What to see and do in Jakarta. The best beaches in Indonesia Entertainment and attractions

is an exotic country located along the equator and washed by the Indian Ocean. The state includes 17,804 islands. Each of them has a beautiful coastline and attracts tourists with its picturesque beaches.

general information

Before going on vacation to Indonesia, most tourists wonder where the best beaches in the country are. It should be understood that everyone is unique, so choose the coast depending on your personal preferences.

There are beaches for swimming and sunbathing, for activities and. The coast can also have different colors of sand and water. Indonesia is home to a large number, which is why many islands have a black coast.

Beaches in the Indonesian capital Jakarta

This city attracts travelers with its diverse flavor, museums, and historical monuments. The beaches are not quiet and secluded. It is always crowded and noisy here, because not only tourists, but also local youth come here to relax.

Karita is considered the best beach in Jakarta. It is quite wide and covered with snow-white sand. The entrance to the sea is gentle, so it is an ideal place for families with small children. Here you can go diving or snorkeling. There are special training schools on the coast where they rent out scuba gear, masks, fins, etc.

Beaches of Java

The capital of Indonesia is located on, so if you haven’t found a beach in Jakarta, you can go along the coast. It is worth paying attention to such places as:

Panaitan– famous for its legendary surf spots, such as Illusion, Napalms and One Palm Point. The most dangerous waves in the country are found here. The beach belongs to. In order to get here, you will need to pay a tax and receive a special permit from the island's governor.
Karas– a beach with black sand and good waves for surfing. They are suitable for teaching beginners. You can ski here all year round. The beach is located in a small settlement with budget accommodation and several cafes.
Pangandaran– You can only get to this beach through a bamboo bridge. The coast has white sand and clear water, although with strong currents and high waves.
Asnieres– is seaside and famous for its picturesque coastline. There are always a large number of traders and vacationers around. Especially many people come to the beach at sunset, when the sun seems to fall into the ocean. Here you can get the most original photos from the beaches in Indonesia. The main attraction is the lighthouse, which was built by the Dutch.

Beaches in Bali

This island is rightfully considered the most popular and popular in the country. The beaches here are suitable for both swimming with children and surfing. The main thing is to choose the right coast. The southern and eastern parts are suitable for active recreation, and the western and northern parts are suitable for a relaxing holiday. The best beaches on the island are:

is a generalized name for the entire northern coast. It is characterized by calm seas, black sand and a wide beach strip.
Padang-Padang is one of the best beaches for swimming in Indonesia. There are rarely high waves here, and the water is clear and very clean.
Balangan– snow-white coast with turquoise water, dominated by high waves. You can only go into the sea in special shoes.
- a popular resort surrounded by villas and luxury.
– it is chosen by divers because the warship Liberty once sank near the coast. This ship is the main one today.

The most beautiful beaches in Indonesia

The country has several archipelagos. Some of them are surrounded by coral reefs, while others are jungles home to a variety of animals. The best picturesque beaches for are:

Beaches for active recreation

Many tourists come here to learn the basics of surfing or catch a wave. Travelers are also interested in seeing the depths of the sea, looking at a sunken ship, swimming among schools of fish or with large predators. There are many centers throughout the country where all your wishes will come true. The best beaches for active recreation in Indonesia are:

Jakarta is the multimillion-dollar capital of the largest Muslim state in the world, a former outpost of the Dutch East Indies. Here, tenacious, vociferous Asian street life throbs at the base of gleaming skyscrapers and shopping malls, and the northern district of Kota still retains an elusive colonial charm.

To fully enjoy this city, you need to be able to bargain like the devil and endure traffic jams with the calm of a Buddha. And those who don’t like this can always take refuge in cafes, museums and churches of all possible faiths, or even sail away to one of the paradise shores of the Thousand Islands National Park.

Jakarta is full of strange combinations. In a “five-star” hotel you can wake up to the sound of roosters crowing in the next block; the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, the Istiqlal Mosque, is striking in its resemblance to the gloomy giants of Soviet modernism; The local Chinatown is the only one in the world where you won’t find picturesque signs with hieroglyphs, and local Muslim women lead a quite active lifestyle. And it's always warm here.

Shopping

Jakarta has plenty for even the most demanding shopaholic to indulge in. A huge number of shopping centers open their doors daily from 10:00 to 20:00, and for those looking for an authentic feel, markets and street vendors await.

Always bargain, unless you come to a luxury brand boutique. When buying items of traditional culture in markets, it is better to first check their cost in stores - then it will be more difficult for the seller to charge an exorbitant price.

The most famous shopping centers are Grand Indonesia and Plaza Indonesia (Jalan MH Thamrin, 1), which are ideal places for luxury shopping. One of the most unusual shopping centers is Jakarta Gem Center (Jalan Bekasi Barat Raya). Here, on three floors of a huge mall, they sell only precious stones and everything made from them. There is a giant clothing market in Pacific Place (Jalan Jend Sudirman Kav, 52-53). You can also buy cheap clothes at Bloc M. For traditional goods, go to the flea market on Jalan Surabaya or Alun Alun Indonesia.

