How to Get to Bukittinggi

5 Best Ways to Get to Bukittinggi

1. By Flight + Public Transportation

To get to Bukittinggi, you will first have to get to Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra. There is an international airport there, and you can fly from either Medan via Super Air Jet, a local low-cost airline, or from Jakarta via Garuda Airlines, or from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia via AirAsia.

If you are coming from abroad, your best bet is to fly into Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and then catch an AirAsia flight to Padang. Kuala Lumpur is a bigger regional hub than Jakarta, and you should be able to find more available flight options this way. The flight to Padang should cost about 100 USD, including one checked baggage.

Once you get to Padang, you can proceed to the Airport's exit and you will find plenty of bus/taxi operator kiosks to choose from. If you want to take public transportation to Bukittinggi, you will have to first go to the DAMRI ticket counter, which is the airport bus operator to the city and tell them you want to get the bus to Bukittinggi. You can then board the bus to Padang and the bus driver should drop you off at PT. AYU Transport, a separate minibus operator to Bukittinggi.

The DAMRI bus will cost you 30,000 IDR and it should take about 30 minutes to get to Padang City. After you arrive at PT. AYU Transport, you can then buy another ticket there for the minibus to Bukittinggi. This leg of the journey should cost 35,000 IDR and take about 3 hours. In total, you will pay about 65,000 IDR excluding the flight to Padang if you go with this option.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the minibus in West Sumatra is not like in North Sumatra. The minivan I was in was in pretty bad shape. It doesn't have AC and they fit more than 22 people in a van that is designed for 16 people. There was little legroom and we were pretty maxed out when it came to available space inside.

To make matters worse, when I was there, it was during the Eid holiday, and there was a recent disaster where the main road from Padang to Bukittinggi was cut off by cold lava from Mt. Marapi's eruption. So, the 3-hour journey turned into a 6-hour grueling ride that really tested my tolerance.

Tips: Get a window seat! It will make your trip less horrible. Trust me!

I got on the minibus at 3 PM and arrived in Bukittinggi almost at 10 PM as the minibus took the narrow mountain road to bypass the main road closure. It was torture in every sense of the word. The road should be fixed in 2025, so if you are there before then, make sure you are prepared, both mentally and physically for the trip!

For more things to do in Padang, check out:8 Impressive Things to Do in Padang for Solo Travelers

2. By Flight + Shared Taxi

If you are lucky enough to arrive in Padang and there are already people on a shared taxi to Bukittinggi looking for a few more passengers, then you might be more comfortable than the public transportation option.

The shared taxi usually waits at the airport's exit, just across the road from all the bus kiosks. You can ask the people at the bus kiosks to help direct you to where the shared taxis are. Unfortunately, when I was there, the shared taxi was already full and about to leave. If you have better luck, this might be a more comfortable ride for you. It should take about 3 hours and cost no more than 200,000 IDR per person.

3. By Flight + Private Taxi

If you want a more comfortable trip to Bukittinggi, you can hire a private taxi to take you straight from the airport to Bukittinggi. It will cost you about 500,000 IDR per car and it will take you around 3 hours to get to Bukittinggi. You can hire a taxi driver from the many operator kiosks at the airport's exit. This is a great option if you do not want to deal with cramped buses or are traveling in a small group of 2 to 4 people.

4. By Flight + Grab

You can also try hailing a taxi via Grab App, but I tried several times and the driver always cancels my requests. I guess no one wants to drive between Bukittinggi and Padang and only get paid one way. Plus, the price is not much cheaper than if you were to get a private taxi from the airport.

5. By Overnight Buses from Medan

Last but not least, you can also take the night bus operated by ALS from Parapat near Lake Toba in North Sumatra to Bukittinggi. It will be an extremely long overnight ride on some of the most winding and rough roads you can imagine.

The whole journey will take a whopping 15 hours and cost around 280,000 - 300,000 IDR per person, so unless you are already at Lake Toba and you really want to save costs, I do not recommend this.

