Indonesian travel expressions divide motion efficiently. A movement verb supplies the event—pergi, jalan, belok, naik, turun, sampai—while ke marks a destination, di a location, and dari a source. Once that division is clear, asking directions and following a route becomes much easier.
This page builds practical interactions rather than a thematic transport dictionary. The spatial preposition guide develops the complete location system.
The path frame: dari, ke, and di
Use dari X ke Y for a path from source to destination. Use di Y when no motion toward the place is asserted.
Bus ini berangkat dari terminal lama ke pusat kota.
This bus departs from the old terminal for the city center.
Kami menunggu di halte depan rumah sakit.
We are waiting at the bus stop in front of the hospital.
Setelah makan siang, saya pergi ke stasiun.
After lunch, I am going to the station.
Kereta dari Surabaya sudah tiba di peron tiga.
The train from Surabaya has arrived at platform three.
English uses at after arrive, but Indonesian tiba/sampai presents the endpoint as reached and locates the resulting arrival with di: tiba di stasiun, not tiba ke stasiun.
Asking for directions
Open with permisi, an appropriate address term, and a focused destination question.
Permisi, Bu, stasiun terdekat ada di mana?
Excuse me, ma'am, where is the nearest station?
Pak, bagaimana cara pergi ke terminal antarkota dari sini?
Sir, how do I get to the intercity terminal from here?
Apakah jalan ini menuju pasar tradisional?
Does this road lead to the traditional market?
Kalau mau ke museum, saya harus naik bus nomor berapa?
If I want to go to the museum, which bus number should I take?
Jauh tidak kalau berjalan kaki dari hotel?
Is it far if I walk from the hotel? (neutral spoken question)
Ada di mana? asks for the location of an identifiable place. Bagaimana cara pergi ke...? asks for a route or transport method. The second question normally gets a sequence, not merely an address.
Giving a route: lurus and belok
Jalan lurus means continue straight. Belok kiri/kanan and belok ke kiri/kanan are both common. Anchor each turn to a visible landmark.
Dari sini, jalan lurus sampai lampu lalu lintas pertama.
From here, go straight to the first traffic light.
Setelah jembatan, belok kiri ke Jalan Merdeka.
After the bridge, turn left onto Jalan Merdeka.
Terus saja sekitar lima ratus meter; banknya ada di sebelah kanan.
Keep going for about five hundred meters; the bank is on the right.
Kalau sudah melihat kantor pos, belok ke kanan di gang berikutnya.
Once you see the post office, turn right at the next lane.
Jangan menyeberang jalan; haltenya ada di sisi yang sama.
Do not cross the road; the bus stop is on the same side.
Sampai marks the boundary reached: sampai lampu lalu lintas means continue until the traffic light. It can also be the arrival verb sampai di hotel.
Complete route dialogue
Wisatawan: Permisi, Kak, bagaimana cara ke Museum Bahari?
Traveler: Excuse me, how do I get to the Maritime Museum?
Warga: Jalan lurus sampai perempatan, lalu belok kanan.
Resident: Go straight to the intersection, then turn right.
Wisatawan: Setelah belok kanan, museumnya masih jauh?
Traveler: After I turn right, is the museum still far?
Warga: Tidak. Museum itu dekat sekali, tepat di seberang taman.
Resident: No. The museum is very close, directly across from the park.
Wisatawan: Baik, terima kasih banyak atas petunjuknya.
Traveler: All right, thank you very much for the directions.
Near, far, and route scale
Dekat and jauh can predicate directly. Dekat commonly takes dengan, while jauh takes dari; distance questions also use dari for the starting point.
Penginapan kami dekat dengan halte bus bandara.
Our lodging is close to the airport bus stop.
Pelabuhannya cukup jauh dari pusat kota.
The port is quite far from downtown.
Kalau naik taksi, perjalanan hanya sekitar lima belas menit.
If you take a taxi, the trip is only about fifteen minutes.
Kalau berjalan kaki, sebaiknya lewat jalan utama karena lebih terang.
If you walk, it is better to take the main road because it is better lit.
Speakers also say tidak jauh “not far,” which can still mean a meaningful walk. Ask for minutes or distance when precision matters.
Naik transport: board or travel by
Naik + vehicle means board or use that mode of transport. No separate equivalent of English on/by is required.
Kami naik kereta pagi supaya tiba sebelum rapat.
We are taking the morning train so that we arrive before the meeting.
Dari bandara, Anda bisa naik bus langsung ke pusat kota.
From the airport, you can take a bus directly downtown.
Saya lebih suka naik ojek kalau jalanan macet.
I prefer taking a motorcycle taxi when traffic is congested.
Naik angkot yang berwarna biru, lalu turun di depan pasar.
Take the blue public minibus, then get off in front of the market.
In everyday travel talk, naik taksi may mean take a taxi for the journey, not only the physical instant of stepping in. Dengan kereta is also possible when the mode is background information.
Kami pergi ke Yogyakarta dengan kereta malam.
We are going to Yogyakarta by night train.
Turun: alight, descend, and choose the stop
Use turun dari + vehicle when highlighting leaving the vehicle; use turun di + stop/place to identify where.
Silakan turun dari bus melalui pintu belakang.
Please get off the bus through the rear door.
Saya harus turun di halte mana untuk ke kebun raya?
At which stop should I get off for the botanical garden?