Every year in June and early July, Jakarta hosts a grand sale - the Jakarta Great Sale. Not only popular shopping centers participate in it, but also some hotels, offering discounts on rooms. Organizers organize a variety of events, including a midnight sale, a night when store doors remain open.

Batik, wooden sculptures, masks, carved paintings and, of course, pearl products are brought from here as souvenirs.

Traveling around Jakarta

Cuisine and restaurants of Jakarta

In Jakarta, you can eat in a wide variety of establishments: there are chic Michelin-starred restaurants, cheap local warung restaurants (usually run by one family), and numerous street food stalls.

Most local dishes contain rice, hot sauces and something fried. But you won’t find pork in Jakarta; after all, Indonesia is a Muslim state. Unusual dishes include fried shark fin, frog legs, fried bananas with jaggery, fried gourami fish, coconut cake and fried locust.

Numerous restaurants are ready to surprise visitors with the delights of Spanish, French, Turkish, Japanese and, of course, Indonesian cuisines. Lunch at an expensive restaurant costs about 300,000 IDR. Lunch at the warung will cost around 40,000-60,000 IDR.

Street food in Jakarta can be bought at every turn. But trying it is risky. Not only is the food unusual and always flavored with a generous amount of hot sauces, but the sanitary conditions are also very questionable: the sellers lightly rinse the plates in muddy water and immediately use them again. But if economy and curiosity take over, you can try rice with chicken and vegetables or baked bananas. In the port area, sea creatures are also prepared on the street: oysters, crabs, clams and cuttings for 15,000 IDR.

Before starting a meal, a restaurant may bring you a bowl of lime water for washing your hands and a glass of tea as a welcome. Several buffet dishes may also appear without any order. You only have to pay for what you eat.

Guides in Jakarta

Entertainment and attractions

One of the most interesting local attractions can be considered the Taman Mini ethnographic park - beautiful Indonesia in miniature. There are 33 pavilions located on a vast territory, each of which represents one Indonesian province. Here you can see household items and traditional Indonesian buildings. There is something interesting here for both adults and children.

The Park of Dreams in Anchol (Jl. Lodan Timur no., 7) is also suitable for walks with little tourists. There are attractions, a water park, beaches, golf courses and much more. Among other things, the park has an art bazaar where they sell leather and batik products, works of artists, wood or bone carvers and other souvenirs to remember Jakarta.

At the end of Jalan Street is the huge Tamaya Ismail Narzuki complex, which includes an exhibition hall, a planetarium, an art gallery, a dance hall and 5 theaters.

The National Monument is a must see. It is made entirely of Italian marble, its height is 132 m, and the column is crowned with a flame made of 35-kilogram gilded sheet. The monument symbolizes power and independence. Indonesia's national mosque, Istiqlal, is the largest in Southeast Asia. Next to it is the presidential palace.

Merdeka Square, of unimaginable size, with the Monas Monument in the center, is fenced off and can only be entered through several gates. Find out where they are so you don’t have to walk a kilometer just to get inside.

In the Chinese region stands the Jing Yuan Temple. Here the remains of Buddhist and Taoist saints rest in special sarcophagi. It will be interesting to look at the National Cathedral, built in the neo-Gothic style. In Tamam Fatahullah Square you can see the ancient Si Yago cannon, considered a symbol of fertility. Young couples who dream of children come here.

Museums in Jakarta

On the site of the old Dutch fort of Batavia, where the powerful East India Company had its main base since the 17th century, a charming “Dutch” corner of the city remains. Today this area of the city is called Kota. Here you can walk along the colonial-style streets and visit the Historical Museum (Jalan Taman Fatahillah, 1), which houses an impressive collection of furniture from the time of Dutch rule. Not far from the Historical Museum there is another museum worthy of attention - Wayang (Pintu Besar Utara, 27), where traditional dolls and masks are exhibited. Here visitors get acquainted with the incredibly popular shadow theater in Indonesia.

Just think about it: Indonesia consists of 17.5 thousand islands. Yes, exactly thousands! At the same time, the lion's share of our compatriots rest on only one. We decided to look into the variety of holiday options in this tourist-rich country and tell you about it. Perhaps you will be the one to break the stereotype and go on vacation along untrodden paths.

Any state begins with the capital. They can be exclusively administrative, they can be large agglomerations, but in any case, this is the main city of the country, and it makes sense to start studying the country from there.

In Indonesia, this is Jakarta - a multimillion-dollar metropolis with a rich history and an explosive mixture of nationalities and cultures. This city is undeservedly ignored by tourists. They can be understood - people go to Southeast Asia for the clean sea, white beaches and other delights of the pristine nature of an exotic country. However, why not dilute the postcard views with the noise of the big city? After all, a metropolis can also be exotic!

