They give you a visitor visa on entry, valid for 30 days. The overstay fee is now at $100 per day, and oftentimes a customs interrogation as to why you overstayed your visa. On arrival, they often ask you to show them proof of your departure tickets to ensure that you will be leaving. My tip to prepare for this, if you don’t want to have a departure date, is to buy the cheapest flight out of the country, and show the border agent when/if they ask for it. Near the end of your 30 day period, you can pick a different country to go do your visa run or stick with the original one you bought. The idea behind this is to initially buy a cheap ticket, so if you don’t end up using it, at least you haven't spent heaps of money on it. This way you won’t feel stuck with a plan you don’t feel like following because of the ticket fee.

Once on an island, or out of the airport, you best bet is to rent a moped/scooter. Those little motorcycles are nightmares for many tourists, and for good reason… They can be very dangerous. One of the other ways to get around in Indonesia is to use Gojek, which is the equivalent of Uber, but with mopeds. Ubers are illegal in Indonesia and some area won’t even authorise Gojek. This is because local taxi firms don’t want large corporations taking money from their community.

The reason why heaps of people get injured when driving one is that no one actually shows you how to use it and the streets are crowded with a bunch of tourists who also don't know how to drive one. Ask any locals and they will tell you they rarely get into an accident driving one around. So be careful, take your time and be ready to walk if you fear driving one.

To hop between islands, a ferry is easy to catch at many ports on the island, and a ferry ticket can be purchased at the port as well. Also domestic flights in Indonesia can be very affordable.

The money of exchange in Indonesia is called the Indonesia Rupiah. $10 Canadian is equivalent to 11 351 IDR. The country has a lot of ATMs but keep in mind that there is always a bank fee for every withdrawal, so you’re better off taking out big amounts at the time. With this comes risk of course, but keep your cash somewhere safe and out of sight and you should have no issues.

Explore

Explore

Travelling and exploring the islands in Indonesia is very affordable and easily doable. Like everywhere else, you can decide to live a very luxurious life in Indonesia and spend lots of money on luxury hotels, spa days and experiences, but this website is for the everyday person starting to travel on a low budget. Most of the time, the plane ticket is the most costly expense you will have. Most hostels' shared room costs vary between $5 to $35 a night, depending on the location and the hostels. Depending on which island you go to, local restaurants serve food with a price ranging near $5-$10. Travelling between islands cost around $25 and bike rental is anywhere between $4 a day to $15.

Keep in mind that this is an average of prices, because prices in Bali are more expensive than in Lombok for instance, because there are a lot more tourists, hence more restaurants and resorts and less local experience.