How Much I Spent in Indonesia
I get a lot of questions about how much it costs to travel in Southeast Asia. I’ve written about how much I spent in two months in Southeast Asia, but because I get so many country-specific searches and questions from people working on a travel budget, I thought it would be helpful to give a breakdown of my expenses by country. My time in Indonesia was by no means extensive, but I spent two weeks between Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands, and Java. Here’s how it all worked out.
Total Indonesia travel expenses
- $217: Lodging for 14 nights, average $15.50 per night.
- $113: Ferries, buses, and other transportation. No flights.
- $169: Activities
- $25: Visa
- $450: Food, alcohol and other miscellaneous purchases
The total comes to $974, so $69.57 a day.
Prices are listed in US dollars. I was traveling with a friend at this point, so lodging costs are based on two of us staying in one room.
Activities include snorkeling, a pedicure, visiting rice terraces, Mt. Bromo and Borobudur, a cooking class, and two local dance shows.
The food and miscellaneous amount is extremely high. This includes things like laundry, toothpaste, a sarong, postcards (which never made it to their recipients), expensive but necessary after-sun lotion, bug spray, lots of ice cream, and quite a bit of splurging on nice meals and fancy drinks in Bali. Heavy emphasis on the nice meals and fancy drinks.
You can do this for so much less! We splurged on a nice hotel in Seminyak for a couple nights, we spent more on food by eating out at nice restaurants, and I stocked up on toiletries because I knew I had a long stretch without having to get on a plane. Take out the food and miscellaneous line, and you’re left with just $524, or $37.43 per day plus whatever you spend on food.
Indonesia is a little more expensive than many other countries in Southeast Asia, but it’s still cheap than traveling in places like Europe or Australia. If you’re on a tight travel budget, save money by looking for a room once you’re on the ground, watch what you spend on food and drinking, and always negotiate on things like transportation.
To view all posts about travel spending click here.
February 7, 2013 @ 12:20 PM
Hey Ali,
Thanks for the recap…it’s always useful to have an idea of the expenses in a country. I’m heading to Indonesia in the next couple of months and i’m planning to stay there for a bit.
Your budget is a bit on the high side for me 🙂 but as you said,we can make it for less. My ideal busget would be around 30$…do you think i could still include some activities? i don’t care much about restaurants and nice accomodation.
Thanks!
February 7, 2013 @ 2:39 PM
Hi Kle! Yes, my budget was a bit crazy! US$30 a day might be a little tight if you want to include activities, but there are always ways to do it. If you’re going to be in one spot for awhile, look at doing a short term rental. You can certainly find cheap food and hostels that include breakfast. When you change locations, take the cheapest transport option instead of the fastest, but don’t get on a boat (or whatever) if you don’t think it’s safe. We found our transport from Bali to Probolingo (on Java, where you can set up a Bromo tour) for $12 by going to the bus station and asking around, and the $12 included dinner. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride but it worked out well. The 2 dance shows we attended were US$8 each, and to be honest, not worth the money. Snorkeling in the Gili Islands cost me $20. The Bromo tour cost $55 including transport. If you go there, DO NOT stay more than one night, not worth it at all. Our cooking class in Bali was $28. Your best bet might be to really watch what you spend on lodging, food and transport, and be willing to splurge a little on a couple activities you really want to do. It’s not worth missing something you really want to do just to save a few bucks.
I hope this helps, but please feel free to email me if you have any other questions!
February 7, 2013 @ 3:02 PM
Thanks so much for all these info Ali!really helpful!…we were thinking about short time rental or some other cheap otpion. But we need to be there to sort it out i guess. Do you reccommend asking to locals directly for the short rental? Also…the Bromo tour, i checked out the pictures on the internet and it looks really good, when you say “it’s not worth it”, you mean the place or staying more than one night? Oh and using boats (safe ones of course!) is expensive? i guess it still depends on the speed of the boat right? Sorry, so many questions, but this is my first RTW trip and my first time in Asia too 🙂 I totally agree about splurging on activities you may like. Of course i can’t do everything i want to,but at least some tours and snorkeling are included!
Thanks again!
February 7, 2013 @ 6:06 PM
I’ve never done a short term rental, but people I know of who have always seem to have better luck sorting it out once they get where they’re going. Anything you find on rental sites are likely to be more expensive than what you’ll find in person. Find a cheap hostel for a few nights and ask around.