So close to Jakarta

By the way, its relative transport accessibility also speaks in favor of visiting Jakarta. From Moscow, the capital of Indonesia, located on the other side of the equator, can be reached by several airlines with just one transfer - in Singapore (Singapore Airlines), Dubai (Emirates), Doha (Qatar Airways), Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Hong Kong (Catay Pacific), Amsterdam (KLM), Beijing (Air China) and Seoul (Korean Air).

From St. Petersburg these are the same Emirates, KLM and Lufthansa. A huge plus is that getting to Jakarta from other Russian cities is not difficult - Turkish Airlines flies from Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Ufa with a connection in Istanbul.

So, with the possibilities of flying to Jakarta, everything is clear - they are rich, there is plenty to choose from, and, therefore, the price is very low due to competition. For example, from Moscow the price tag starts at just over 20 thousand rubles. What is so interesting about the capital of Indonesia besides the spicy smells of the streets and Asian flavor?

Where to start exploring the capital?

In Jakarta, your first casual acquaintance with the whole of Indonesia can take place: the city is home to Taman Mini, an ethnographic miniature park where you will learn about different regions of the country. 27 pavilions are located on a vast territory, and each of the pavilions will tell about a particular province.

Having mapped out your route around the country, it makes sense to go to the symbol of the city - the national monument "". The 132-meter monument made of Italian marble is located on Freedom Square. At its top there is a bronze torch, 35 kilograms of gold were spent on gilding it. Is it worth talking about the views from the top of Monas?

Curious tourists will be delighted by the Tamaya Ismail Narzuki complex - a planetarium, exhibition hall, art gallery, five theaters and a dance hall in one! And if you like the works of Indonesian artists in the art gallery, then it’s worth visiting the park in Anchol, where there is an art bazaar with a rich selection of leather and batik products, works of wood and bone carvers, paintings and much more.

Indonesia is a Muslim country; almost 90% of the population professes this religion. It is therefore not surprising that Jakarta is home to the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, the Istiqlal Mosque. Next to this grandiose building is the Presidential Palace.

Islam, of course, is the main religion of Indonesia, but still the capital of the country is multicultural and tolerant of other faiths. Proof of this is the Jing Yuan Temple with the remains of Buddhist and Taoist saints, as well as the National Cathedral, built in the neo-Gothic style. By the way, unlike the Middle East, where Islam is also the main religion, in Jakarta no one will look at you askance if you appear with bare shoulders and in a skirt. Of course, this does not apply to mosques.

Numerous museums in Jakarta will add a cultural component to the trip, among which it is worth noting the National Museum of Indonesia, where a treasury of royal jewels is kept; Jakarta History Museum with antique portraits, carved furniture and other attributes of Indonesia's colonial past; Wayang Museum, which has a large number of masks and dolls from all over the country; Indonesian Armed Forces Museum "Xatria Mandala" with military equipment from the Second World War displayed in the open air; Bahari Maritime Museum, where traditional sailing ships are collected…

Shopping the Jakarta way

But Jakarta is famous not only for its sights - no metropolis can do without rich shopping opportunities, and the capital of Indonesia is no exception. Even, perhaps, more - Jakarta is a real Klondike for a shopaholic, and this is not an exaggeration! Of course, the city has many super-modern shopping centers housing all the world's brands, but we recommend shopping for exotic and unique goods that flock to Jakarta from all over the country.

Batik brought from Indonesia, wooden and bone sculptures, carved paintings, masks, pearls, dishes... you can’t list it all. Separately, it is worth mentioning the prices - they are simply insignificant compared to Russian ones. Moreover, they are lower than prices in Bali, where mass tourism is steadily raising the price tag for all goods and services.

Where to go next?

Well, that’s probably enough for a first walk around the capital. Then you can go to any other part of this huge country; fortunately, there are a great many resorts in Indonesia.

These are islands such as Borneo with its rich nature, tropical jungles and indigenous populations; Sumatra with volcanoes, ancient temples and black sand beaches; Lombok with its fairly developed tourist infrastructure; Sulawesi with one of popular world resorts for divers - Manado; volcanic and culturally rich Java, where Jakarta itself is located; Bintan and Batam with gorgeous beaches, excellent hotels and a duty-free shopping area, Indonesia attractions I could list them for a long time.

After all, you can fly from Jakarta to the same verified Bali, if you've had enough exotics. Moreover, the prices for domestic flights are very encouraging - you can fly from Jakarta to Bali for 1,000 rubles. The island itself has a lot of different activities and types of recreation, it is not only a beach destination. A good option would be to use the help of local travel agencies, for example, the services of the Russian host company in Bali - Bounty, which Turister.ru checked for service and was satisfied with it, that is, with the service.

If you have already been to Bali many times, or you are confused by the abundance of compatriots, then flights to other islands of Indonesia are also not expensive.

So, do you still want to take a regular charter flight to Bali? Or maybe you can still combine your vacation with a visit to Real Indonesia?

The editors of Turister.ru would like to thank TTG Asia for the opportunity to visit Jakarta.

Text & photo: Nikolay Lebedev