Jakarta International Airport to KOTA STATION Central Jakarta by bus

We were supposed to take the train from Yogyakarta to Jakarta. It would be a butt numbing 9-hour ride from Central to West Java that we were willing to take for the sake of experience. I have never rode a train longer than 30 minutes at a time so I was excited to book tickets two weeks before flying to Indonesia but the website declined to process despite so many attempts. I still tried and tried despite the difficulty of navigating the site with no English version. One way ticket per person at that time costs around 360,000 per person. I am glad the online reservation wasn't successful because when I checked LionAir, a local budget carrier, one-way costs 315,000 Rupiah. That's way cheaper plus it will only take an hour to touch down in Jakarta.

Back to SOEKARNO HATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Terminal 1 again. The flight was smooth and relaxed. It was sunny in Jakarta when we landed. Didn't have to wait for any baggage so we were just carrying backpacks.

Since Jakarta International Airport is not connected by train, the options for commute are either via taxi or by bus. Taxi is a good option but the bus is definitely a cheaper alternative. To give you an idea, we took the cab on our departure flight and we paid 110,000 Rupiah on the meter + toll. Not bad at all especially of you are on a group of four and are in a hurry.

Bus fare though costs 30,000 Rupiah per person one way. This is the best option if you are travelling solo.Look for Damri Bus. They have a terminal and ticket office in front of Terminal 1. No need to cross the street. Reserve tickets for Kota Station.

Not bad at all. Airconditioned bus, not 1st class but spacious and comfortable enough. Has wifi on board but it was turtle slow so I didn't bother using it. I simply enjoyed looking around for the view. Noticed the highways connecting the airport to Jakarta. Spacious. And traffic was not as bad as I expected. Maybe because it was noontime. It only became relatively slower with the emergence of tall buildings in sight and the bus making its way through small, narrow streets. 

Jakarta is indeed like another Manila notably because of the stark contrast between flashy, modern buildings side by side small houses. Financial districts surrounded by impoverished areas. I noticed streets are wide but not so many flyovers. A seeming lack of infrastructure like in the Philippines. The building are really of modern design. Quite envious because we do have a lot of buildings in Manila but most of them here are of generic design.

Anyhow, the bus we took has a route ending at Kota Train Station, the same station where we should have ended should we took the train from Yogyakarta.

From there we took the cab to our hotel --Hotel Indonesia Kempinski. 

More on my Jakarta Series soon!!! ^^

ALSO READ:

--Taxi to PRAMBANAN? No, do-it-yourself via TransJogja
--Postcard Perfect PRAMBANAN TEMPLE in Yogyakarta
--#PRAMBANAN2014: Free Museum, Souvenirs, Nasi Gudeg and the Notorious Becak Ride
--EDU HOSTEL Yogyakarta is about Comfort and Space
--WIJILAN GUDEG: Nasi Gudeg Komplit Special Bu Lies
--WHAT TO DO IN YOGYAKARTA: Ride a #Becak
--Borobudur Golden Sunrise Tour
--#BOROBUDUR: A Temple or a Shrine?

--SIGNATURES RESTAURANT at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta

--HOTEL INDONESIA Kempinski Jakarta

___________________