Bandung and Lembang, West Java, Indonesia
Lembang Floating Market
This post is collated based on different trips we made to Bandung and Lembang, so feel free to build your own itinerary!
Getting to Bandung:
Bandung is a 3.5 hour drive / 3 hour train ride from Jakarta. Tickets can be purchased from the KAI (Kereta Api Indonesia) website closer to the travel date.
(There’s a new train you can take, the Whoosh. It’s 45 minutes instead of 3 hours so that should cut down travel time. However it does not stop in the center of Bandung City, so take note.)
The train ride: trains have both seating and dining compartments, you can alternate between them both. Your guarantees a seat in the travelling cabin and you are free to roam around at the dining cabin too. It’s a mostly comfortable ride.
Pro-tip:
—> take the train in the day, the scenic views are lovely!
In Bandung:
Bandung may be a small town, but you will be surprised that there are many things to do. The pace of life is also slightly slower in Bandung and it’s cooler than neighbouring Jakarta. The locals in Bandung are friendly and very helpful (especially to me who didn’t speak much Bahasa Indo when I first came to Indo). Try Sundanese food in small shops and home-stays around the area.
Here’s some things we did in Bandung, as always the list is not exhaustive.
Cafes
Kawah Putih (White Crater) — not in Bandung City, need to travel out
Saung Angklung Udjo
Places to shop: Paris Van Java, Braga Street, Rumah Mode Fashion Outlet
We went to watch the performance, and I have to say it was a rather surreal experience. The performance comes with a PDF that explains to you the show. The show is split into different sections, first the audience watches the performance. In the performance, different forms of dances are introduced, originating from the different parts of Indonesia. Thereafter the interactive section is where the entire group gets to try to play the Angklung. At the end, there’s a community dance-off session and everyone joins in the fun. It felt like we were transported back to my grandmother’s village where we all enjoyed sing-along sessions.
You can book the experience here!
The house! (and the sumptuous Bubur Ayam nearby for breakfast)
Gempol 111 was a space we found on Instagram. It looked simple and well maintained and we booked a 2 night stay there. The place is clean and very homely. The place hosts backpackers and some longer-term stays, so you will have your own room as well as a central lounge/dining area which is more communal. There are laundry services around the area, as well as a whole host of food options, so you don’t need to worry about going hungry. Honestly you’d need to worry about eating too much instead, hehe.
Cafes in Bandung we visited
Here’s a longer cafe review post updated in June 2024
Dear Butter (This is found all over Bandung. Eat their croffles, it’s amazing.)
Ronde Jahe Alkateri - unbelievably simple night supper fare, get it by GoFood if you’re staying near Gempol 111 Bandung.
Juice fix at Los Tropis
Rasa Bakery and Cafe - an old cafe with much tradition. Also the cafe is beautiful
Lembang:
We chanced on Lembang because of a TikTok video which showed cabins and what looked like a pine forest that came out of a fairytale. Safe to say, we were sold and immediately booked a stay at Bobocabin’s Cikole Branch. It was so beautiful! No trip to Bandung is complete without a trip up to Lembang.
You can take a 1 hour drive up to Lembang where it’s colder and there are many glamping spaces!
Where we stayed: Bobocabin Cikole
The view from our room, around 10am
The view of the camping grounds at night!
Review of Bobocabin Cikole
Bobocabin is a concept where you can camp in nature. It is available in many places around Indonesia. While we chose this one to start our Bobocabin journey, I am sure one day we will try to stay in the other cabins too. We booked a 3D2N stay at a cabin (with ensuite bathroom). I would recommend that for this specific site, you should book a cabin with an attached bathroom as it is rather cold at night and you do not want to need to leave the cabin to use the bathroom.
Check-in is easy and fuss-free. You can use your phone to unlock the door by scanning a QR code that is generated daily for you.
We stayed for 2 nights but found it a bit too short as we had to pack our 1 full day of activity. The first day we checked in around 4pm and by 5pm it becomes dark, thus your first night is really to enjoy the campsite instead of exploring around the area.
The second day we did 3 activities and had lunch. By then we were a bit tired and retired to the campsite. The site is a bit up a hill so you can order food through Gojek, just that you have to head down to the entrance of the campsite to collect it. The place also has a BBQ option or other ‘fast-food' like options.
The only issue you may encounter if you did not drive up to Lembang, is that once you check out you will have problems going down to Bandung City as cars do not come up that far / that deep into the woods. To solve this, we hitchhiked on a bike down to the halfway point and then jumped into an open-air van that dropped us off at Bandung City. It was quite an experience!
Asia-Africa Park Lembang
A bit of background here, Bandung is famous for the Bandung Conference in 1955 in which many newly independent Asian and African states met to promote economic and cultural cooperation and make a stand against stronger powers of the day. The Asia Africa Museum can be found in Bandung City, and this park was also opened in celebration of the said event.
Gunung Tangkuban Perahu
Pro-tips/Notes if you’re heading to Gunung Tangkuban Perahu;
plan your trip ahead of time, the road up and down from Lembang is ONE WAY. So we recommend one of two things - either you stay there overnight in Lembang and explore all the sites around - the Volcano, the Orchid Forest and Batik Painting activity, etc, or you take a day trip up and finish everything before coming back down. You do not want to spend 3 hours being jammed to go up for a 30 minute site viewing and then another 3 hours being stuck to come down.
the jam starts at 7am so start going up the hill by 6.15am which means you will be spending time up there already while the rest of the city is plying their way up the mountain. No tips on beating the jam down, unfortunately, unless you go back down very early.
Foreigners pay $25~ USD and on weekends there is a surcharge to visit Gunung Tangkuban Perahu, whereas locals pay around USD $2.50.
Lembang Floating Market
Orchid Forest Cikole
Some places we went to eat at in Lembang
Balibu Rumah Makan Khas Sunda — good Nasi Liwet here!
Alas Daun Restaurant
Sample Itinerary
If you were to plan a trip to Bandung, we would recommend a 4D3N itinerary. A sample would look like this
Day 1:. Take the train in the afternoon around 12pm after you’ve checked out of your previous destination, so that by the time you reach Bandung it’s the perfect time to check into your next residence. Have a chill dinner and maybe get a massage. Explore the cafes around which come alive in the evening / night
Day 2-3 afternoon: You can head up to Lembang and take a day trip around (or stay there for 2 days) while you explore everything around it
Day 2: Gunung Tangkuban Perahu, lunch, Fruit Market then Asia-Afrika Park.
Day 3 morning: Farmhouse Susu Lembang and Cikole Orchid Forest.
Day 3 afternoon: you can choose to come down from Bandung City at a less peak hour and stay one more night in Bandung.
Day 4: Head to watch Saung Angkung Udjo, grab a bite and take the train back / out of Bandung.
Concluding Remarks
This list of activities has been collated over 3 trips to Bandung and would not have been possible without the help of our friends in Bandung. We hope you fall in love with Bandung, just like we did.
Credits to our friends Dev, Jeff, Aga and Bernice and Velda.
