towards tours. I usually go for tours in countries in which I don't speak the language and/or they drive on the left (let alone both). One time I did drive all around Turkey for 2 weeks, but I learned Turkish before I went. I can hardly remember any Turkish, though I think I could re-learn it more quickly if I had to do it again. But the last time I drove in Greek Cyprus, I knocked off the car's side-mirror. I'm really not good at driving on the left. Best I can do is not get run over when I cross the street. My best friend and I toured South Africa once on our own, but he did all the driving. When my husband and I toured the UK (England, Scotland, Wales) 3 years ago, we did a tour, since neither of us can drive on the left. 

Indonesia is cheap enough that you can hire a driver, but I think a tour is fine if you like tours. I hope you have a great trip. I don’t know anything about East Java, but I think skipping Jakarta is a good move. Now you’ve got me thinking about going back to Indonesia. I love Indonesian ikat and thought for sure I’d be able to find someone in Jakarta. The best I could find was a book in the ikat museum (which if you like textiles and find yourself in Jakarta, was the one thing I did there that I actually enjoyed).

[unicorn]

These tours are all small tours (around 12 participants), so not like we're being herded in big buses. You're right--we can do without the cooking lessons or knife-making lessons, but the conveniences make up for it.

[xpaulo]

22 hours ago, PeterRS said:

he city is now prone to serious fooding.

I was oh no, what's this? Using food to drug a vicitim? Body insertions? My imagination went wild.

[unicorn]

23 hours ago, PeterRS said:

...the city is now prone to serious fooding.

...

 

34 minutes ago, xpaulo said:

I was oh no, what's this? Using food to drug a vicitim? Body insertions? My imagination went wild.

And what's a vicitim? Fooding may be where a food fight covers the street with food....

 

https://www.vice.com/en/article/italys-biggest-food-fight-has-left-70-people-injured/

 

[unicorn]

https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/food-fights-around-the-world