Travel in Indonesia

misterthrifty

My son has decided to go to Inonesia with friends for 1 month. I'm sure he will be OK, he's quite sensible, but we don't have long to make plans (leaving middle of August), and I want to make sure he will be resonably safe there if only for my own peace of mind.

If anybody has advice on:-

The best way to keep in touch, should I get him a cheap mobile or rely on internet/Skype?

How to get money to him if he needs it.

Innoculations/visas.

Things to watch out for.

Reasonably price insurance.

Any advise would be appreciated.

TIA

Mr T

c45arlo

Fairfx friends and family card regarding money so much cheaper than rip off western union. Apply for a main FX card and F&F card from link on this website listed under cheap holiday money. This needs to be done asap for an August departure.
A unlocked mobile phone purchased here and a local sim card purchased upon arrival.It may be possible to purchase at airport arrivals as per Thailand

Hepatitus
Polio
Tetanus
TB
Malaria
regarding inoculations. This will be the most urgent factor with departure so soon.

Visa on arrival $25 (or it was) check for duration and extensions but was 30 days. $20 a day for overstay up to 60 days

easy to get to from Singapore by ferry unless flying direct to Indonesia.

Hope this helps

PompeyPete

Indonesia is a very big place.
What's their proposed itinerary, and ask lots of questions on Trip Advisor...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g294225-i7219-Indonesia.html

aylesby

The local sim in an unlocked phone is a good idea. My daughter is doing this in Borneo and is topping up when she needs to. Calls are a fraction of the uk cost and even cheaper to land lines. Do not take a UK sim on a monthly contact in a smart phone as you may rack up a big bill for data on auto updates and he may loose it which causes worse problems. We gave our daughter a UK paygo which we can update online.
Skype is good but they will be 6/7 hours ahead of us and that may reduce your window. Use facebook and internet cafes when you can.
Backpacker insurance should be OK unless they are working. Beware of chaep insurance it may not cover you. You need to read and compare the medical and repatriation exclusions. We used direct travel through quidco
DD has a UK bank debit card to use in atm's we have online access and can top it up if needed. This works fine.