Being in Indonesia for a few days in October 2024, I did not have that much time to explore the city of Bandung. However, tours to the mountains or even private tours through the city start quite early. I arrived from the Pandaragan Panoramic train right after noon. Finally I ran into the Bus Bandos Trolley tour through the city. The advertisement campaign is a bit of poor, so that this option to have a ride is rather known to locals and people asking them, e.g. at a hotel. Here is my review of the experience.
Bus Bandros Trolley Tour – Location & Admission
The sightseeing tour starts South of the Grand Mosque of Bandung, at the Alun-Allin park, which is very popular for recreational reasons. You cannot miss the differently colored trolley tram/buses lining up there. There is also a public bus station, but the location is quite central and just a few steps away from the Braga Road, so you might very likely not need a transfer there.
There is no fixed schedule for the Bus Bandros tour. Several of their trolley trams waiting at the starting point. When one is full, it is kicking off. The tour is quite popular among Indonesians, so you should typically not wait longer than 15 to 20 minutes for a next ride. Adult admission is 20,000 INR, which is less than 2 Euro. You may exit the tour close to Gedung Sate governmental building and take one of the next rides. to explore the place in detail. However, just very few people made use of that option.
Bus Bandros Trolley Tour – The Vehicle
The vehicle is a typical trolley bis ride, which is designed like an historic tram car. Similar vehicles can be found in multiple locations around the world. It has a capacity of some 20 people. On top of that, there is a driver and the guide.The seats are quite comfortable, but the seat layout is rather designed for smaller and thinner Asian people than for big Europeans like myself. Thus, I ended up having a bench for two people. There is also a bench left to the driver (Indonesia drives on the left hand side of the road) and two individual open space seats in the rear of the trolley. The announcements of the guide are given by speakers – as far as I can reconcile it, it was very easy to follow the explanations.They also seem to have double-decker trolleys.
Bus Bandros Trolley Tour – The Tour
The tour takes you through Central Bandung and covers the main sights. My tour was in Indonesian only. I was the only foreigner on this trip and the guide apologized (in English) that he will do the tour in the local language only. As he spoke most of the time and was very interactive with the people, I feel that this is an absolute fair deal. You get a little bit of what he is saying, there are some Dutch influences in the language. He also offered me to give me some explanation and answer questions after the tour. Despite the linguistic issues, I really liked the way he presented Bandung to the visitors and had a great time.
The tour was named to last some 45 minutes. The traffic was comparably low during my trip, so that the 40 minutes it took were definitely within expectations.
Bus Bandros Trolley Tour – My View
It is really a shame that Bus Bandros is not advertising this sightseeing tour more intensively. Even in case you hit an Indonesian tour, it is a great way to see the main spots of Central Bandung in a short time. The guide was very enthusiastic. If there was more demand from foreign people, I am sure they could do an even more educative experience in English as well. The price is an absolute bargain. Due to the typical heat on Java, it was a wonderful way to at least get a wide flavor of the city.
Sightseeing Tours
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