About Bandung

Bandung is the capital city of West Java province, and the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. Nicknamed Parijs van Java (Paris of Java) by the Dutch for its resemblance to Paris and European atmosphere back at the colonial times, it is locally called as Kota Kembang, literally meaning the Flowery City because Bandung had a lot of flowers in the colonial era and republic era up to the early 1960s.

A city sitting in a former lake with an altitude of 768 m above sea level, the surroundings of lush and beautiful Parahyangan mountains makes the climate cooler than most major cities in Indonesia. If you are into the city situation, look for its universities to study, apparel products to try on and wonderful places for gastronomic adventure. Nowadays, Bandung has become a very popular weekend escape for Jakartans because of its close proximity, During holiday periods it gets heavy traffic jams (need at least a half hour to travel 3 km).

Get in

Bandung is located in the central highlands. It can be reached from Jakarta either via the toll road or railway by train. When using the road, there are many small buses connecting Jakarta and Bandung. An alternative to the toll road is the winding and mountainous roads through Puncak (=Peak). The route through Puncak is quite scenic but on weekends and public holidays the traffic is congested.

By plane

Bandung’s Husein Sastranegara (IATA: BDO) airport has a difficult location among the mountains and has only limited services with narrow-body airplanes. The airport is located at the end of Pajajaran Street, 4km from the centre of the city. There’s no metered taxi available from bandung airport. The official taxi of the airport didn’t use meter and will only served once you had a taxi ticket (the ticket shown the amount you have to pay to the driver) which can be bought at the taxi booth near the international arrival exit gate, they charges minimum of IDR40,000 (about USD5). Most hotels provide a free airport transfer services.

Some airlines serving Bandung:

Air Asia: operates thrice daily flights from Kuala Lumpur and twice daily from Singapore, Denpasar(Bali), Surabaya and Medan and once a day from Pekanbaru. (no-frill airline)
Garuda Indonesia: operate daily flight from Surabaya,Denpasar (Bali), Batam.
Lion Air: operates twice daily from Denpasar, and Surabaya, daily from Banjarmasin, Batam and Medan.
Silk Air: operates 5x weekly flight from Singapore.
Wings Air: operate daily flight from Yogyakarta and Semarang

Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport is about 3 hours away (plus any traffic jams). A number of companies offer direct shuttle services; see the next section for details.

Travellers arriving direct into Bandung airport will find that it is very close to the city. Taxi fares are fixed at IDR42,000 to most parts of the city. Buy the ticket at the counter because when you ask the “mafia” controlled taxis nearby, they will quote you IDR70,000. The fixed price is still a rip off as the taxi fare from our airport at Bandung SuperMal to the airport, in the morning only cost us IDR30,000. It’s a monopoly contracted out to only one taxi company.

By Bus

Bus services connect Bandung and smaller surrounding cities. Several long-route buses are also available from major big cities. The most convenient way is the air-conditioned bus with the express or non-stop tag. The main bus terminals in Bandung are Leuwipanjang, serving buses from the west (Bogor, Jakarta, Merak, Pandeglang,Tangerang, Depok, Bekasi, Cikarang, Cibinong and Sukabumi.) and Cicaheum, serving buses from the east (Cirebon, Garut, Tasikmalaya, Banjar, Pangandaran, Indramayu, central Java cities, eastern Java cities and also from Bali Island).

By shuttle bus

With 6-12 seater minivans leaving every fifteen minutes up to every 1 to 2 hours depends on the providers, the shuttle bus market between Jakarta and Bandung is fiercely competitive. Roughly speaking, services can be categorised as either door to door in a chartered car or van that takes your group exactly where you want to go, for around US$50-75, or point to point from a terminal to another, for under US$10. Many companies offer both. Most shuttle providers use Isuzu Elf minivan (similar with Toyota Hiace, but bigger & more spacious) and some companies offer more luxurious options using Toyota Alphard or Hyundai H-1 with a higher fare and distinct routes, but some routes are deleting, because the high price fare after high increase of diesel fuel made consumers use lower grade of shuttle bus.

