17 Jun 2014
Visitors to Jakarta have a new way of exploring the city's many tourist sites, with five new double-decker tour buses recently introduced by the Jakarta City Government. The new bus service enables tourists to enjoy FREE hop-on-hop-off city tours through the diverse and bustling capital of Indonesia.
Operating from 7am to 7pm daily, the air-conditioned buses loop around the city centre and take tourists within walking distance of major attractions, shopping malls and entertainment hot-spots. The hop-on buses can be boarded – free of charge – by domestic and international tourists from designated bus stops throughout the city, allowing sightseers to explore Jakarta's sites and rich colonial history at their own pace.
The bus route begins at the Bundaran Hotel Indonesia, travelling north to the Sarinah Department Store at Jalan Thamrin, then on to the National Museum at Jalan Merdeka Barat. The service continues past Jalan Majapahit into Jalan Juanda, where it stops in front of the Santa Maria School opposite the Istana Negara (Negara Palace). This is the stop from which to visit the Pecenongan Street Food area. The journey then progresses to Gedung Kesenian (Cultural Theatre) near the vintage Pasar Baroe shopping street, on to Lapangan Banteng and the Catholic Cathedral before pausing at the Istiqlal Mosque. From here the bus travels to the Presidential Palace at Jalan Merdeka Utara, stopping at the National Monument (Monas), and concluding at the Municipal Hall of Jakarta, before starting again at Bundaran HI.
The 11-kilometre tour takes 1.5 hours to complete the circle, travelling at an average speed of 10-20 kilometres per hour, with all buses equipped with disabled seating, plus video screens and tour guides to provide key tourist information along the route. Each bus can accommodate up to 3,000 passengers per day, making around 10 round trips daily, with a capacity of around 60 passengers.
The government plans to roll out another 15 buses onto an expanded tour of the capital, enabling visitors to discover the enthralling Dutch colonial town of Kota Tua in the north as well as the highlights of the Blok M shopping quarter in south Jakarta.
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About Indonesia
The Republic of Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, comprising more than 17,000 tropical islands fringed with white sandy beaches. Among the most well-known islands are Bali, Java, Kalimantan (formerly Borneo), Papua, Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), Sumatra, and the Maluku Islands (or better known as Moluccas, the original Spice Islands). The destination offers richly diverse cultures and heritage, beautiful beaches and ecotourism along with green rainforests to trek through and deep blue pristine seas to dive and swim, and the warmest, most hospitable people on earth to welcome UK visitors.
For media information and images, please contact:
Sarah Habicht at Hume Whitehead: sarah@humewhitehead.co.uk / 0845 498 9987.
