West Java Province Travel Forum

We will be arriving at Jakarta airport, and plan to head to Java's western coast (Carita). Does anyone know whether it is possible to go west on public transport without having to transfer in Jakarta first? Are there any direct or indirect buses or will this be too difficult?

Hi. First, I think it’s important to know what time you're arriving at the airport (public transpo service stops at certain time) and where in Carita will you be going (whether it will be closer to Labuan or Cilegon). How many people are in your party? Can you speak Bahasa Indonesia?

If you want to take public transpo from the airport to Carita without going to Jakarta first, from Soekarno-Hatta Airport you can take a taxi to Tangerang (fare around Rp50,000, travel time around 30 minutes). Then from Tangerang, you can take the public transpo to Merak.

Another way is from Soekarno-Hatta airport, take the DAMRI bus that goes to BLOK M (fare Rp 15,000), tell the driver that you will get off in SLIPI (in front of Rumah Sakit/Hospital Harapan Kita), cross the street and from there you can wait for the aircon bus that goes to MERAK (maybe the fare will be around Rp15,000–20,000 depending on your destination – either Cilegon or Labuan, travel time around 2– 2.5 hours). Tell the driver that you want to go to CARITA – so he will drop you off either at Simpang, Cilegon or at Labuan. Then you can take the public transpo they call “angkot” (a Colt) to Carita. From Cilegon taking the angkot maybe it will cost you around Rp15,000-20,000 at the maximum. From Labuan, it must be cheaper as it’s just about 30 minutes away (the angkot terminal is at the market, 100meters from the Labuan bus terminal).

Taking public transpo, just be careful that you don’t get overcharged.

The most convenient and comfortable way would be for you to either to rent a car for ˝ day to take you straight from the airport to Carita, or to have a travel agent arrange the Carita transfer for you.

Hope this helps.

Happy travels,
Arianne