The Bromo tour was good, but I can’t recommend staying there more than one night. It’s a TINY town with nothing to do, and we had a hard time even finding meals except cr*ppy restaurants connected to cr*ppy hotels. We stayed 2 nights and regretted it. Also, they will try to rent you a coat to wear in the morning when you go up to see the sunrise. As long as you have pants and a sweatshirt, you don’t need their coat! They will badger you like crazy to rent one, but you don’t need it.
When we went from Bali to Lombok, the slow boat was a lot cheaper than the fast boat. We took the fast boat back, and it was so fast it slammed against the water really hard every 2 seconds and it was a miserable ride. Going from Bali to Java, we got a bus in Bali that drove to the port, drove onto the ferry, and continued on to Java on the other side, so we didn’t even have to switch. On the bus and the slow boat, we were the only non-locals.
No worries about the questions, I’m happy to help if I can! You will find some other countries to be cheaper than Indonesia. I regularly had a full meal including a beer for US$3 in Cambodia. I’m working on a few more of these country specific budget posts, so check back later.
February 7, 2013 @ 10:29 PM
Thanks so much! iwrote everything down on my travel diary! so much to remember 🙂 but i will remember the coat advice by heart..I’ll be awaiting for the detailed budget for other countries. Cambodia is on my list too so it’s going to be very interesting!
February 8, 2013 @ 11:55 AM
No problem Kle! I’m working on one for Cambodia and maybe one or two other countries, so hopefully in the next week or two.
February 8, 2013 @ 2:49 AM
You may have spent nearly $70USD per day while in Indonesia, but it sounds like you had an amazing time. I am always leery of people who post budgets that are super low, because I wonder what they are doing with their time. Asia is generally cheap, yes, but if you actually want to experience things while you’re here, those things can quickly add up!
February 8, 2013 @ 12:06 PM
Thanks Steph! I don’t go out of my way to spend a lot of money, but I could never be on a strict shoestring budget. I also wasn’t so good about tracking what I spent in that “food and other” category, so it might be a tad high. But activities, transport and lodging can really add up, especially if you move around too quickly like I did on this trip!
February 9, 2013 @ 2:34 PM
I’m doing my own South-East Asia trip in March. Thanks for the cost run-down of Indonesia. I guess I will spend the majority of my time in the cheaper places and only pop by there for a week or two. Do you know what the prices are like in the Philippines, Malaysia etc? Is Indonesia more or less expensive? I know these countries aren’t the cheapest, either.
February 9, 2013 @ 3:08 PM
Thanks Olivia! I haven’t been to the Philippines, so I can’t really say much there. My friend Jaime at http://breakawaybackpacker.com spent some time there, so he might be able to tell you what the costs were like if you send him an email. He posts his travel spending on his site, but he’s a little behind right now, and it looks like he hasn’t gotten to that section yet. I spent about 4 days in Malaysian Borneo, and lodging expenses were roughly what I spent in Indonesia. I also remember getting a hostel in Kuala Lumpur a few years ago for about US$10 so you can definitely find some cheap places to stay. Malaysia in general is more expensive than Cambodia, but it’s still really cheap compared to any western country. Ask Jaime about Malaysia as well, he spent more time there than I did. Sorry I couldn’t be more help!
February 11, 2013 @ 1:27 AM
Interesting! We were just talking today about the cost of traveling in SE Asia, though more specifically Thailand. Thanks for this breakdown!
February 11, 2013 @ 3:09 PM
I didn’t go to Thailand, but I’m sure you can find lots of posts about expenses there. SE Asia is definitely not expensive, which makes it that much more appealing.
February 15, 2013 @ 1:57 AM
I love budget posts – they are always so helpful. Its true that by eating less expensive food it can really help out the budget.
February 15, 2013 @ 12:23 PM
Thanks Jade! Yes, I certainly could’ve spent less on food and drinks and cut back on my spending in Indonesia. I’m actually a bit appalled looking back that I spent so much in the “food and misc.” category!
November 19, 2014 @ 9:28 AM
Hi,
Very helpful article. Regarding travelling inside Bali, what are the options? Like if I stay in Kuta and travel to different attractions and beaches of Bali then what would be the cheapest option? I guess, beaches are free to visit but what other attractions charge for admission?
thanks
November 19, 2014 @ 10:48 PM
Thanks! We spent most of our time in Ubud, which is very walkable. But there are guys walking around EVERYWHERE asking you if you want a taxi. Ask your hotel or guesthouse or other travelers how much it should cost to get a taxi to wherever it is you want to go, and be prepared to negotiate with the driver. There are certain attractions that charge admission, but we didn’t do anything that wasn’t free except a cooking class that was super cheap. Most things aren’t very expensive.