Bandung Budget Travel Guide helps you prepare for a trip to one of the biggest cities in Indonesia. In this guide I want to introduce Bandung and at the same time share some useful travel information for going there. Also listed are some of the tourist attractions of the city.
Bandung is a major city in West Java. With a population of 2.7 million people and a metropolitan population of 7.4 million, it is the third largest city and second largest metropolitan in Indonesia. Unlike other Indonesian cities, Bandung is located in the highlands, some 768 meters (2,520 feet) above sea level. Hence it enjoys a relatively cooler climate than other cities in the country.
Although first mentioned in ancient chronicles in 1488, present-day Bandung was established as the centre for tea plantations by the Dutch as early as the 17th century. Due to the importance of the area, a railway line was built to link it to Jakarta - then Batavia - in 1880. It was only granted municipality status in 1906 and city status in 1926. It became the capital of West Java following the independence of Indonesia in 1945. From an area of just 19 square kilometers in 1906, Bandung has expanded to cover close to 170 sq km by 1987. It comprises 26 subdistricts and 139 villages.
Visitors to Bandung can still see a good number of Dutch-style Indonesian architecture, and adaptations of the Art Deco style to the tropical climate. One of the formest Dutch architect in colonial Indonesia, Henri Maclaine-Pont worked to realise an architectural style to is adapted to the local culture.
Access to Bandung is via the Hussein Sastranegara Airport (BDO), which receives only a small number of flights due to the difficult mountainous location. Budget travellers can fly AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Medan and Singapore. If you have have an airport transfer provided by your hotel, you can get a meter taxi to take you downtown for approximately US$1.00.
Budget Travel within Bandung
The local mode of transport is called angkot - it literally means "transport". The angkot are minibuses that ply the streets. To hail one, raise your hand. Tell the driver where you are going and ask for the fare. Once on board, to get the driver to stop, simply say "stop".
Bandung Institute of Technology The oldest technology institute in Indonesia, with interesting architecture.
Bosscha Observatorium The only observatorium in Indonesia, erected in 1923 by the Association of Dutch-Indies Astronomers.
Cipaganti Mosque The only mosque erected within the European residential area.
Gedung Sate 1895 building originally a club house for the rich, now a museum commemorating the 1955 Asian-African conference held there and the West Java governor's office.
Gunung Tangkuban Perahu "Mount of the Overturned Boat", the easiest to visit volcano in Indonesia.
Lembang Old Dutch resort town famous for its fruits and flowers.
Museum Geologi Geological museum with an extraordinary collection of rocks and fossils, including a replica of the Java Man.
Saung Angklung Udjo House in the suburb of Bandung where the angklung musical instrument is made.
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
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