Traveling to Indonesia

[cozcharlie]

Thank you very much for very informative reply.

Yes, our inbound flight has a 14-16 hrs. layover at Jakarta Airport. I'll check out the info on hotel you'd mentioned.

FYI. There are a couple of other hotel options at Jakarta airport you might want to consider . The Anara hotel is actually attached to Terminal 3 where customs and immigration is. I forget the level numbers but when you exit customs if you head to your right if you are facing the traffic lanes then go up one level via escalator you will eventually hit hotel (signage in terminal not particularly well marked). There have been some changes at immigration arrival hall but from the queue area I think you can actually see the Anara hotel sign through the wall of windows (can be useful just to orient yourself before you exit immigration , go to customs then make your way to hotel )

Some people also like the FM7 hotel which is near the airport but I think you will need a shuttle (or cab?). You should be able to search the board.

I am not knocking the Swisbel hotel @fantarara mentioned (I have no experience with it in Jakarta ), I just see the Anara and FM7 mentioned more frequently.

 

[Titatom]

I'm looking for some advice re what to do during waiting at Jakarta airport.

We're planning for a trip to Lembeh in Aug 2025. Origin from Bangkok, Thailand.
Currently, the best choice for flight seems to be with Garuda Indonesia from BKK-Jakarta-Manado.
Flight schedule seems like a long wait at the Jakarta airport.
Outbound flight from BKK, we'd have about 6-7hrs to wait (Arrive around 18:00, depart around 02:00 of next day)
Inbound flight from Manado, we'd have about 16hrs to wait (Arrive around 17:00, depart around 09:00 of next day)

- What facilities are there at Jakarta airport to do during those long waiting time?
- Is there a 'Left Luggage' facility that we can put some of the luggage away if we want to go outside of the airport?
- For our waiting time during the outbound flight (about 5-6hrs) - is it worth to go outside of the airport, may be into the City?
- For the Inbound flight, which we have about 16hrs to wait, we're looking to get a room at nearby hotel. Any recommendation? (preferably hotel with free shuttle transfer)
- As our target destination is Lembeh, how long is the overland travel from Manado Airport?

Any other advice would be much appreciated

It's been a few years, but we stayed at FM7 hotel overnight on way to Sorong. It's a decent hotel. However, the traffic getting there was really bad. We took a cab from the airport. It's a short distance but took about an hour to get to the hotel.

We stayed at Swiss belhotel in Sorong. It was decent with good breakfast when we were there. Haven't stayed at Swiss Belhotel in Jakarta.

As for getting to the city on a 6-hr layover, take traffic into consideration. We never rode the train, so cannot comment on that.

 

[Titatom]

Our layover at Jakarta is a little more than 7 hours. Arriving on Garuda from SIN to CGK at 4:30pm. Connecting on same booking to SOQ at 12:110am. Trying to figure out what do to after immigration and customs. No desire to go into the city.

Are there 'commercial' lounges where one pays for entry, and can nap and have a meal? We're booked on Economy, so, no access to 1st or business class lounges. Knowing that the wait is long and the flight is another 4 hours, a nap and a meal will be very helpful.

I looked at Anara hotel. Is this hotel inside the transit area? Or, one has to leave the terminal after immigration and re-check with immigration and TSA on return for the 2nd flight?

Thank you for suggestions.

 

[cozcharlie]

A few bits of info:
1)You will not be inside the transit area after you clear customs and immigration. No point in seeking an airside hotel like if you were just stopping between international flights like in Singapore or Tokyo.
2). You will not need to go through immigration again when you head to Sorong since it is a domestic flight . You will have to go through security to board Sorong flight , but not immigration.
3) Garuda uses Terminal 3 for both domestic and international flights. The domestic side and the international side are part of same terminal building but you can’t can’t go straight from international gates to domestic gates (or vice versa) without exiting security (and immigration if arriving on international flight)
4. Anara is very easy to get to since it is attached to Terminal 3. If your back is to terminal just head to your right (though it is easiest if you go up escalators inside building before you exit to far right ). You can book Anara through booking.com and maybe with hotel directly (as well as other sites ). Think I paid $90USD for one night for reservation I just booked.
5). I think there is a hotel(ish) place with sleeping pods somewhere in terminal 3 that might be cheaper than Anara. @Dan mentioned them sometime I believe.

