The world’s biggest city, Jakarta, Indonesia is home to over 41 million people. When we had a layover there on both ends of our Vietnam trip from Lombok, we really wanted to explore. While we didn’t have much time, we did get to see a little and incite our desire to see more. Here’s how we spent our one night in Jakarta.
About Jakarta
We obviously would have liked a longer layover than one night in Jakarta, because there’s a lot to do.
Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital, and is located in the northwest of the island of Java, west of Bali. It was founded as a city in the 1600s and was occupied in turns by the Portuguese, Sudanese, the Dutch, British, and Japanese before Indonesian independence in 1945.
Jakarta is smaller than New York City, covering 664 square kilometers. But with so many people, it’s overwhelming, and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Trips from the airport to downtown, a distance of 20 kilometers, average 90 minutes, but can often take more than 2 hours due to traffic. They are working on mass transit, and there is a train from the airport that is an option.
Historically, like much of Indonesia, Jakarta was Dutch run for many years, which explains much of the older architecture. During WWII, Japan occupied the land, and Jakarta grew quickly after independence at the end of 1949. Jakarta’s massive development has led to it being not only the most populous city in the world, but also the fastest sinking, by 10 to 30cm a year. As a result, the government is building a new capital city in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Good thing we went when we did.
Layover in Jakarta
Don’t let the vast size, traffic, and rising sea level scare you; if you have a layover, it’s worth it to try to see some of the city. With big squares, museums, an old port, and a huge mix of cultures offering varying cuisines, Jakarta offers something for every interest. We found that one night in Jakarta is not nearly enough. We didn’t get to see most of those sights, but even getting to see a little of the world’s largest city is better than staying in the airport hotel
On our way to and from Vietnam from Lombok, our flights required overnight stays in Jakarta. On the way out, visiting the city from the airport wasn’t feasible as we got in too late and were leaving too early. Plus, the two hour ride into the city was a huge deterrent.
We stayed at an airport hotel, which was comfortable but kind of dull. The restaurant was okay but there wasn’t much to do. This is fine when you just need to get sleep between flights. On the return from Vietnam, we landed early afternoon so had several hours which we spent exploring Jakarta.
We flew back to Indonesia on a holiday, Eid al-Fitr, which denotes the end of Ramadan. That benefitted us, because traffic was light with lots of people out of the city visiting family elsewhere. We were able to get rides that took less than 30 minutes, a quarter of the normal time! Unfortunately, the holiday meant the museums were closed, so we had to focus on outdoor sights and bars and restaurants.
How We Spent One Night in Jakarta
For our one night in Jakarta, we focused on one neighborhood and visited a rooftop bar, a city square, a mall, and some restaurants. The neighborhood we visited, called Menteng, is centrally located and known for nightlife, restaurants, and art exhibits.
Our first stop on our night in Jakarta was the Skye Rooftop. Located on the 56th floor of the BCA Tower, it offers 360 degree views. Known as an iconic rooftop destination, it also reopened last year after renovations. We visited pre-sunset so we got some good views of the big city along with our pricy cocktails.
After experiencing Jakarta from on high, we descended to the chaos of the city streets. We walked around, marvelling at the chaotic traffic and the HI roundabout with the Welcome Indonesia monument. This monument was built in 1961 for the Asian Games IV.
The area was very festive, with lights in the trees and other decorations. It reminded me of Christmas decorations, which isn’t a surprise since Eid is as big as Christmas in Java.
We visited one of the many shopping malls in the area, full of shops and restaurants. Conveniently, we found a supermarket to buy some fruit and veggies to bring back to the boat with us, since everything was be closed in Lombok for the holiday. We also found an amazing bakery with the best sourdough bread we’ve had in Indonesia, also to bring back to the boat.
Have you been to Jakarta? I would love to spend more than one night in Jakarta, so tell me what you loved when you were there in the comments.
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