Things to do in Bandar Lampung
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Bandar Lampung
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months. Driest and clearest, with the calmest seas and best snorkelling and dolphin conditions.
Shoulder months. Mostly good, with rain rising at the October end of the dry season.
Wet season, heaviest December to February. Boats run on calm days but visibility drops and roads worsen.
What's on
- Lampung Krakatau Festival usually August, dates move by year
The province flagship festival in Bandar Lampung, with the Tapis Carnival parade and Krakatau tours.
- Krui Pro usually May or June
World Surf League event at Tanjung Setia in Krui, about five to six hours drive from the city.
- Pekan Raya Lampung usually October to November
The provincial fair at Way Halim, with regional pavilions, hundreds of food stalls and concerts.
- Bandar Lampung Anniversary around 17 June
City birthday celebrations with parades and cultural events around the centre and Enggal.
- Cap Go Meh January or February, lunar calendar
Processions and street food centred on Thay Hin Bio Temple and the Teluk Betung old town.
Best things to do in Bandar Lampung
Museum Lampung Ruwa Jurai
The province museum for tapis textiles, wedding regalia and Lampung history, and the fastest way to understand the region.
Puncak Mas
Wooden decks and treehouses on a hill with the definitive panorama over the city, the bay and Krakatau on clear days.
Taman Wisata Lembah Hijau
A shady hillside park combining a small zoo, animal shows and a water park, and the city favourite family day out.
Bukit AsLan
A hilltop of decks and camping pitches with mountains, ocean and city in one view, best after dark above the lights.
Pantai Mutun
The city beach locals use, with calm shallow water, gazebos, boat rentals and seafood warungs along the sand.
Pantai Sari Ringgung
Clear water, a floating mosque offshore and the Pasir Timbul sandbar at low tide, reached by a short boat ride.
Taman Kupu-Kupu Gita Persada
A wooded conservation garden for Sumatran butterflies in Kemiling, best in the morning when they are most active.
Vihara Thay Hin Bio
Lampung oldest Chinese temple, a working temple in the old port town that comes alive at Lunar New Year.
Where to stay in Bandar Lampung
Enggal / Tanjung Karang centre
first trip, all-round base
The commercial centre with the flagship hotel, malls, coffee shops and the easiest Grab access at any hour.
Kedaton / Way Halim
drivers, malls and value
Leafier and newer, near the museum and Lembah Hijau, with wider roads and the road east to Way Kambas.
Teluk Betung / Hurun coast
resort stay and seafood
The bay and beach side of the city, ideal for a resort weekend but a long drive from central sights.
Think twice about
- Panjang
Port industrial district with heavy trucks, dust and almost no walkable dining or evening life. Pass through, do not sleep there.
- Rajabasa terminal perimeter
Transient and noisy with the city highest petty theft risk. Cheap rooms opposite the terminal are not worth it.
- Isolated beach strips beyond Hurun
Unlit coast road and almost no Grab supply at night without your own car. Stay at the resort itself or in the city.
Best restaurants in Bandar Lampung
Way Manom
Beachfront Indonesian cooking at the Marriott, the city best special occasion table over the bay at Hurun.
Hara at The Hurun
The Marriott all day dining room, with the city strongest hotel breakfast and calm sea facing buffets.
Jumbo Kakap Restaurant
The Teluk Betung seafood institution, where you pick the catch and have it grilled, sauced or in soup.
Taman Santap Rumah Kayu
A timber house pavilion restaurant for big family tables of grilled gurame, sambals and Sundanese dishes.
Sate Padang Begadang
The city benchmark sate Padang, beef skewers in thick spicy gravy with ketupat, from a house founded in the 1970s.
Pindang Kepala Simba Restu Murni
A pindang specialist since 1990, serving fish head in a hot sour spicy broth with pineapple and basil.
Bakso Son Haji Sony
A Lampung institution for dense meaty bakso and mie ayam at street prices, with branches across the city.
Mie Khodon
A tiny cash only noodle shop in Teluk Betung that locals queue for at lunch and that closes when sold out.
Outdoor things to do in Bandar Lampung
Pulau Pahawang
The essential island day from Ketapang pier, snorkelling coral gardens and clownfish then grilled fish on the beach.
