Indonesia Travel Guide: Visa on Arrival, Bali Temple Etiquette, and What to Know

US, UK, most EU, Australian and Canadian passport holders are generally eligible for a visa on arrival or e-VOA — typically 30 days, extendable once for another 30 (60 days total), for a fee. It can be arranged online in advance (recommended) or paid at major airport and seaport counters on arrival. This is not free entry, despite how casually some guides describe it — budget for the fee and confirm the current process directly with Indonesian immigration before you travel, since visa mechanics are exactly the kind of thing that gets revised.

All arrivals must complete Indonesia's free digital arrival card regardless of visa type. Since mid-2025, any extension requires an in-person visit to a local immigration office rather than being handled remotely.

Indonesia is the most cash-reliant of its Southeast Asian neighbours for tourists — even as Indonesia's national QR payment standard spreads fast in Bali's tourist areas, it generally requires a local bank account or e-wallet to use, so it isn't a real substitute for carrying cash. Cards work at hotels, larger restaurants and malls; cash is needed for markets, local transport and small vendors (warungs).

Money-changer scams are a well-documented, current problem specifically in Bali: rigged calculators, notes palmed or dropped during counting, and unregistered kiosks offering suspiciously good rates. Use only licensed, bank-registered exchange counters — look for a proper storefront with visible security, not a street kiosk — and count your money carefully before leaving the counter.

Indonesia's geography means inter-island transport is flights and ferries, not roads or rail — domestic carriers connect Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Medan and Makassar, while ferries cover routes like Java-Bali and Sumatra-Java. Book through the carrier or an established ferry platform rather than an informal street agent.

Jakarta itself has real mass transit — an MRT line, a bus rapid transit network covering most of the city, and a commuter rail line — a genuine alternative to the city's notorious road traffic if your trip includes it.

General Indonesian custom (a majority-Muslim country): use your right hand for giving, receiving and eating, since the left is considered unclean; point with your thumb rather than your index finger; avoid pointing the soles of your feet at people; don't touch anyone's head.

In Bali specifically, Balinese-Hindu temple entry requires a sarong tied at the waist reaching below the knee, plus a waist sash, with shoulders covered — rentals are usually included in the temple ticket price, so you don't need to bring your own. Balinese Hindu practice also restricts menstruating women from entering temple inner areas as a purity custom — a real, culturally specific point worth knowing rather than being caught by surprise.

Nationally, the dry season runs roughly April-October and the wet season November-March, but Indonesia spans such a wide east-west and north-south spread that this doesn't hold everywhere. Bali and Java follow the classic pattern, with May, June and September often cited as the sweet spot — good weather with fewer crowds than the July-August peak. Raja Ampat in the far east runs on roughly the opposite pattern, best October-April — exactly when Bali is at its wettest. Plan around your specific destination rather than a single national season.