29 Things You Should Never Do in Indonesia

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Don’t Forget To Exchange Your Currency

Source: https://indonesiaexpat.biz/

The official currency of Indonesia is the Rupiah, also known in currency offices as IDR. Acceptance of foreign currencies is largely dependent on each establishment. Large hotels and tourist stores will most likely accept other currencies such as U.S. dollars. However, expect to generally end up paying more to use your foreign currency. And beware that in some of the more unscrupulous places, prices will be advertised in U.S. dollars and the cashier may try to charge you compared to if you paid in Rupiah. In this case, it would be best for you to get your hands on enough Rupiahs for your trip.

There are plenty of exchange facilities all over Indonesia’s main tourist areas, most of them accept currencies like the US dollar, Australian dollar, and the Great British pound. The honest money exchange operates alongside shady ones, and it’s very hard to tell one from the other. To avoid getting swindled, always exchange your money at trust worthy establishments like banks, hotels, and authorized money changers. You are least likely to get ripped off when exchanging your currency at a bank. Many hotel front desks permit currency exchange, these however offer lower exchange rates compared to banks and regular money changers. Authorized money changers, only deal with Bank of Indonesia authorized money changers. These advertise their status as Pedagang Valuta Asing Berizin or PVA Berizin (Indonesian for “Authorized Money Changer”) with a green PVA Berizin logo in the shop window. If all else fails, but you have your credit/debit card with you, you can withdraw rupiahs from a bank ATM (just make sure it is a secure ATM).