Air
Domestic flight routes in Java are expanding rapidly and can ve very inexpensive. Surabaya - Jakarta is very popular and covered by Air Asia and five other airlines.
Boat
Ferries and boats sail to the island groups Seribu island and Karimunjawa Island. Krakatau can only be reached by boat.
Bus
Buses are the main form of transport in Java. The normal practise is simply to front up at a bus terminal and catch the first one out; you shouldn't have to wait more that half an hour on the main intercity routers. Services range from hot economy - class buses to smart air conditioned luxuary coaches.
Tickets for buses are purchased on board although ticktes for patas (exprss) and luxuary buses can be bought in the city centres and sometimes hotels
Small minibuses that cover shorter routers and back run are commonly called angkot and shouldn't be confused with very usefull door to door minibuses (travel). The latter are air con minibuses that travel all over Java and pick you up at your hotel and drop you off wherever you want to go in the distination city.
Many terminals (in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung for instance) are located a long way from the centre of town. In these cities, the train is usually a better alternative.
Car & Motorcycle
Driving in Java is not for the faint hearted , most big cities are constantly macet (grid-locked) and main routes can be hellishly clogged. Accidents often result in large payoffs or pricey lawsuits and a number of drivers are killed every year by angry crowds exacting mob justice following an accident.
Self drive car hire is rarely avaiable in Java. It's far more common (and a much better option) to hire a car and driver, which saves a lot of hassle. Rates start from as low 300.000 IDR per day but the average price is nearer 500.000 IDR ( which included petrol and drivers meal)
Hiring a car and driver is an exellent wat to explore the remote sights of East Java, or the temples around Solo.
Scoothers are the favoured mode of transport for the most Javanese, and hiring one yourself can be a good way to get to the island's quieter corners, like the coastal strip near Pangandaran. Rental prce start around 60.000 IDR per day and should incuded a proper helmet. Java's roads are no place to try your hand at riding for the first time.
Train
Java has a decent, if hardly speedy, rail service running right across the island. it connects with ferries to Bali (at Banyuwangi/Ketapang) and Sumatra (Merak). The service runs fairly effieiently and some classes are comfortable by developing world standards. Punctuatily is generally quite good.
A complete train timetables to Java, the InfoKA is supposedly avaiable from the larger train stations, but we've never see one.
A better option is to check timetables online at www.infoka.kereta-api.com a clunky but usefull website. timetables are displayed on boards at stations and printed jadwal (timetable) are avaiable at main stations.
