Is Jakarta Worth Visiting? (What To Expect + Unmissable Tips)

If you’re planning a visit to Indonesia, then you might inevitably find yourself in Jakarta, which is predictably residence to its largest airport.

But should you’re questioning if it’s price spending just a few days in Indonesia’s capital, properly, let me be trustworthy: the general consensus is that it’s not a beautiful vacationer vacation spot.

There are a number of causes:

• It’s notoriously congested. Traffic jams are an especially frequent incidence in Jakarta. Public transportation is missing and plenty of areas are overflowing with scooters, making them not so pedestrian-friendly. (However, transport is getting higher! More on this in a minute.)
• Not a inexperienced metropolis. There are loads of timber lining the streets in lots of areas, however the air high quality is commonly poor and there are only a few (massive) parks.
• Not many typical ‘tourist sights’. While there are a lot of sights in Jakarta, they are going to be primarily of curiosity to locals — assume buying malls, theme parks, golf programs, or aquariums. Cultural sights are comparatively scarce and to actually benefit from the metropolis you’ll should be a bit extra inventive (I’ll clarify this later!).
• Mostly fashionable. Jakarta is a big sprawling fashionable metropolis with few historic or charming areas. Kota Tua, the previous metropolis, encompasses a cluster of colonial-era buildings, however the space is kind of small.

If you discover these factors discouraging and already determined to skip Jakarta, truthful sufficient. It generally is a tough metropolis to like, particularly at first sight.

BUT… there are nonetheless some excellent causes to spend a minimum of a day or two in Jakarta should you can spare them (and also you’re not, say, on a restricted one week vacation). I can inform you that regardless of all the pieces, I a lot loved my time within the metropolis.

Luckily, the site visitors scenario is enhancing, so a few of the most damaging belongings you’ll examine this are now not true.

And there are some methods in which you’ll flip a keep in Jakarta from an amazing ordeal to one thing much more rewarding.

Curious? Read on!

What to anticipate of Jakarta

I don’t wish to beat across the bush right here: Jakarta is at finest just a little chewy and at worst overwhelming. Most vacationers would most likely favor to go someplace a bit much less hectic. (In Java, different cities like Malang and Yogyakarta are much more instantly inviting.)

Nusantara on Borneo could also be poised to change into Indonesia’s new official administrative capital, however Jakarta stays very a lot the business capital. It’s a giant honking buzzing blearing metropolis the place 12 million folks dwell and work. To say it’s a loud place is an understatement; there have been undoubtedly a number of occasions when all I needed was to lock myself right into a sensory deprivation chamber!

Making issues worse is that the metro system continues to be rudimentary and the roads are notoriously clogged throughout rush hour.

Locals typically communicate of Jakarta as a metropolis with issues. It’s the fastest-sinking metropolis on the earth, it’s sorely missing in inexperienced areas, the air high quality isn’t nice… and the checklist goes on.

I’m simply mentioning these items so you recognize what to anticipate. On my most up-to-date Indonesia journey, I met a solo backpacker on a visit via Java who had no concept that Jakarta is in any respect like this. She mentioned she’d been utterly shocked and nearly panicked by reserving a flight out the following day. Luckily she calmed down after which caught to her unique itinerary via Java, which she was very glad she did.

Jakarta may be very a lot a enterprise metropolis, not a extremely tourism-focused metropolis or a cultural hotspot. However, I nonetheless wish to make the case for Jakarta being a necessary Indonesia expertise.

The finest approach to do that is to truly present you and never simply inform you, so don’t miss my Jakarta vlog wherein I dive headfirst into the energetic and colourful chaos that’s Jakarta:

Why you must nonetheless go to

Jakarta is typically referred to as The Big Durian, referencing New York’s The Big Apple. This was most likely meant as an insult. However, just like the fruit, it might be smelly on the skin, however it might nonetheless be moderately great on the within.

I might argue that the actual fact that it’s a giant sprawling megacity in itself makes Jakarta attention-grabbing. Most folks in Indonesia do NOT dwell on a seaside in Bali; they dwell in a spot like this. You’ll be experiencing the ‘real’ Indonesia!

