This is Jakarta’s largest and most popular recreation park, more popularly known as “Ancol Dreamland”. The Ancol Dreamland has an extensive range of attractions that include a Seaworld, a water park with artificial waves, and a lagoon for fishing and boating, exciting rides such as the Torpedo and the Hysteria, an art center, a convention hall and hotels.
In the Ancol complex are also marinas, the Dunia Fantasi (Fantasy World), a drive-in theatre. The ‘Pasar Seni’ or art market has a varied collection of Indonesian handicraft, paintings and souvenirs on sale. An open-air theatre features live performances by local artists.
To Eat:
You may find many food stalls serving their specialty dishes. At Pantai Carnaval you will find of restaurants serving local and international dishes with several serving seafood as their specialty. For beverage, it’s worth to try “Es Kelapa Muda” or Young Coconut Ice drink.
To Buy
A colorful open-air art market is located at the Ancol Amusement Park, which provides the unique experience of not only buying quality Indonesian arts and craft, but also a chance to see and meet the artisans at work. You can watch puppet makers, wood-carvers, painters, and many other craft makers from throughout the archipelago cheerfully working on their creations. At this art and handicraft market, visitors get to watch Indonesian artists creating their masterpieces. Hundreds of artists from all over the country congregate here to exhibit their work, making this a fascinating place for tourists and art connoisseurs. You can even get a portrait of yourself done. Both traditional and modern art and crafts are on display, including paintings, sculptures, traditional Indonesian wayang kulit (leather puppets), gemstone jewelry and many other artistic products. Art performances are frequently held at the Art Market (Pasar Seni) inside the Jaya Ancol Dreamland on Jakarta’s beach. They normally range from wayang kulit shadow plays to folk dances and modern drama. The market is open Monday to Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can buy plenty of souvenirs in each attraction in the Ancol Bay Area, with their characteristic designs. Also you can buy Indonesian art as souvenir at Pasar Seni or Art Market.
To Do
Ancol Beach This Water Park consists of different pools and slides that will thrill both children and adults alike. Experience a day of fun-filled adventures by braving the rapids, diving down the slides, enjoying the exciting water rides or just splashing around. The theme park has been refurbished several times to ensure safety and everlasting fun. Nonetheless children must always be supervised by adults. The poolside restaurant is popular for its variety of local dishes
Dunia Fantasi, (Fantasy World) Indonesia’s own Disneyland where you can discover a cultural journey through Indonesia and many other countries. With the accent on fun, attractions include a thrilling cork screw roller coaster, adventurous flume rides, turbo tour simulators, bumper cars as well as many other exciting fairground amusements with the latest addition of Hysteria where you can experience the sensation of zero gravity when you are dropped down from a considerable height. Open Mon to Sat, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sun from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m
Amusement Park A village unto itself, this 24-hour park has hotels, nightclubs, shops, and amusement centers, including an oceanarium with dolphins and sea lion shows, a golf course that has now been converted into an eco-park, a car race track, a four-pool complex with a wave pool, and water slides. Africa is represented by a comedy of mechanized monkeys, America by a Wild West town, Europe by a mock Tudor house, and Asia by buildings from Thailand, Japan, India, and Korea. Rides, shooting galleries, and food stalls surround these attractions, all set on 1,360 acres of land reclaimed from the bay in 1962. COST: Admission. Sat.-Thurs. 11-6, Fri. 1:20-10
Marina Ancol This is a special port for yachts, motor and sail boats, and the port of departure to Kepulauan Seribu or Thousand Islands resorts. This is also a good location for windsurfing and other marine recreation. Beach facilities for the sea or lagoon area are amply provided: water cycles, canoes, sail boats, fishing gear and many others. Stalls are abundant, serving drinks and snacks along the beach.
Seaworld This giant oceanarium proudly introduces visitors to more than 4,000 fish and sharks from 300 species. Come and enjoy the deep-sea panorama while strolling through an 80-meter tunnel. The fascinating creatures live in some 500 million liters of seawater and are fed three times a day (some hand-fed). The attraction also features a theater which plays three educational films in English and Bahasa Indonesia. Open Monday to Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. In Ancol Bay Area, there are so many things to do or see. If you like water sports, in Ancol Jakarta you can find Jet Ski rental there. You can go sailing or visit Bidadari Island, one of the islands among Thousand Islands Area.