Have a great trip

 

[Christian]

Our layover at Jakarta is a little more than 7 hours. Arriving on Garuda from SIN to CGK at 4:30pm. Connecting on same booking to SOQ at 12:110am. Trying to figure out what do to after immigration and customs. No desire to go into the city.

Are there 'commercial' lounges where one pays for entry, and can nap and have a meal? We're booked on Economy, so, no access to 1st or business class lounges. Knowing that the wait is long and the flight is another 4 hours, a nap and a meal will be very helpful.

I looked at Anara hotel. Is this hotel inside the transit area? Or, one has to leave the terminal after immigration and re-check with immigration and TSA on return for the 2nd flight?

Thank you for suggestions.

You will pass immigration when you land in Jakarta. Your flight to Sorong is domestic, so no passing immigration. I booked a room at the 101 on the airport, they have free minibus shuttle to and from the hotel (5-10 minutes), when I had an 8 hour ”layover” waiting for a 02:00 flight to Kupang earlier this September. Worked. Clean and comfortable. Room service with good selection of food.

 

[Dan]

5). I think there is a hotel(ish) place with sleeping pods somewhere in terminal 3 that might be cheaper than Anara. @Dan mentioned them sometime I believe.

Digital Airport Hotel

Welcome to Digital Airport Hotel, The First Modern Capsule Hotel in Indonesian Airport, Located in Terminal 3 Ultimate Soekarno-Hatta Airport, it will be the right choice for the travelers for waiting your next flight. We provide transit rate, started from 6 hours, and for 1 night stay, so its...

digitalairporthotel.com

 

[Wobbegong_th]

I'm looking for some advice re what to do during waiting at Jakarta airport.

We're planning for a trip to Lembeh in Aug 2025. Origin from Bangkok, Thailand.
Currently, the best choice for flight seems to be with Garuda Indonesia from BKK-Jakarta-Manado.
Flight schedule seems like a long wait at the Jakarta airport.
Outbound flight from BKK, we'd have about 6-7hrs to wait (Arrive around 18:00, depart around 02:00 of next day)
Inbound flight from Manado, we'd have about 16hrs to wait (Arrive around 17:00, depart around 09:00 of next day)

- What facilities are there at Jakarta airport to do during those long waiting time?
- Is there a 'Left Luggage' facility that we can put some of the luggage away if we want to go outside of the airport?
- For our waiting time during the outbound flight (about 5-6hrs) - is it worth to go outside of the airport, may be into the City?
- For the Inbound flight, which we have about 16hrs to wait, we're looking to get a room at nearby hotel. Any recommendation? (preferably hotel with free shuttle transfer)
- As our target destination is Lembeh, how long is the overland travel from Manado Airport?

Any other advice would be much appreciated

Ok.. refer to my own quoted message above.

In the end, we decided to go with Singapore Airline (SQ) + Scoot (TR) for BKK-SIN-MDC (Manado) return route.
At first, I thought Scoot flight was not on our scheduled day to arrive at the resort in Lembeh (YOS Dive Resort, which is fantastic, BTW)

So, once I'd recheck the scheduled, and found that Scoot did fly on our date, we book the said route. Booking was made through SQ website and connecting to Scoot which is its subsidiary - so baggage allowance from SQ carry over into scoot flight with no extra charge. Originally, we'll leave BKK around 22:00hr, arrive in SIN by midnight, and depart on Scoot about 9-10-ich the next day - wasn't look that bad. However, a little bit disappoint as arrival in SIN at midnight means there's no train to city and too late for city tour.
Then a few days after booking was made, Scoot re-time the SIN-MDC flight to about 13:00hr - which give us longer layover in the airport on our outbound. Also, This made our arrival at the resort late in the evening - which mean we miss our first dive on schedule.

On a plus side, scoot re-time schedule give us later departure from MDC, give us more time to relax and pack our luggage before depart the resort. Also, a little bit shorter layover at SIN.

Anyway, our group agreed that if we go to Lembeh again next time, we might try Garuda.

 

[Titatom]

@Dan - Are the pods 'spacious' enough to accommodate a 6 ft, 210 lb guy? Thanks!

 

[Dan]

@Dan - Are the pods 'spacious' enough to accommodate a 6 ft, 210 lb guy? Thanks!

I just visited the place once and didn’t stay there as Anara was available at the time.

Upon checking the single capsule size, it has 2 sqm bed, 1m (39”) wide x 2m (78”) long. So, you have 6” to spare over your head.

 

[Titatom]

@Dan - Thank you for the info.