Indonesia Travel Budget
Our Asia trip started in the tropical archipelago of Indonesia. We backpacked for seven weeks to different islands. For this Asia trip, we are on a strict budget, so we can see as much as possible of this incredible and diverse continent. That’s why we keep on track of all our expenses in a big Excel spreadsheet. This blog post is all about travel budget in Indonesia and we’ll share all our expenses.
Currency
The Indonesian rupiah is the currency of Indonesia.
You should always carry cash, as it is the most frequent way of payment. There are both billets and coins. If you travel to more touristy places such as Bali you can pay with a credit card in bigger restaurants.
We ourselves didn’t bring any cash from home, so we withdrew everything from ATMs. This is definitely not a cheap option as you need to pay a fee every time you withdraw cash and the withdrawal limit is quite low (2.500.000 IDR, around €170 in September and October 2022). Depending on how long you’re planning to travel through Indonesia, you can also bring euros or dollars to exchange for Indonesian rupias.
We both have a simple converter app on our phone (Currency+), which makes it easy to convert currencies. We travelled through Indonesia in September and October 2022 when currency rates were volatile, which influenced our expenses.
Transportation
Retour flights from Europe to Indonesia can be found between €400 and €800 (one person), depending on the season. We booked one-way tickets from Amsterdam to Jakarta for €436,32 (two persons) from Saudia Airlines six months in advance. This is very cheap, as we flew on 9/11.
Domestic flights are a convenient way to travel between the islands of Indonesia as it is the fastest way to get around. It’s also affordable as there are a lot of low-cost carriers offering flights. We took one domestic flight from Labuan Bajo (Flores) to Denpasar (Bali) for €124,86 (two persons).
In Java we used trains and buses, this island has a good connection between cities with public transport. You can buy tickets online or at the train station. The trains are a great way to travel a long distance for a cheap price. We travelled from Jakarta to Yogyakarta by train for €34,14 per person. Within the cities, using local buses is the cheapest way to get around. In Yogyakarta, buses were only 7.000 IDR (around 50 cents!) per person, and your ticket could get you from the beginning of the line to the end.
In islands such as Bali, Nusa Penida and Lombok we rented a scooter to get around. Public transport is not much available so it is quite inconvenient, but more expensive private drivers can be rented for a day to bring you everywhere you want. You can also rent a scooter for a day for IDR 70.000 (around €4,50) and explore the islands yourself.
In total, we spend €966,44 for transportation including flights for our 47 days in Indonesia.
Accommodation
There is a wide variety of accommodations in Indonesia. You can go as luxurious as you like for decent prices. We were backpacking, thus every euro counts. We opted for the cheaper options, but always stayed in a private room. We paid between €6,50 and €12,50 for a night. We only once paid €16,80 for a night in Labuan Bajo as there were no other options.
In total, we spend €330,45 for accommodation.
Food
Just like a lot of South-East Asian countries, Indonesia is known for its street food. This is always a good idea as it is cheap and fresh. You can order a meal for around €2 on the streets, perfect for backpackers and getting to know the country. Have you really been to Indonesia if you didn’t try any of their street food?
Food is very cheap in Indonesia but in touristy places like Bali, it can get attractive to buy some western food in a restaurant. Then prices go up extremely. Although it is still affordable compared to Europe, it takes a big portion of your budget if you go out to eat in these restaurants. Very nice when you’re on a holiday, but very bad for backpackers like us.
For our seven weeks, we spend €472,14 on food, beverages and groceries.
Activities
We did multiple activities in Indonesia. Our activity budget consists of a lot of entry fees as you have to pay for EVERYTHING in Indonesia (temples, waterfalls, viewpoints…). Entry fees for these tourist attractions can vary from IDR 15.000 to IDR 300.000.
Some activities we did to give you an idea about prices
- Prambanan Temple complex for €40 (don’t forget the student discount!)
- Climbing Mount Bromo and Mount Ijen for IDR 2.300.000 (around €150)
- Renting snorkels for a day for IDR 40.000 (around €2,50 for one pair of goggles)
- Cinema for IDR 70.000 (around €4,50)
- Four-day Komodo boat tour for IDR 5.600.000 (around €360)
- Monkey Forest for IDR 160.000 (around €10)
All prices above are for two people unless described differently.
For all the activities together we spend €604,58.
Others
Some other expenses we had are
- ATM costs (a painfully € 82,29)
- Sim-card for IDR 90.000 (around €5,80 for 30 days)
- Medicines
- Laundry (between IDR 7.000 and IDR 15.000 per kilo)
- Utilities (take enough sunscreen as this is expensive in Indonesia!)
Total Breakdown
For our Asia travels we have set a budget of €66 a day for two people including everything except insurances. If we manage to travel for this budget, we would be able to travel for six months. We know this is very strict but it is a goal we will try to approach.
Did we manage to reach our budget goal in Indonesia? In total, our Indonesia trip of 47 days cost €2904,71 including everything. That gives an average of € 61,80 per day for two people, which is under our aimed daily budget.
