General Information
Located in the east of Java, Surabaya can be described in one sentence: A smaller and more relaxed version of Jakarta. Jakarta is a shithole, as many of you already know. Surabaya is not that much of a shithole as Jakarta. The Traffic situation is slightly better, but there is absolutely nothing you can do in Surabaya except going to malls and restaurants. Nevertheless, it is a good city to bang girls, thanks to the high population (it is the second-largest city in Indonesia with more than 3 million people) and the relatively low amount of foreigners staying/living in Surabaya. What’s more, a big part of the population is from Chinese descent. So all of you who like Chinese looking girls should definitely give Surabaya a shot.
Logistics
What I loved about my stay in Surabaya was my hotel. I was traveling on a very tight budget and I always chose my accommodation carefully. In Surabaya it is best to stay near Tunjungan Plaza (TP), the most popular mall. Those who can afford it can stay at the Sheraton Hotel, which is located right next to TP. I chose to stay at Midtown Hotel (5mins walk from TP) and was very happy with it. For only 35$ I got the best hotel deal I ever had on my travels in SEA. When it comes to value for money accommodation, I think Surabaya is one of the best cities in Southeast Asia. Staying near Tunjungan Plaza also means that you are not far from the most popular nightlife venues.
Transportation
Unsurprisingly, there is no subway or skytrain here. Only city buses, angkots (small minibuses), motorbike taxis, cabs and rickshaws. Since the traffic is not as bad as in Jakarta, I would stick to normal taxis when it comes to longer distances. For shorter rides you can use the cheap angkots, given that you know which one to take. They are usually between 2.000 and 3.000 Rupiah. Never use rickshaws – they are very slow and not really cheaper than normal motorbike taxis (called Ojek).
Online Game
Tinder works well in Surabaya. Not as well as in Jakarta, but it definitely is the number one way to go. Skout and Indonesiancupid are the second choice while Dateinasia had only a few girls from Surabaya at the time I checked.
Nightlife Venues
I haven’t seen much of the nightlife in Surabaya, since I always had dates at night. However, there are various venues in Surabaya and from what I have heard the city has a good nightlife. When I return to Surabaya I will definitely check out more of the city’s nightlife:
The most popular bars and clubs are:
Colors Pub: I went there once with a date. Good but loud life music, good food, no real dancefloor. At the night I was there I saw some hookers and a few older expats. Sunday is student’s night, called University of Colors. They have a very long bar making it easy to strike up conversations with other people sitting at the bar. The rest of the bar is typical Asian layout – a lot of tables and no real dancefloor.
Desperados: A bar located inside the Shangri-La Hotel. It is said to have a lot of expats and hookers. I have never been there though.
Vertical Six Club & Lounge: Located inside the JW Marriott hotel. Unfortunately I never made it there. So I can’t tell if the place is filled with hookers or normal girls. If I had to guess, I would say that this is the place to go to pick up the upper-class girls of Surabaya. I will definitely check it out on my next trip to Surabaya. Wednesday is student’s night, Thursday Ladies night.
M1 Superclub: One of the newest clubs in town. Most of the girls I talked to online like it very much. It is also on my list for my next Surabaya visit.
Other popular places are Coyote Ten Club (inside Tunjungan Plaza), Blowfish (Japanese restaurant + lounge + club), Penthouse Club (on top of Central Point Mall) and 360 Club.
A little far from the city center you can find G Walk. It is one of the hippest places in Surabaya. Basically it is just a street packed with chilled restaurants and bars. Delicious food for reasonable price can be found there. Unfortunately it takes 30-45 minutes from the city center to reach it by taxi, depending on the traffic.
Things to do around Surabaya
Not much. The best you can do is to hop on a train to Probolinggo and hike the Bromo volcano. Even better than Bromo is a volcano called Kawah Ijen, which spits blue fire in the middle of the night. It is one of only two places in the world where you can see blue fire. You can go all down inside the crater to the crater lake (but better put on one of the gas masks they offer for rent) and watch the sulfur workers carrying 100lbs pieces of sulfur all the way up out of the crater. While Bromo might be doable in a daytrip, Kawah Ijen definitely needs more time. But you can do both on your way to Bali. I booked a tour for 800.000 Rupiah in Probolinggo including 2 nights in a shitty guesthouse + Bromo Tour + Kawah Ijen with blue fire (make sure the blue fire is included!) + transport to Bali.
Since Surabaya is the gateway to the eastern part of Indonesia, you can find a lot of cheap domestic flights. Bali is only a few minutes flight away, Sulawesi less than 2 hours.
Summary
Surabaya is perfect for those who want to escape Jakarta or simply want a cheaper Jakarta. It’s a city where all you can do is bang girls and your exotic value will be higher than in Jakarta. Surabaya is one out of three places in Indonesia that offer a decent nightlife. The other two are Jakarta and Bali. Hotels are cheap and available at good locations. Online game works well due to the high population. In my opinion, Surabaya is definitely worth a visit. I would rather go to Surabaya to chase pussy than to Bali. I think Surabaya would also make a good city to live in long term, without knowing about rental prices or internet speed, though.
My recommendation: If you want to visit Jakarta AND Bali, simply fly from Jakarta to Surabaya and then head to Bali overland, visiting Bromo and Kawah Ijen.
