Finding your bearings in Indonesia

Hello Priscilla,

I use my inbuilt sense of direction and follow road signs and speak to locals. I also sometimes use Google Maps or Waze (better than Google maps in my opinion).

Cheers

First things first.

Most roads are not signed with street names so don't expect it.
Signs on shops and some houses often have the address so look for them.
Mapping software of some sort is exceptionally useful, my preference being Google maps because they're generally accurate but, unlike many other mapping systems, they provide a lot of other information.

As an example, I wanted to find a hotel near the office I'm visiting at the moment so, as usual, I used google maps, searched for hotels near my location, and it came up with options including info on prices, telephone numbers you can call without doing anything other than tap on the number, and links to a variety of booking sites with their listed prices.
The hotel I'm in right now was booked that way, and I got a sweet discount as I booked it via the Agoda app linked from Google maps.

There are some problems with accuracy but not all that many and the app drains your battery like crazy so make sure you have on the go charging (including a mains charger, a power bank, and a car charger) if you're out and about all day and likely to use it a lot.

In smaller towns and villages, locals without tech tend to ask whoever is around.

Waze and Google are good but can't keep up with the level of road closures or changes.
For me Jakarta is very easy to get round if you are travelling from one area to the next. The road signs are useful if not hidden behind a tree but once you are in that area then it's harder.

Hotels or malls are easy locations to naviagna from. If you do get lost an indomaret or alfamart is useful and is climbing in a taxi.

Another useful indicator in Jakarta is that is if you see kerb stones painted black and white how ever faded then it means it's a through road to somewhere so there will taxis mini vans and gojeks there.

Tend to use Waze myself over other apps Ive found it very useful for all locations within Southeast Asia and pretty upto date

I wandered in Jakarta for a couple of meetings, that involving intercity and local travel, thus I needed to navigate on two levels.
Google maps proved handy for me in several ways:

Train stations are noted on maps, and clicking on them provides live train information for that station. It tells you what train is due, and where that train goes - a great navigational tool for the local train traveller.

The intercity train information is equally handy, even tracking my train in real time, not just in map position, but also estimated arrival times for all stations on the route.

As I mentioned above, I wanted a hotel in easy distance of the office but didn't want to spend a fortune. Google maps positions all the hotels (it got one wrong), but also lists the prices on the various booking sites, provides telephone numbers, and even photos and reviews of the place you you have a better chance of finding exactly what you want first time - and getting a sweet discount by way of a bonus.

If you're travelling by car, Google maps also lists roads covered by the odd/even rules so you can avoid getting slapped with a fine.

Google, for me at least, has another useful feature, that being Google guides (I'm one) can add info or make corrections on a level basic users aren't able to do. That means info gets updated more quickly, making that data more reliable and commonly much more personal as you get access to opinions from that guide's point of view. Most guides add a lot of photos, commonly from angles the official (paid by the establishment) photographers don't put on there.
I added one a week or so ago that let Google map users see a restaurant kitchen, and that is a killer as many people will avoid the place now. The place is disgusting, and potential customers should know. That sort of stuff, again in my opinion, makes Google the navigation software for travellers all over the world.
However, if you want basic maps without the extras, others are fine.

I tried Waze but it wasn't for me. I can see how it would appeal to many and it does have a nice communications tool that would prove handy if you want to meet someone as it allows real time messaging, and shows their position.

Note - All the above features require a fair internet connection and they tend to get less accurate as you wander into backwaters, but the basic software is satellite based to works anywhere your phone can see the sky.
It's also worth a mention not all hotels and so on are listed with information, only hotels that are part of travel sites or have added the info themselves.

The basic rule for travellers in Indonesia is make sure you have navigation software as the alternative is hoping taxi drivers know where you want, or just asking locals for directions, two things that are prone to massive errors.
Old school paper maps are out of date before the things are printed, if you can find a shop that sells them. However, if you're a technophobe, paper and a compass will get you within area, but expect to get misguided a lot.

Not many people realise but Waze is google maps and is used as an alternative to people disregarding google maps and to compete with other lesser known maps
One safety feature I do like with Waze not sure if google uses it as been a long time since I have, is live police locations

Gwmeath wrote:

Not many people realise but Waze is google maps and is used as an alternative to people disregarding google maps and to compete with other lesser known maps
One safety feature I do like with Waze not sure if google uses it as been a long time since I have, is live police locations

No police locations on Google but the cops hardly bother anyway except sweeping.
Google bought Waze a few years ago but they're very much separate styles - at the end of the day so it's down to your needs from the apps and how much you like the screen.
I remain with Google because I want and need to extra information.

Hi Priscilla. Actually I think both google maps and waze are both good. I had been using google maps for donkeys years, but recently switched over to waze which i found far simpler and better when driving. That is my main reason for switching from one to the other. However, for general getting about I also use google maps. For example, here I am in Kuningan and I used google maps to get here. Bottom line is that different people have different preferences.

Waze is geared for driving and I think it's far superior for this, google is better  for every other use bikes, walking trains etc I tend to drive through in job in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and on occasion in Europe and Waze is number 1 for driving in my opinion, google has other benefits mentioned above
The police features are fantastic as Thailand and Singapore along with many of  Europe's countries the police use personal GPS so finding police in an emergency this way is fantastic and this safety feature for me wins hands down

I tried Waze once before but ditched it as it seemed very 'social media' and dumbed down when compared to Google maps.
The one thing I really dislike about Google's version is the night mode so I'll bung Waze back on and give it another blast.
The comments here suggest the simpler screen layout might be better for driving.
Nothing like being fair minded.

I found my bearings on the floor of the garage... Time to get a new engine for the  car  !

I always use Google map, it's never let me down yet.
It's precise and accurate
I'll never ask a local unless I have to, some don't know locations, others are useless at giving directions.

Yeah I used to feel that way about google maps too, used to think it was great. As another poster mentioned it;s totally sucks at night time when they make the background black. Bloody awful that especially as my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be.

Hi Priscilla,
I usually use Google Maps, to Waze.
If I need further help, I usually ask the locals for directions.
regards,
Michael