Things to Know Before Traveling to Bukittinggi

• Public Transportation is not the best: Most of the minibusses running in West Sumatra are often in pretty bad shape with cramped seats and no AC, so be sure you are mentally prepared for the journey. Get the window seat to make the trip a little more manageable.
• It is always longer than it seems: What happens when you combine mountains with narrow roads? You can get the long winding narrow roads of West Sumatra that stretches 100 km ride to 3 - 5 hours, depending on the traffic so make sure you are prepared for the ride.
• Pack Snacks and Don't Drink Too Much: The buses do not stop very often, sometimes not even once, so be sure to pack some snacks and control your liquid intake before traveling.
• Tell the Driver You Want to Get Off in Bukittinggi: Usually, the minibus to Bukittinggi will travel further into the highlands without stopping at the bus terminal in town, so be sure to look at Google Maps and tell the driver to stop when you are in Bukittinggi. Otherwise, they will take you even further into the highlands.
• Prepare for road closures and bad traffic: The area is prone to accidents and disasters due to its location between two active volcanoes, so road closures and traffic jams caused by accidents can happen. When they do, the buses will often take an alternative route that is even narrower than the main road, stretching the 3-hour journey to 6 hours. Make sure you check on Google Maps and see if it is going through Padang-Pinjang. If it's not then the main road is probably closed.

My Experience Getting From Padang To Bukittinggi

From Padang Airport to Bukittinggi Bus Operator Office

I flew from Medan to Padang at around 1:30 PM and then proceeded to the airport's exit to find myself a ride to Bukittinggi. I started asking the people there for a shared taxi option, and one guy told me there was one. He took me to the taxi area, but unfortunately, the shared taxi was already full. So, the guy recommended that I take the DAMRI airport bus to Padang and go from there.

Without other choices, I went with the DAMRI bus, paid 30,000 IDR, and by 2:30 PM, I was on my way to Padang city center. Before boarding, I told the DAMRI minibus driver that I wanted to go to Bukittinggi, and after about 30 minutes of riding, he dropped me off at PT. AYU Transport where I could catch a minibus to Bukittinggi.

From Padang to Bukittinggi via a Mountain Road

The lady at PT. AYU Transport office was very welcoming, and she issued me the ticket and told me to wait for the minibus to come. I paid about 35,000 IDR for the ticket and waited another 15 minutes before the minibus arrived. After being in North Sumatra and taking a handful of minibusses, I was pretty shocked to see just how rundown this one was. The AC was broken, the seats barely had any cushion, and the rusty and chipped bus exterior didn't give me much confidence in the journey ahead.

At around 3 PM, the bus left with around 16 people, completely filling up all the available seats. I thought to myself, "This isn't so bad". Oh, how wrong I was! As the bus traveled along the main road through Padang, they ended up picking up more and more people, and just when I thought they could not possibly fit any more people in, they did. We ended up with 22 people in a 16-seat minibus all the way to Bukittinggi!

My experience was probably the worst it could get for anyone, mostly due to bad timing and unforeseen circumstances. For one, I was traveling on a Friday, so it is pretty common to see many people going to Bukittinggi for a weekend trip. Secondly, it was on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday, which means even more people traveling to Bukittinggi.

And worst of all, right about a month before my trip, there was a disaster that struck West Sumatra. Mount Marapi erupted and flooded the highlands with cold lava, killing over 40 people, and cutting the main road between Padang to Bukittinggi causing all transportation to be diverted to this one extremely narrow mountain road.

Now, imagine highway-level traffic on a narrow winding road through small villages that can barely fit one medium-sized petrol tank truck. What you get is hell on earth with a traffic jam that stretches a 100-km road into a 6-hour journey of nightmares. Now, put yourself in a small rundown minibus with no AC in the middle of this traffic jam, and you will understand how I felt. 😅

It took me a total of 6.5 hours to reach Bukittinggi. I arrived at about 10 PM, completely exhausted and hungry as we didn't stop to take a break once! It was a combination of bad timing and unforeseen circumstances. Your experience will likely be better than mine, but before you plan your trip, make sure that the main road between Padang and Bukittinggi is not closed.

You can use Google Maps by punching in Padang and Bukittinggi and see if the suggested route goes through Padang-Pinjang or not. If it goes through Padang-Pinjang then it means that the main road is finally fixed. If not, then you are in for a hell of a ride. From my understanding, as of 2024, the locals expected the road to be fixed before 2025, but no one knows how long, not even the government.

On the way back, it was a little bit more comfortable as I opted for a private taxi instead. The traffic jam was still terrible, and we were stuck in traffic for 2 hours trying to get out of Bukittinggi, but my driver took me to a really awesome cafe to try the "upside-down coffee", one of the most unique creations of coffee consumption I have ever seen, at Lapau Nasi Putuih Basambuang roadside cafe.

The coffee comes on a small plate with the glass upside down. To drink it, you use the straw to blow on the edge of the glass, allowing the coffee to seep out, and then you drink it with the straw. How awesome is this? Apparently, the cafe came up with this idea on its own and it has become quite a popular place among the locals with many copycats popping up in Bukittinggi. If you are going with a private taxi, be sure to stop by Lapau Nasi Putuih Basambuang Cafe!

