Two weeks ago I went back to Indonesia. Landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport then went directly to Gambir train station. That was my first time riding a city bus from airport to train station, so I’m thinking to share it with you in case someone need it (Psst.. it’s cheaper than taxi ;))
I landed at Terminal 2, International Arrival. On baggage claim area, there is kiosks selling phone sim card. I stopped by since I don’t have local number anymore ( it was expired 😦 ). I chose Simpati from Telkomsel. The price is 60.000 rupiah, but the balance in card is only 10.000 rupiah. So I topped up with 25.000 rupiah balance (paid 27.000 rupiah for it) just to have some internet connection to contact my husband and parents. If you need to top up again, better to do it in the city. Cheaper than at airport.
I took my suitcase and walked to exit. Once I passed through custom, I went out directly and looked for “Damri”sign. Damri is the bus company and one of their route is to go to train station. Follow the sign to your left when you get out from the exit. The bus station is at the end of last terminal (at the far left side). There are 3 terminals in International Arrival. Each of it has a small counter for Damri.
There are 3 ways to buy the ticket for Damri. First is from the small counter at each terminal. Second is directly from the counter at bus station. And last one, you can also buy it on board (on bus) same price. It only has different ticket color.
The bus station is at the end of last terminal, around 5 minutes by walk. Once you get there, you need to stay near the pick up area. You will see a lot of people there waiting for their bus. There are several men that will mention the bus route. There is no schedule for buses. I heard that the schedule for bus to Gambir station is vary, from every 15 minutes to 1 hour, depends on the traffic in the city.
Once the bus to certain destination arrived, the men will shout to call the passenger heading to that direction. When I was there, it wasn’t too long for me until the bus to Gambir arrived. Maybe around 10 – 15 minutes waiting. I gave my suitcase to the guy responsible for baggage, or if your bag small you can bring it on board. After that I boarded the bus and sat on empty seat. There is wifi on the bus, but it’s not really working -.-” It’s on and off, so I use my phone’s internet connection.
The trip from airport to train station was about 1 hour. That day the traffic was not so bad. The bus was stopped 2 or 3 times on certain location to dropped off some passengers. Gambir station is its last stop, so you won’t missed it.
My train was at 5 pm, and I landed at 1.30 pm, so I have more than enough time for the trip. Make sure you have enough time if you decided to take bus to train station. The ticket for bus is 40,000 rupiah. There is no un-official ticket seller there, so it’s very convenient for foreigner. If you don’t have spare time, better take a taxi. For taxi the cost will vary depending on which taxi you take, from around 100.000 rupiah to 200.000 rupiah.
That’s it.. My first ever bus ride to train station 😀 Hope this information helps. Share with me your experience on comment below 🙂
tastymonial 