Transportation In Java
One of the most frequented islands of Indonesia is Java. Therefore, the transportation in Java has greatly improved over the last couple of years. In fact, there have been continuous endeavors for the betterment of the traveling facilities in Java, Indonesia. A visitor can easily reach the beautiful island of Java by air and can even comfortably travel in and around the island by air, rail, sea or bus.
How to Reach Java
In order to reach Java, you can take several flights that connect Jakarta and other major cities of the country. In fact, Java is the best internationally connected island as Jakarta (Indonesia's capital city) and Surabaya (capital of East Java and Indonesia's 2nd biggest city) are located here, which accounts for more than half the population of the country.
Several major international airlines link Jakarta and Surabaya. Besides, flights from Malaysia and Singapore such as Silk Air Airlines and Air Asia Airlines also connect cities of Yogyakarta, Bandung and Solo. From Surabaya' Juanda Airport, you can fly to Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, and Hong Kong
There are other domestic airlines as well including Sriwijaya Air, Garuda, Lion Air, Merpati, and Mandala, which would make your travel hassle free.
Traveling In and Around Java
The infrastructure of Java is, indeed, the best in Indonesia. In fact, a visitor can easily travel the entire island by land in a single day. However, it might be possible that buses, roads and trains may remain overcrowded due to the density of population in the island.
Buses
Bus is the primary transport in the island. These buses travel long-distances and connect Java with other main cities of the country. There are direct buses that connect it with Bali, Sumatra and Nusa Tenggara.
Trains
Rail network in Java is the most important mode of transportation. The railways link all the cities of the country with each other. In fact, it is believed that the rail network is the best in Java. The best traveling class in the train is known as the eksekutif class. However, it is expensive. A visitor can check the availability of tickets online at Kereta Api's ticketing site and reserve his tickets well in advance. However, online reservation facility is not available.
Roads
The roads in Java are built according to the Western Standards. This means it follows ‘dual grade-separated lanes in both directions and elevated interchanges'. Moreover, a minimum fee is charged for the use of bridges and roads i.e. about Rp 1,000 to 5,000 for traveling every 10 km. It is advisable to hire a car and driver and pay a little more to avoid accidents and other problems on route.
Sea Travel
Sea travel around Java is also convenient. A visitor can take a Pelni ship, either from Surabaya or Jakarta to reach any place between Sumatra and Papua. Besides Pelni ship services, there are other privately owned companies that provide ferry services from several port cities primarily to Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Makassar.
Within Java, it is just a short ferry ride to Madura from Surabaya, and also from the beaches of Karimunjawa and Pulau Seribu. However, if traveling to the farthest islands of East Java such as Bawean, Kangean and Masalembo, it would require and overnight boat journey.
