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7 Fun Things To Do in Bandung On a Day Trip

Bandung is Indonesia’s third-biggest city and is located in West Java. With way cooler temperatures than Jakarta, it’s the perfect getaway. Be prepared for some crazy cool Instagram spots like Rabbit Town, beautiful mountain scenery, and many traffic jams (it’s almost as busy as Jakarta). There are a lot of fun things to do in and around Bandung and you can totally do it on a day trip!

In this article
1. Instagrammable Hotspots
2. Cimahi Rainbow Waterfall
3. Tangkuban Perahu Volcano
4. Tea Plantations
5. Sapu Lidi
6. Kawah Putih
7. Hot Springs
Getting Around
Where to Stay
How to Get There

Instagrammable Hotspots


In and around Bandung you can find many crazy Instagrammable hotspots. And you will find them in the weirdest places. The first one we stumble upon is the area around Cakrawala Sparkling Nature Restaurant. A great place for drinks and food at one of the restaurants or just to enjoy the view and photo spots.

 Cakrawala Sparkling Nature Restaurant, Bandung, Kawasan Wisata Punclut, Indonesia

Rabbit town is even more random, but we like fun places so it’s perfect! If you want colorful pictures, go here. The building is full of crazy, colorfully decorated rooms – on multiple levels. We paid a 65.000 IDR entrance fee to Rabbit town.

Other fantastic picture-perfect places are One Million Balls and Dago Dreampark. The latter has rebuilt the house from the Disney Pixar movie Up!

Cimahi Rainbow Waterfall


When the sun sets, the Cimahi waterfall turns into a rainbow waterfall. A gigantic wire of light lights up the waterfall. We only went to the waterfall during daylight and we must say it’s a pretty cool waterfall. During the rainy season, the waterfall is even bigger! The hike down and up is steep but pretty easy: there are stairs and along the way, you can chill at some viewpoints with chairs.

Tangkuban Perahu Volcano


With its cool temperatures, Bandung is perfect for hiking. And there’s something for everyone! Tangkuban Perahu volcano is perfect for a short hike to the edge of the crater to see the geysers and boiling mud. The volcano last erupted in 2013. Note: it’s pretty expensive to go up the volcano, prices for tourists are around $15-$20 (during weekdays it’s cheaper than during the weekend). Mainly for that reason, we decided not to visit the volcano. But people have told us that if you look beyond the high prices and many people who try to sell you stuff it’s a cool place.

Fancy more hiking? Visit Tebing Keraton and Gunung Batu (Stone Mountain)!

Tea Plantations


On the drive to the Tangkuban Perahu volcano, you’ll see beautiful green hills because of the many tea plantations. Bandung’s climate makes it perfect for farming and growing tea. The best part: there aren’t many other tourists visiting those plantations, so you will have a green oasis to yourself! You can also find beautiful plantations near Kawah Putih.

Bandung rice fields

Sapu Lidi


How does lunch in the rice fields sound? Sapu Lidi a beautiful and peaceful restaurant perfect for a traditional Indonesian lunch in the middle of the rice fields. For more local food: check out the Lembang floating market for local foods!

Kawah Putih


A bit further south from Bandung, you can find Kawah Putih or White Crater. Kawah Putih is a crater lake in a volcanic crater. It’s not the crater but the lake inside the crater which makes this place special! The colors of the water can be incredibly blue (depending on the concentration of minerals).

Hot Springs


Looking for some relaxing time? The perk of being in a volcanic area is that you can find hot springs too! According to our dear friend Google these specific hot springs have healing effects – so let’s go. The best ones to visit are the Sari Ater and Cibolang hot springs.


Getting Around


Exploring Bandung is absolutely fun by motorbike. It’s actually our favorite transportation, just going on an adventure by ourselves! You can also hire a driver for a day or book a tour. In the city, you can also use Grab or Go-Jek to get around – both very cheap and convenient!

Note: be prepared to pay for everything! When you park your motorbike/car, when you want to take pictures and sometimes even when you want to pass a road/make a turn. There are unexpected fees everywhere in Java.

Where to Stay in Bandung?


We absolutely loved staying in the area of the Cihampelas Walk. There are many shops, a mall, cute cafes: it has everything you need! We stayed at Pele Guesthouse and loved it: perfect if you’re on a budget.

How to Get to Bandung?


You can easily reach Bandung by train from big cities such as Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Train rides in Java are pretty comfortable and can easily be booked online through Traveloka or Tiket.com. It’s also possible to fly to Bandung with a domestic or international flight. Traveling by (public) bus is also an option, but we’re not big fans of the public buses in Java (there’s often a long wait and no schedule).

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7 Fun Things To Do In Bandung, Indonesia, On A Day Trip | Once Upon A Journey - LGBT Travel Blog #indonesia #bandung #travel #lgbt #westjava #java

Richa

Friday 30th of November 2018

After seeing those photos I think I am headed to Bandung next! ha, seriously this place looks amazing :)

Roxanne & Maartje

Saturday 1st of December 2018

You'd love it!!

Chirasree Banerjee

Friday 30th of November 2018

You are a visual story teller. I felt I was exploring these places along with you. How I wish to visit this part of the world.

Roxanne & Maartje

Saturday 1st of December 2018

That means the world to us, thanks so much for enjoying the journey with us!

DoiBedouin

Friday 30th of November 2018

Totally in love with post as well as the pictures. I would say your pics made the spot instagrammable. I went through your other post and seriously all you pictures speak of the places so aptly.

Roxanne & Maartje

Saturday 1st of December 2018

Thank you so much for your kind words! We always love to capture a place as aptly as possible.

atruthfultraveler

Friday 30th of November 2018

Wow! I've never heard of this area of Indonesia! You would think with all the beautiful things more people would talk about it, but I guess you're glad they don't because it was quieter than places like Bali!

Roxanne & Maartje

Friday 30th of November 2018

Totally! Let's hope people try to get away from Bali and explore the lesser known parts!

Carly Matthew

Thursday 29th of November 2018

Your pictures are incredible! So much color and life. Indonesia seems like a fascinating and under-explored place. Thank you so much for sharing. I think the thinking that interests me most would be the tea plantations. I love exploring local agriculture when I travel. It can be such a real, authentic way of getting to know a people/culture.

Roxanne & Maartje

Friday 30th of November 2018

Some parts of Indonesia are definitely underexplored. We're so fascinated by the tea- and rice plantations too!

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