Before You Arrive
It is suggested that you know about customs regulations in Indonesia before packing your belongings. You are allowed to bring a maximum of 100 grams of tobacco, 50 cigars, or 200 cigarettes, and a liter of alcohol for any passenger over 18 years of age. If you bring more than Rp 100,000,000 (or the equivalent) of cash in any currency to Indonesia, you should declare it to the customs. Likewise, electronic and photographic devices should also be declared.
Most of the time, you will not need to apply for a visa. If you are the citizenship of any of 160-ish countries that allow visa-free and/or visa on arrival to visit Indonesia, all you need is your passport, and in the case of visa on arrival, it only costs you a small amount of cash. For more information regarding the Indonesian visa, click here.
To enter Indonesia, you should have a valid passport within at least six months before its expiration date. With a visa-free entry, you can stay in Indonesia for 30 days, and your stay cannot be extended. If you apply for social and cultural visa B-211, you can stay for 60 days with three extensions, each extension granting you another 30 days of stay. There are other types of visas that you might need to know before going to Indonesia, though, and you can find the information in this link.
How to get to Indonesia
The most convenient way to travel to Indonesia is by flight. There are various international airlines operating direct flights to Indonesia, such as to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang (near Jakarta), Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Juanda Airport in Surabaya, West Java International Airport in Majalengka (68km from Bandung), Hasanudin Airport in Makassar, and Kualanamu Airport in Medan. Every international airport mentioned in this article is equipped with world-class facilities, ensuring that your trip is comfortable and enjoyable.
Most airlines serve the Indonesian route by transit, but some of them also allow direct travel as well. International airlines that serve to and from Indonesia include Garuda Indonesia (the flagship carrier of Indonesia), AirAsia. Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Emirates, Eva Air, Firefly, Japan Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Lion Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, and Qantas/Jetstar Airways. On average, to reach Indonesia, 20 hours of travel is expected from the Americas, and seven hours from Australia.
If you live in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, you might also want to try going to Indonesia by ferries. Regular ferries connect Singapore and Malaysia to Batam Island and Bintan Island in Sumatra, and the ticket fare is relatively affordable. There are also a few other ship routes available, namely ferries from Sabah to East Kalimantan, and RoRo ships from Davao to Bitung, North Sulawesi. Upon your arrival in Indonesia by ferries, there are several routes that allow you to go to Jakarta or other islands in Indonesia.
If you fancy cruise ships, you can stop at these five ports: Tanjung Priok (North Jakarta), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), Belawan (near Medan), Makassar, and Tanjung Benoa (Bali). Scheduled regular cruise ships are available from Singapore that stops in Java and Bali, whereas irregular ship schedules would stop in Bali and Nusa Tenggara. You can stop at a specific location as your wish, and your immigration needs would be handled in the ship. With the current government's policy to ease ships entering the waters of Indonesia, cruise ships become a fun experience to travel to Indonesia.
If you travel to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea, it is also possible to enter Indonesia through land borders. From Malaysia, you can take regular buses that start from Kuching, Sarawak, to Pontianak, West Kalimantan, in which case your immigration needs would be handled in border posts in Entikong. There are another two border posts that connect Sarawak to West Kalimantan, namely Aruk Border Post in Sambas Regency and Nanga Badau Sanggau Border Post.
To reach Indonesia from Timor Leste, there are three border posts in Atambua, Timor Island. The main border post is located at Mota'ain, and another two are located in Matamauk and Napan. Meanwhile, if you travel to Papua New Guinea and want to reach Indonesia through Papua, you can reach Skouw Border Post in Muaratami District, which is about 60 km from Jayapura, the capital of Papua.