Jakarta may be an assault on the senses however in a great way, particularly when visiting huge markets, the road meals hubs, or when merely observing the road life in a busy space.

If you’re curious concerning the world, it’s price seeing what the capital of the world’s 4th most populous nation is actually like. It’s a dynamic, buzzing metropolis that may inform you a large number about Indonesia as an entire.

The site visitors scenario can also be not as unhealthy because it was once. Several new transport connections make getting round rather a lot simpler as a vacationer.

• From the airport to the middle takes about 45 minutes by Raillink. It’s comfy, fast, and the prepare doesn’t get caught in site visitors.
• From Jakarta to the following metropolis Bandung takes about 40 minutes utilizing the model new high-speed rail service with speeds over 350 km/h.
• Transport inside Jakarta has already improved with the primary MRT metro line which at the moment operates on half its deliberate route. When totally accomplished in 2027, you may simply attain all key sights, comparable to the principle sq. and the previous metropolis.

Don’t fear concerning the site visitors an excessive amount of!

How to raised get pleasure from Jakarta

Okay, time for some Jakarta journey ideas!

While there isn’t an infinite checklist of sights in Jakarta, there are a number of I nonetheless extremely advocate.

These are a few of the necessities you must try:

• Kota Tua, the previous a part of the city that was as soon as the center of the Dutch colonial administration, as you may immediately see from the structure right here.
• Glodok Market, a close-by buzzing Chinese market that’s nice for some unscripted exploration
• National Museum, a small however good museum exhibiting conventional artwork and archaeological finds from Indonesia. After struggling a hearth it was newly reopened in 2025.
• Istiqlal Mosque, the most important mosque in Southeast Asia. It’s a contemporary constructing however however very attention-grabbing to see. You can enter (additionally as non-Muslim) accompanied by a information. The cathedral throughout the road can also be price a glance.

Other locations you might want to discover embrace the vintage market on Jalan Surabaya, the previous port of Sunda Kelapa, or the Candra Naya heritage constructing.

Besides a number of cultural sights, I might additionally spotlight that Jakarta is a superb nightlife vacation spot. I have to admit didn’t expertise it a lot myself (I’m an ageing backpacker with little vitality for clubbing!) however others gave me very favorible assessments of the numerous bars and golf equipment you may go to.

My different important tip is to search for a human connection in Jakarta. This will 100% change your perspective!

If you go to just for some sightseeing, it’s straightforward to get misplaced within the concrete jungle. But in case you have an opportunity to talk to some locals, you may have a extra significant expertise.

If you’re a backpacker, think about using the Couchsurfing Hangouts app to fulfill locals for lunch or drinks. This tip was given to me by the proprietor of a number of hostels in Indonesia who touted this as the method to expertise Jakarta correctly. I didn’t attempt it out in Jakarta however have used the app in different cities up to now, which may actually assist you have got extra of an area expertise. (Note: CouchSurfing is usually used to share lodging, however the app is only for meetups.)

My avenue meals tour was 100% a game-changer.

Another approach is to guide some guided excursions, which is the strategy I took on my current go to. Without these excursions, my keep in Jakarta wouldn’t have been half as attention-grabbing!

I like to recommend these two excursions specifically:

• Jakarta Social & Political Walking Tour. Led by a political scientist, this was a improbable crash course in current Indonesian historical past and what’s occurring within the nation as we speak. Unlike different strolling excursions, I liked that this one jumped proper into the deep finish, protecting belongings you gained’t have already learn in your journey information.
• Street Food Tour of Jakarta. It takes you primarily to the celebrated avenue meals market at Blok M the place you may attempt so many tasty dishes and snacks. I might have by no means discovered these by myself. I can’t communicate of this tour extra extremely!

If you’re curious what both of those excursions are literally like, try my video on Jakarta on YouTube the place I present you ways they went for me.

I hope you’ll have time in Jakarta and luxuriate in it for what it’s — a loopy beast of a megacity that’s the polar reverse of a quiet tropical seaside!