Bandung shuttle providers

4848 Taxi. Jl Prapatan 34, Jakarta. ☎ +62 21 381 4488, +62 21 386 4848. The service is great, reliable and safe. Price: approx. US$ 25/car (4 persons). One destination only in a small area in Jakarta, so you have to ask which area in Jakarta the will serve.
DayTrans, (Indonesian-language only) Jakarta (Blora, Sarinah, Fatmawati, Karet, Mall Senayan City, FX Plaza, Meruya-Intercon, Kebon Jeruk-Binus, Grogol, Atrium Plaza, Hotel Acacia, Cempaka Putih Pulomas, Tebet/Pancoran and Jatiwaringin), ☎ +62 21 7063 6868 atau 6386 4005. Bandung (Dipati Ukur, Cihampelas and Pasteur), ☎ +62 22 7063 6868. Rp 90,000 for a share ride.
Cipaganti, Probably the biggest name in the business, they serve over a half a dozen points throughout Jakarta and its suburbs from their various terminals in Bandung, such as Bandung Trade Center (BTC) on the western side of the city (Pasteur), Cihampelas, and many more, with shuttles leaving every 30 min or so on most routes. Rp 100,000 for a shared ride (Note: special discount rates apply for students), Rp 700,000 for a point-to-point charter.
Star Shuttle, This is belong to Cipaganti Group to compete with Baraya. ☎ +62 21 700 500 000 and +62 21 700 500 000. Same as with Cipaganti, you have to mention that you will use Star Shuttle.
Baraya, The ticket fee is only Rp 70,000 for a shared ride. ☎ +62 21 7244 999 and +62 22 253 3456.
Primajasa Bus, ☎ +62 22 607 3992 (Bandung), ☎ +62 21 800 9545 (Jakarta). Direct shuttle service from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport to Batununggal but they don’t stop at Bandung Super Mall anymore. The trip takes c. 3h and the cost is c. USD8.50/person or IDR75,000. Schedule: once every half hour from 00:30-16:00. Their buses feature a smoking room and toilet at the back. From Lebak Bulus bus terminal in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, the Primajasa costs IDR50,000. There will be a numerous other buses running the route from Lebak Bulus, and Kampung Rambutan bus terminal – it is possible to get an economy bus for IDR20,000, although it will be full of people smoking, non air-conditioned, and probably less secure. Ask around, but always be cautious in bus terminals in Indonesia – especially at night.
Silver Bird Van Taxi (Blue Bird Group), Jl. Mampang Prapatan Raya 60, South Jakarta. ☎ +62 21 798 1234. Price: Rp 750,000 door to door, plus toll fee Rp 40,000.
X-Trans, Jl. Blora 1 AB, Central Jakarta, ☎ +62 21 315 0555. Price: approx. US$55/car maximum 10 persons for point-to-point charter or Rp 90,000 for a share ride.
CitiTrans, Jakarta (Fatmawati, Bintaro, Sudirman, Kelapa Gading, Pasar Pagi, Central Park), ☎08041111000. Bandung (Dipati Ukur, Cihampelas Walk, Pasteur), ☎ 08041111000. Rp 90,000 single-trip, non-stop, on 7 or 10-person (depends on pool) shuttles with separate seats.

Due to competitions, all shuttles now only have 2 prices, for 6-10 seats about Rp90,000-Rp100,000 and for 10-12 seats about Rp60,000-Rp70,000 in a minibus. While Taxis use car with maximum 4 passengers, excluding the driver.

By train

State operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia offers frequent services between Jakarta and Bandung, as well as connections onward to Surabaya. Even the fastest services take more than three hours, making this a slower option than the shuttle buses, but the scenery between Jakarta and Bandung is beautiful. The railroad passes mountains and padi terraces. Don’t miss this view when traveling by train. Use the AC (air-conditioned) coach if you cannot cope with the tropical heat. Most hotels in Bandung provide free transportation from train station to the hotel.

Unlike most other countries, Indonesia do not use number for their train service. As a rule of thumb, the highest standard will be given by “Argo” class train.

The ticket can be bought online at http://tiket.kereta-api.co.id , http://www.tiketkai.com or you can get only the booking code and pay at the stations, post offices, train ticket agents, Indomaret group, Alfamart group and Railcard & Railbox. You can also directly buy tickect without booking code at these online ticket distributors.

Among the attractions in Bandung, below are the top 25 attractions in Bandung:

Kawah Putih
De Ranch
Farm House
The Lodge Maribaya
Trans Studio Bandung
Grafika Cikole
Pinisi Resto dan Glamping Lakeside
Floating Market Lembang
Braga Street
Bosscha Observatory
Tangkuban Perahu Mountain
Situ Patenggang Lake
Maribaya Bandung
Saung Angklung Udjo
Dusun Bambu Lembang
Kampung Gajah Wonderland
Dago Dream Park
Ciwidey Valley Resort
Farmhouse Susu Lembang
Ciater Resort
Kampung Daun
Cikole Jayagiri Resort
Pine Forest

Below is the list of the top 11 type of food to eat in Bandung. These dishes represent Bandung as a whole as there are a wide variety of Sundanese, Indonesian, Chinese, Indian styles of cooking. This gives you an overall taste of the best Bandung has to offer.

Kampung Daun
The Valley Bistro Cafe
Nasi Kalong
Paskal Food Market
Atmosphere Resort Cafe
Sapu Lidi
Kopi Ireng
Lereng Anteng
Lawang Wangi
Stone Cafe
Lisung Cafe
Bakso Akung
Warung Upnormal
Nasi Padang Sederhana
Cibiuk
Nasi Bancakan
ALas Daun
Ampera

References:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g297704-Activities-Bandung_West_Java_Java.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297704-Bandung_West_Java_Java-Vacations.html
http://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/destinations/java/bandung