Top Things to do in Bandung

Bandung is the capital of the Indonesian West Java province, a colonial city that is surrounded by volcanos and vast tea plantations. Bandung is a thoroughly modern city that houses an excellent university, some fantastic colonial and deco architecture and has become something of a hotspot for shopaholics. If you are visiting Indonesia this year then Bandung should certainly be a place that you should visit and here are just a few reasons why.

Trans Studio Bandung

This theme park in Bandung is set indoors and offers rides and amusements for the entire family and is a great way to spend a day in this city. The theme park is set within the grounds of the Bandung Supermall and built on over 4 hectares of land, despite it’s relatively small size and indoor location the park still manages to pack in over 40 rides and amusements. Both the mall and the theme park provide a great day out and an opportunity for the family to really have some fun.

Kawah Putih

Just south of Bandung is the mesmerising tourist destination of Kawah Putih, a large crater in the Earth’s surface where a lake now resides. The backdrop to this lake is the looming Mount Patuha volcano and couple with the ever changing colours of the lake provides visitors with some of the most stunning scenery in the land. There are regular trips from Bandung to the site of the crater in Kawah Putih with several tour operators and it will take you around 1 hour to get there, I would recommend taking this trip to see such natural beauty.

Villa Isola

This was one of my favourite trips that I took in Bandung as I really enjoy looking at architecture in different countries. Villa Isola is an art-deco building that overlooks the entire city and the valley beyond. The building itself is intricately designed and was created by a Dutch architect who wanted to pay hommage to the Javanese style which gives you a real blend of European and Javanese design. For those of you who couldn’t care less about architecture, Villa Isola is still worth a visit for the amazing views alone.

Tangkuban Perahu Volcano

This volcano is absolutely worth a visit, currently dormant visitors can hike all the way up to the crater. The volcano also has hot springs surrounding the crater and the locals have found a novel way of using the heat of the volcano to make some cash by selling eggs that are cooked on the surface. There are lots of travel companies that offer trips to Tangkuban Perahu and will provide a guide to take you to the top of the volcano. During my stay in Villa Istana Bunga Bandung I booked a private tour company to take me to the bottom of the volcano and in this instance I privately hired one of the many guides who wait for tourists however if you ask the tour operator they can often provide the full package, guide included, I discovered that this works out far cheaper so learn from my mistake when you visit Tangkuban Perahu.