Makassar Budget Travel Guide is created for the benefit of tourists who are planning to visit Makassar, and are looking for travel information ahead of their trip. As a traveller myself, I want to share information that I find has been helpful to me, and hope that it will also help you. You can find here information on the tourist attractions in and around Makassar that you might want to visit.
Makassar is the capital of South Sulawesi Province as well as the biggest city on Sulawesi Island. Makassar is a port city with a population of 1.25 million people. It was known between 1971 and 1999 as Ujung Pandang, a name in reference to an old fort located in the city.
The city of Makassar was established at least by the 16th century, when it was an important trading port in eastern Indonesia. The laissez-faire policies of its rulers repelled advances by the Dutch to control it. Freedom of worship also allowed Christianity and other religions to flourish alongside Islam, the main faith of the area.
The main gateway to Makassar is the Hasanuddin International Airport, also called Bandar Udara Internasional Hasanuddin (UPG). Located 17 km from downtown, the airport has a beautiful new terminal which opened on 20 August, 2008, with six aerobridges. Budget travellers can fly AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur to Makassar.
From the airport, a taxi ride to downtown will cost you around Rp 70,000 if you approach the taxi directly. If you go to the taxi counter for a pre-paid ride, the official fare is Rp. 100,000. If you are on a shoestring budget, you can ride a free shuttle bus from the bottom level of the airport to the main road outside. There, you can take a minivan - they call it a pete-pete or bemo here - to Makassar for just Rp. 3000.
Budget Travel within Makassar
In addition to the ubiquitous becak (trishaw), the other popular form of transportation is the minvans, called pete-pete and bemo. The cost per ride is around Rp. 3000. On the other hand, human-power becak will cost more, between Rp. 3000 to Rp. 10,000 depending on distance.
Batu Tomonurung Coronation stone - the boulder on which the kings of Gowa were wonce crowned.
C.L. Bundt's Residence Fome of a Dutchman with private collection of rare orchids and seashells.
Fort Rotterdam Old Dutch fort in Makassar.
Losari Beach Beach in Makassar with nice view especially during sunset.
Malino A highland retreat on the slopes of Gunung Bawakaraeng, located some 760 meters (2,500 ft) above sea level.
Museum Ballompoa Museum housed in the former palace of the Sultan of Tallo with displays of weapons and royal attires.
Museum Provincial Ujung Pandang Provincial museum showing artifacts from ceramics to coins to musical instruments from around the Makassar area.
Samalona Island off Makassar where you can go snorkelling.
Sungguminasa Former capital of the Sultanate of Tallo, located south of Makassar.
Tomb of Diponegoro Tomb of a Yogyakarta prince who was imprisoned for 27 years for defying the Dutch and his own family by leading a series of popular uprisings in Central Java.
Trans Studio Makassar The biggest indoor theme park in Southeast Asia and the third biggest in the world. It also has the biggest parking area in Southeast Asia.
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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