Further Reading for Indonesia

I hope this travel guide will help you plan your trip to Indonesia. I have visited Indonesia more times than I could count, and I have written many articles about the country.

If you are looking for more articles about Indonesia, here is a selection of articles that might help you plan your trip to Indonesia even more.

• For a complete itinerary to Sumatra, check out: One Month Backpacking Sumatra Itinerary.
• Being the largest volcanic lake in the world, you can't visit Sumatra without visiting Lake Toba. Here are the 10 Awesome Things to do in Lake Toba, Sumatra.
• Want to travel to Lake Toba from Medan, but not sure how? Here's a guide for you: How To Get From Medan To Lake Toba.
• Berastagi is home to some of the most accessible volcanoes in Sumatra. It's definitely worth a stop if hiking a volcano is on your bucket list. Here are the 10 Best Things to Do in Berastagi.
• Want to see orangutans in the wild in Indonesia? The best place is Bukit Lawang and here's A Complete Guide to Orangutan Trekking in Bukit Lawang.
• For West Sumatra, your journey will likely begin in Padang, the capital city of the province, with a ton of things to do. Here are the 8 Best Things to Do in Padang.
• Get off the beaten path in Sumatra and visit Bukittinggi, the old capital of the Pagaruyung Kingdom, and explore the highlands with this guide: 12 Best Things to Do in Bukittinggi.
• One of the best islands to visit in Sumatra is Mentawai. It's not just a place for surfers. You can enjoy the beach, snorkeling, and even spend days living with the Mentaway tribe. Here is A Complete Travel Guide to Mentawai.
• If you want to visit and live with the Mentawai Tribe in the jungle for a few days, this guide is for you: Visiting the Mentawai Tribe: A Complete Guide.
• Not sure how to get to the Mentawai Islands? Here is all the information you need from ferry schedule, costs, and more: How to Get to Mentawai: A Complete Guide
• Looking for a complete itinerary and travel guide for Indonesia? One Month Itinerary for Indonesia.
• Are you planning to travel to Indonesia as part of a big Southeast Asia trip? Check out our 3-month backpacking itinerary for Southeast Asia.
• If you are visiting Bali for the first time, here is a travel guide to get you started: 10 BEST Places To Visit In Bali.
• Jakarta is a massive city unlike any other, and there is quite a lot to do here if you know where to look. Here are the 8 Best Things To Do in Jakarta.
• Yogyakarta is a great cultural and historical place to visit in Indonesia, and there are plenty of things to see and do there. Here are the 9 Best Things To Do in Yogyakarta.
• Did you know that there is an island in Indonesia that is free of tourists? One of them is Karimunjawa, a true hidden gem island of Java. Here's a complete guide on how to travel to Karimunjawa island.
• Looking for an article that summarizes a trip through the Java island? Check out my photo essay of Java, Indonesia.
• Lombok is now gaining in popularity, but one of the best things you can do on the island is to trek Mount Rinjani, a volcano on a lake in another volcano on an island. Here's a complete guide on how to trek Mount Rinjani.
• Gili Trawangan is one of the most popular Gili islands in Lombok, and even though it's crowded, you can often find solitude if you know where to look. Plus, it's cheap. Here's an article about exploring Gili Trawangan.
• Komodo Island is one of the most unique experiences you can never experience anywhere. Here's a backpacking travel guide on how to explore the Komodo Islands (what to do, which cruise to pick and more).
• Want to visit Kelimutu lakes? Here's a complete travel guide on how to get to Kelimutu lakes in Flores.
• Flores is another great island that deserves way more credit than it receives. There's the Komodo islands, Kelimutu tri-colored lakes, and so much more. Here is a 10-day travel guide for Flores and Komodo Island.
• Watch a travel video I made about Bali, Lombok, and Flores here: Nusantara, a journey through Bali, Lombok, and Flores, Indonesia.
• Not convinced by my words about Indonesia and Southeast Asia? Check out my photographic journey through the subcontinent: 64 photos that will inspire you to visit Southeast Asia.
• Wondering where you want to go next? How about Timor Leste? Visit Timor Leste Travel Guide page for more information about traveling to Timor Leste.
• To see all articles about Indonesia, visit the Indonesia Travel Guide page.
• Looking for more travel guides for Southeast Asia? You can find more on my Southeast Asia Travel Guide page.
• For more of my travel guides, visit my Destinations page.