Located in the east of Java, Surabaya can be described in one sentence: A smaller and more relaxed version of Jakarta. Jakarta is a shithole, as many of you already know. Surabaya is not that much of a shithole as Jakarta. The Traffic situation is slightly better, but there is absolutely nothing you can do in Surabaya except going to malls and restaurants. Nevertheless, it is a good city to bang girls, thanks to the high population (it is the second-largest city in Indonesia with more than 3 million people) and the relatively low amount of foreigners staying/living in Surabaya. What’s more, a big part of the population is from Chinese descent. So all of you who like Chinese looking girls should definitely give Surabaya a shot.
Logistics
What I loved about my stay in Surabaya was my hotel. I was traveling on a very tight budget and I always chose my accommodation carefully. In Surabaya it is best to stay near Tunjungan Plaza (TP), the most popular mall. Those who can afford it can stay at the Sheraton Hotel, which is located right next to TP. I chose to stay at Midtown Hotel (5mins walk from TP) and was very happy with it. For only 35$ I got the best hotel deal I ever had on my travels in SEA. When it comes to value for money accommodation, I think Surabaya is one of the best cities in Southeast Asia. Staying near Tunjungan Plaza also means that you are not far from the most popular nightlife venues.
Transportation
Unsurprisingly, there is no subway or skytrain here. Only city buses, angkots (small minibuses), motorbike taxis, cabs and rickshaws. Since the traffic is not as bad as in Jakarta, I would stick to normal taxis when it comes to longer distances. For shorter rides you can use the cheap angkots, given that you know which one to take. They are usually between 2.000 and 3.000 Rupiah. Never use rickshaws – they are very slow and not really cheaper than normal motorbike taxis (called Ojek).
Online Game
Tinder works well in Surabaya. Not as well as in Jakarta, but it definitely is the number one way to go. Skout and Indonesiancupid are the second choice while Dateinasia had only a few girls from Surabaya at the time I checked.
Nightlife Venues
I haven’t seen much of the nightlife in Surabaya, since I always had dates at night. However, there are various venues in Surabaya and from what I have heard the city has a good nightlife. When I return to Surabaya I will definitely check out more of the city’s nightlife:
The most popular bars and clubs are:
Colors Pub: I went there once with a date. Good but loud life music, good food, no real dancefloor. At the night I was there I saw some hookers and a few older expats. Sunday is student’s night, called University of Colors. They have a very long bar making it easy to strike up conversations with other people sitting at the bar. The rest of the bar is typical Asian layout – a lot of tables and no real dancefloor.
Desperados: A bar located inside the Shangri-La Hotel. It is said to have a lot of expats and hookers. I have never been there though.
Vertical Six Club & Lounge: Located inside the JW Marriott hotel. Unfortunately I never made it there. So I can’t tell if the place is filled with hookers or normal girls. If I had to guess, I would say that this is the place to go to pick up the upper-class girls of Surabaya. I will definitely check it out on my next trip to Surabaya. Wednesday is student’s night, Thursday Ladies night.
M1 Superclub: One of the newest clubs in town. Most of the girls I talked to online like it very much. It is also on my list for my next Surabaya visit.
Other popular places are Coyote Ten Club (inside Tunjungan Plaza), Blowfish (Japanese restaurant + lounge + club), Penthouse Club (on top of Central Point Mall) and 360 Club.
A little far from the city center you can find G Walk. It is one of the hippest places in Surabaya. Basically it is just a street packed with chilled restaurants and bars. Delicious food for reasonable price can be found there. Unfortunately it takes 30-45 minutes from the city center to reach it by taxi, depending on the traffic.
Things to do around Surabaya
Not much. The best you can do is to hop on a train to Probolinggo and hike the Bromo volcano. Even better than Bromo is a volcano called Kawah Ijen, which spits blue fire in the middle of the night. It is one of only two places in the world where you can see blue fire. You can go all down inside the crater to the crater lake (but better put on one of the gas masks they offer for rent) and watch the sulfur workers carrying 100lbs pieces of sulfur all the way up out of the crater. While Bromo might be doable in a daytrip, Kawah Ijen definitely needs more time. But you can do both on your way to Bali. I booked a tour for 800.000 Rupiah in Probolinggo including 2 nights in a shitty guesthouse + Bromo Tour + Kawah Ijen with blue fire (make sure the blue fire is included!) + transport to Bali.
Since Surabaya is the gateway to the eastern part of Indonesia, you can find a lot of cheap domestic flights. Bali is only a few minutes flight away, Sulawesi less than 2 hours.
Summary
Surabaya is perfect for those who want to escape Jakarta or simply want a cheaper Jakarta. It’s a city where all you can do is bang girls and your exotic value will be higher than in Jakarta. Surabaya is one out of three places in Indonesia that offer a decent nightlife. The other two are Jakarta and Bali. Hotels are cheap and available at good locations. Online game works well due to the high population. In my opinion, Surabaya is definitely worth a visit. I would rather go to Surabaya to chase pussy than to Bali. I think Surabaya would also make a good city to live in long term, without knowing about rental prices or internet speed, though.
My recommendation: If you want to visit Jakarta AND Bali, simply fly from Jakarta to Surabaya and then head to Bali overland, visiting Bromo and Kawah Ijen.