Turun dua halte lagi, lalu jalan kaki sekitar tiga menit.
Get off two stops from now, then walk for about three minutes.
Kami salah turun dan harus menunggu bus berikutnya.
We got off at the wrong place and had to wait for the next bus.
The same verb means descend in turun tangga “go down the stairs” and decrease in harga turun “the price falls.” Context selects the travel reading.
Tickets and fares
Use ongkos for a fare/cost of transport and tarif for an officially set rate (formal/service). Tiket is the ticket itself.
Berapa ongkos bus sampai terminal pusat?
How much is the bus fare to the central terminal?
Apakah tarifnya sudah termasuk biaya bagasi?
Does the fare include the baggage charge?
Saya mau satu tiket ke Semarang untuk keberangkatan sore.
I would like one ticket to Semarang for the afternoon departure.
Bisa bayar dengan kartu, atau harus tunai?
Can I pay by card, or does it have to be cash?
Tolong beri tahu saya kalau harus membayar lagi di dalam bus.
Please tell me if I have to pay again on the bus.
Boarding exchange
Penumpang: Apakah bus ini lewat Stasiun Gambir?
Passenger: Does this bus pass Gambir Station?
Kondektur: Ya, tetapi Anda harus turun di halte seberang stasiun.
Conductor: Yes, but you need to get off at the stop opposite the station.
Penumpang: Baik. Berapa ongkosnya sampai sana?
Passenger: All right. How much is the fare to there?
Kondektur: Lima ribu rupiah. Nanti saya beri tahu sebelum sampai di haltenya.
Conductor: Five thousand rupiah. I'll let you know before we reach the stop.
Reporting arrival
Use sampai/tiba di + place. Sudah sampai checks or reports successful arrival; belum sampai means the endpoint has not yet been reached.
Kami sudah sampai di hotel dengan selamat.
We have arrived safely at the hotel.
Kereta belum sampai karena ada gangguan sinyal.
The train has not arrived yet because there is a signal disruption.
Kabari saya setelah kamu sampai di penginapan, ya.
Let me know after you arrive at the lodging, okay?
Pesawat tiba terlambat, tetapi bagasi kami keluar dengan cepat.
The plane arrived late, but our baggage came out quickly.
Sampai ke + place instead emphasizes extent: “all the way to/as far as.”
Karena hujan, taksinya tidak bisa masuk sampai ke depan hotel.
Because of the rain, the taxi could not go all the way to the front of the hotel.
Common Mistakes
1. Using di after a motion destination
❌ Besok kami pergi di pelabuhan setelah sarapan.
Incorrect—pergi directs movement toward a goal.
✅ Besok kami pergi ke pelabuhan setelah sarapan.
Tomorrow we are going to the port after breakfast.
2. Using ke after arrive
❌ Bus malam tiba ke terminal pukul sebelas.
Incorrect—tiba locates the reached endpoint with di.
✅ Bus malam tiba di terminal pukul sebelas.
The night bus arrives at the terminal at eleven.
3. Adding an English get-on preposition
❌ Kami naik di bus nomor tujuh menuju kampus.
Incorrect for choosing or boarding the transport; naik takes the vehicle directly.
✅ Kami naik bus nomor tujuh menuju kampus.
We take bus number seven toward campus.
4. Confusing vehicle and alighting place
❌ Saya turun dari halte dekat museum.
Incorrect for where the passenger alights—a stop takes di.
✅ Saya turun di halte dekat museum.
I get off at the stop near the museum.
5. Reversing source and destination
❌ Kereta ini berangkat di Jakarta ke Bandung.
Incorrect—di marks a location, not the source of a route.
✅ Kereta ini berangkat dari Jakarta ke Bandung.
This train departs from Jakarta for Bandung.
6. Asking only dekat when precision matters
❌ Karena warga berkata “dekat”, saya menganggap pasti kurang dari dua menit.
Incorrect inference—dekat is context-sensitive, not an exact duration.
✅ Kalau berjalan kaki, kira-kira berapa menit dari sini?
About how many minutes is it from here on foot?
Key Takeaways
- Use ke for a destination, di for location or reached arrival, and dari for source.
- Give routes with lurus, belok, sampai, and clear landmarks.
- Naik + vehicle needs no separate equivalent of English on/by.
- Use turun dari for leaving a vehicle and turun di for the stop.
- Distinguish arrival sampai di from extent sampai ke.
Now practice Indonesian
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- ke: Direction and DestinationA1 — Use free ke for movement toward destinations and endpoints, contrasting it with static di and attached ordinal or derivational ke-.
- di: Static LocationA1 — Use the separate preposition di for static location at, in, or on a place, and distinguish it from destination ke and passive di-.
- dari: Source, Origin, Material, and ComparisonA1 — Use dari to express where something begins, comes from, is made from, or serves as a point of comparison.
- Spatial Relators with atas, bawah, depan, and belakangA1 — Build precise locations, destinations, and sources with di, ke, or dari plus the relational nouns atas, bawah, depan, and belakang.
- naik, menaiki, and menaikkan: Verb Family and UsageB1 — Distinguish a moving or rising subject with naik, a traversed object with menaiki, and caused upward change with menaikkan.
- turun, menuruni, and menurunkan: Verb Family and UsageB1 — Distinguish downward motion with turun, traversed paths with menuruni, caused decrease with menurunkan, and trend language with menurun.