Jakarta Travel Guide - Kota Tua, Monas and the Modern City

See & Do

The city rewards a little planning: districts sit far apart and traffic decides the shape of your day.

Kota Tua and the old Dutch core

Kota Tua, the old Batavia square, is the one part of Jakarta built for walking: the Jakarta History Museum in the former town hall, the Wayang Museum, Cafe Batavia's colonial verandah, and street performers on the cobbles at weekends. Go early, before the heat lands.

Monas and the national axis

Merdeka Square holds the National Monument (Monas), the gold-flamed obelisk at the centre of the city, and the lift inside runs to a viewing platform. Istiqlal, Southeast Asia's largest mosque, and the neo-gothic Jakarta Cathedral, plus the National Museum, are all within walking distance of it.

Modern Jakarta: Sudirman, SCBD and Kemang

The skyline runs along Jalan Jenderal Sudirman and through SCBD; the malls there (Grand Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia) are the city's air-conditioned living rooms. South of the centre, Kemang and Blok M are the expat and nightlife belt.

Day trips: Ancol and the Thousand Islands

Ancol, on the north coast, is the theme-park and beach strip locals use; Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands) is the closest thing Jakarta has to a beach weekend, an hour or two by boat from Marina Ancol.

Jakarta is also the country's main air hub, which makes it a stopover or a base rather than a circuit. Bali and Canggu are a short flight southeast, Singapore is a 1.5-hour hop, and the Yogyakarta temples are an hour by air.

Eat

Jakarta's food is the whole archipelago in one city: Minangkabau, Javanese, Sundanese, Chinese and Malay kitchens, from Rp20,000 warungs to tasting menus.

Start with the classics

Nasi Padang is the default lunch, ordered by pointing: rendang, ayam pop, sambal ijo. Nasi goreng, sate ayam, bakso, gado-gado and soto Betawi fill in the rest. Numbeo puts an inexpensive restaurant meal at Rp45,000 (about $2.50) and a three-course dinner for two at Rp300,000 (about $17).

Street food worth the queue

Kerak telor, the Betawi egg-and-sticky-rice omelette, is a Kota Tua specialty; martabak manis is the dessert; Glodok and Jalan Sabang carry the night-market rows. Eat where the turnover is fast.

Coffee

The third wave arrived years ago. nomads.com's picks are Anomali Coffee and Reading Room, and the office districts have filter bars charging Rp40,000 a cup. Warung coffee still costs a tenth of that.

Where to Stay

Where you stay decides how much of your trip disappears into traffic. The trade is always central and expensive against outer and slow.

Grogol Petamburan and Kebon Jeruk (west)

nomads.com's pick for best neighbourhood is Grogol Petamburan, with Kebon Jeruk flagged as the one to watch next. Both are west Jakarta: cheaper than the business districts and well connected for the price.

Menteng and Cikini (central)

The old colonial residential quarter: leafy streets, museums and the best walking in the city. Mid-range hotels, restaurant-heavy, quieter than the mall districts.

Kemang and Blok M (south, expat)

South Jakarta's foreigner belt: international restaurants, bars and serviced apartments, with the broadest long-stay housing choice in the city.

Logistics

Arrive at Soekarno-Hatta (CGK): the Airport Rail Link runs to BNI City in central Jakarta, or use the GoJek app, nomads.com's recommended taxi app, rather than a street taxi. Inside the city, TransJakarta's busway is cheap and has dedicated lanes; the MRT Jakarta north-south line from Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI is the newest and the easiest way under the traffic.

Two practicalities. Cash still matters in warungs and for street parking, even though cards work in malls and hotels. And Jakarta floods: in the wet season a short downpour can close a road for an hour.

Air quality is the city's real cost. nomads.com puts the annual average at 129 US AQI, unhealthy for sensitive groups, and worse in the dry season. If you run outdoors, run early and check the daily reading the way you would check rain.