Get in Medan; by Plane

Medan's Polonia International Airport and Belawan sea port are both visa-free and visa-on-arrival points.
For more visa information, see the Indonesia page.

Medan's international airport is known as Polonia International Airport (MES) and is located about 15 minutes from the city. Domestic departure taxes from Medan increased on 15 August 2005 from Rp15,000 to Rp25,000, while international departure taxes remained constant at Rp100,000. The domestic terminal is nicer than the international terminal (a new terminal is scheduled to open in 2007), and there is no moneychanger for currency other than USD. ATM machines are only at the domestic airport. Bags are checked by customs upon departure, unless you have friends at the airport. Domestic flights out of Medan do not check IDs (sporadically, they check passports at check-in) at security checks (only tickets).

Getting there: A Taxi into town sets you back around Rp40,000, unless you walk past the taxis in front of the terminal and proceed towards the exit. There are more taxis towards the exit, and if you bargain well, you can get a taxi for only Rp.20,000. If you know the public bus number for your destination, it is Rp.6000 per person, but those unfamiliar with Bahasa Indonesian are encouraged to get taxis for their first transportation.

There are direct international flights to/from Penang (for only around $70 return), Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh in Malaysia; Singapore. Several discount airlines service Medan, though the only one with reliable internet booking (in July and August 2005) is AirAsia, with fares sometime below US$50 return if purchased in advance.

AirAsia [1] to/from Penang and Kuala Lumpur
Kartika Airlines [2] (Tel: +62-61-4522433) to/from Penang and Ipoh
Malaysia Airlines [3] to/from Penang and Kuala Lumpur
Garuda - the most popular in domestic flights
SilkAir (Singapore Airlines)
Lion Air [4] (Garuda Plaza Hotel, Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.18. Tel: +62-61-7351168 or 7351169) to/from Penang

For destinations within Indonesia, there are direct flights to/from Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Batam and other cities.
AirAsia [5] to/from Jakarta
Kartika Airlines [6] to/from Batam and Jakarta
Merpati
Garuda
Lion Air [7] to Jakarta and Banda Aceh

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