Air
Soekarno-Hatta Airport, named after Indonesia's
1st president and vice-president, is 20 kilometres or 13 miles northwest
of Jakarta. By car, a trip into town can take at least 40 minutes
and up to an hour when traffic is heavy.
The airport is not too large and is easy to navigate for a 1st time
visitor. Facilities may not match those in richer countries but
they have clear signs and staff happily assist you. You'll find
that a commonplace throughout Indonesia is that the country does
have it's infrastructure problems, however these are mitigated by
the hospitality and courtesy of it's people.
2 terminals serve the international arrivals and
departures, while one terminal is for domestic flights. The range
and variety of shops at the airport is limited and prices are relatively
expensive. However should you need to buy rupiah the moneychangers
offer a reasonable exchange rate.
Garuda is the largest Indonesian airline
and has the most flights to Singapore. Jakarta is well served by
other airlines that sometimes offer better fares. Airlines that
fly on a regular basis: Japan Airlines, Quantas, Silk Air, KLM,
Lufthansa, British Airways and Thai Airways International.
Road
If you have not made arrangements to be met at the airport, the
1st thing you should do upon leaving customs is to walk over to
the Bluebird Taxi booking desk from where you can
get a chauffeured car. It is not advised for visitors to drive themselves.
Bluebird is a reputable company and will make your trip into town
that much easier.
Bluebird offers 2 options to
get to the city. A Goldenbird is a limousine
with an hourly rate and a Silverbird
is a metered limousine. Both have good
drivers though the Silverbird is essentially a large taxi while
the Goldenbird is an unmarked car, usually a Mercedes or Volvo.
The cost ranges from 80,000 -150,000 rupiah.
Porters expect tips between 2,000 and 5,000 rupiah.
If you want to keep costs to the bare minimum,
then the best option would be to take the air-conditioned
bus which departs for the city every 30 minutes.
The cost is about 3,000 to 4,000 rupiah for the
trip. Ask the airport staff to tell you which of the 5 drop off
points in the city are closest to your hotel.
Taxis are available. The flag-fall rate is 1,500 rupiah,
plus 550 rupiah for each additional kilometer, or about 25,000 rupiah
to get to the city center.
Tipping
Airport porters costs
500 rupiah for a small bag and 1,000 rupiah if each bag weighs more
than 20 kilograms. Tipping taxi or limousine
drivers is not mandatory, but 500 rupiah is sufficient for a taxi
driver and more to the limo driver. |