Pulau Tegal Mas
A developed resort island close to the city, with a maintained beach, snorkelling and day passes for an easy half day.
Teluk Kiluan
Wild bottlenose and spinner dolphins in large pods at dawn, seen from small boats on calm open water.
Anak Krakatau
A chartered boat expedition to the active volcanic cone that grew from the sea inside the 1883 caldera.
Taman Nasional Way Kambas
Lowland rainforest famous for Sumatran elephants and birding, with river boats and forest walks beyond the centre.
Padang Golf Sukarame
The city only golf course, an 18 hole par 72 parkland round with rental clubs and caddies, best before the heat.
Bukit Sakura Kemiling
A family hill park in Kemiling with blossom planting, picnic space and wide views over the city to the bay.
Taman Wisata Alam Wira Garden
A forested riverside park with cottages, outbound courses and river tubing on the green edge of the city.
Best hotels in Bandar Lampung
Grand Mercure Lampung
The city flagship five star tower in the centre, with bay view rooms, an infinity pool and full service calm.
Lampung Marriott Resort & Spa
A beach resort on its own sand at Hurun, with pools, a spa and clear water for snorkelling and kayaking.
Novotel Lampung
A large sea view hotel on the bay road, with a resort feeling pool deck between the centre and the port.
Hotel Santika Premiere Lampung
The best Indonesian chain stay in Kedaton, valued for its local breakfasts, calm rooms and attentive service.
Radisson Lampung Kedaton
A modern chain tower by the Kedaton mall corridor, with a rooftop pool and walkable shopping and dining.
Emersia Hotel & Resort
A green resort styled hotel inside the city, with gardens, a big pool and spacious family rooms.
BATIQA Hotel Lampung
The reliable cheap sleep in the centre, small clean modern rooms from a consistent Indonesian budget chain.
POP! Hotel Tanjung Karang
The cheapest respectable central base, compact pod style rooms walking distance from the centre sights.
Is Bandar Lampung expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | IDR 350,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | IDR 750,000 a person |
| Splurge | IDR 2,000,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Pulau Pahawang: a few days ahead
- Pulau Tegal Mas: a few days ahead
- Teluk Kiluan: a few days ahead
- Anak Krakatau: weeks ahead
- Taman Nasional Way Kambas: a few days ahead
- Padang Golf Sukarame: a few days ahead
- Grand Mercure Lampung: weeks ahead
- Lampung Marriott Resort & Spa: weeks ahead
- Book the Marriott and Grand Mercure well ahead for Indonesian holiday weekends, when rates jump.
- Book Pahawang private boats and Anak Krakatau charters days ahead and reconfirm the day before.
- Reserve Way Manom for weekend dinners.
- Arrange a Way Kambas car and driver, and any ecolodge room, a few days ahead in holiday periods.
Is Bandar Lampung safe?
- Keep phones and bags on the building side of the pavement around Rajabasa terminal and crowded markets.
- Insist on a life jacket on boats from Ketapang and Kiluan, and respect weather cancellations.
- Obey Anak Krakatau exclusion levels, and wear boots and long trousers for Way Kambas forest walks.
- Swim only in calm managed sections at Mutun, Sari Ringgung and the Marriott beach.
Bandar Lampung travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Puncak Mas at peak weekend hour, paying repeatedly for photo platforms in a dense crowd.
- Mutun beach on a Sunday, with gazebo price complaints and the murkiest water of the week.
- Treating Sari Ringgung as a destination beach rather than a boat point and sandbar trip.
- Elephant riding at Way Kambas, the element reviewers criticise most on welfare grounds.
- Unmetered roadside travel offers at terminals. Book boats and cars through a hotel, named operator or platform.
Getting around Bandar Lampung: public transport and more
- Use Grab and Gojek cars and bikes in the centre and Kedaton, and allow extra time on the Hurun coast.
- Hire a private car with driver for Way Kambas, Kiluan and multi stop beach days.
- Radin Inten II Airport is about 30 to 45 minutes from the centre, with Damri buses as the budget option.
- Ketapang pier is about an hour away, Way Kambas about two and a half hours, and Kiluan about three hours.
Who Bandar Lampung suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Bandar Lampung your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store