How Much Should You Budget for a Trip to Indonesia?
Indonesia can feel like a very inexpensive destination. And for everyday life, that is often true.
A meal in a warung costs just a few euros, a scooter around €5 per day, and you can still find dorm beds for around €7. But once you build a real trip across several islands, the calculation changes completely.
Ferries, transfers, drivers, volcanoes, a Komodo cruise or more remote excursions can quickly make up a much larger share of the budget.
That is particularly true for our one-month itinerary through Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores-Komodo and Sumba: everyday costs remain affordable, but diversity comes at a price.
So, how much should you budget for a trip to Indonesia?
How much should you budget for one month in Indonesia?
For our complete 30-day itinerary, excluding international round-trip flights, we estimate the following budgets:
| Travelers | Budget for 30 days | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | ≈ €2,225 | ≈ €74/day/person |
| Couple | ≈ €4,760 | ≈ €159/day/couple |
| Family of 4 | ≈ €8,525 | ≈ €284/day/family |
These figures may seem high for Indonesia. But they correspond to a very active month covering six major regions, with several significant excursions and many island changes.
So it is not the cost of living in Indonesia that drives the budget up. It is the kind of trip you decide to build.
Where does the budget actually go?
The breakdown of our itinerary makes the difference immediately clear.
| Expense | Backpacker | Couple | Family of 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activities | €1,115 | €2,230 | €3,900 |
| Transportation | €570 | €700 | €1,100 |
| Accommodation | €240 | €690 | €1,200 |
| Food | €270 | €1,050 | €2,160 |
| Miscellaneous | €30 | €90 | €165 |
| Total | €2,225 | €4,760 | €8,525 |
For a backpacker, activities and transportation alone account for more than three quarters of the total budget.
That is probably the most important figure to remember: saving a few euros on a nasi goreng will not fundamentally change the cost of the trip if you then decide to cross several islands, climb volcanoes and spend several days on a boat.
To see exactly what this budget allows you to experience, read our Indonesia 1-Month Itinerary: Our Route to Experience the Country’s Full Diversity. You can also read First Time in Indonesia: Mistakes to Avoid.
How much does accommodation cost in Indonesia?
Accommodation can remain extremely affordable.
Along our route, a dorm bed cost around €7, while a simple double room was often available for €15 to €35depending on the island.
The differences become much larger depending on comfort level and, above all, destination.
For example, we found double rooms for around €15 in Sumbawa, around €25 in Senaru, but also hotels at €70 in Sumba, €80 in Labuan Bajo or more than €100 when choosing more comfortable properties.
That is one of the particularities of a long trip through Indonesia: the price of a night can almost feel like it belongs to a different world from one island to the next.
How much does food cost?
In a warung, we found local lunches and dinners for around €2.50, with some simple meals still available for around €1.50 to €2.50.
A Western-style meal in a tourist area was closer to €6, while a local breakfast could cost around €1.20, compared with almost €4 for a Western-style option.
For drinks, expect around €0.50 for water, coffee or tea, €2 for a local beer and around €7 for a cocktail or glass of wine in a tourist-oriented establishment.
Eating local is one of the few ways to reduce your budget significantly without really reducing the quality of the trip.
Why does transportation cost so much?
Because in Indonesia, distance is not measured in kilometers alone.
Our itinerary crosses Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Sumba. That means trains, ferries, speedboats, drivers, scooters and sometimes far less straightforward connections in remote regions.
On Sumba and Sumbawa in particular, infrastructure becomes more limited and logistics less predictable.
Scooter rental itself remains very inexpensive: around €5 per day, plus roughly €2 for a tank of fuel.
The real cost appears when you add up the major transfers.
That is also why a trip focused on Java and Bali can cost significantly less than our one-month crossing, even with a similar level of comfort.
This is exactly the idea explored in our article How Many Islands Can You Visit on a Short Trip to Indonesia?.
Activities: the biggest expense of the trip
On our itinerary, this is by far the largest expense.
For a backpacker, we budget €1,115 for activities over the month, compared with only €240 for accommodation.
That is explained by the program: Java’s volcanoes, excursions, whale sharks in Sumbawa, the Tambora crossing, a cruise through Komodo National Park and various experiences requiring guides, boats or transfers.
This is also why comparing budgets between travelers is often not very meaningful.
Someone spending three weeks between Bali and Lombok by scooter will have nothing like the same budget as a traveler heading to Sumbawa, Komodo, Sumba or Raja Ampat.
In Indonesia, your budget probably depends more on the islands you choose than on the number of days you spend in the country.
Small daily expenses
A few prices we observed locally help complete the picture:
- laundry: ≈ €1/kg
- SIM card: ≈ €10 at the airport, often less elsewhere
- water, coffee or tea: ≈ €0.50
- local beer: ≈ €2
- scooter: ≈ €5/day + fuel
In more remote areas, keep some cash with you as well. Cards are widely accepted in tourist areas, but many small businesses, warungs and drivers still operate mainly in cash.
The official Indonesia tourism website also confirms that the Indonesian rupiah (IDR) is the official currency and recommends carrying cash before heading into more isolated areas, where ATMs and card payments become less reliable.
Can you travel much more cheaply in Indonesia?
Yes.
Our €2,225 per person for one month as a backpacker corresponds to our complete itinerary, not to the minimum budget required to stay in Indonesia.
By reducing the number of islands, you reduce both transportation costs and some of the most expensive activities.
A Java + Bali, Bali + Lombok or Flores + Komodo trip can therefore cost considerably less while still offering an extremely rich experience.
Conversely, adding Raja Ampat, Sulawesi, Borneo or the Maluku Islands can push the budget up very quickly, particularly because of the flights, boats and excursions required.
So, is Indonesia an expensive destination?
No. But it can become an expensive trip. That is the key distinction.
Sleeping, eating and living day to day in Indonesia remain very affordable. What costs money is trying to experience the sheer scale of the archipelago.
Our view: it makes more sense to spend on the experiences and diversity you actually came for, then control the expenses that add little to the trip.
Planning your trip?
The TAMAP Indonesia Guide covers this itinerary in detail, with transportation, travel times, best areas to stay, prices we observed, activities and alternatives. Each day can be followed exactly as written or integrated into your own route. Then it is yours to turn into your own trip.