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Capital and largest city of South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Photo: Davidelit, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Makassar, formerly called Ujung Pandang, is the capital of South Sulawesi province. It has the largest population of any city on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and is the fifth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Medan. The city is on the southwest coast of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar strait. It is regarded as the gateway to the eastern part of Indonesia.
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Pantai Losari
The long stretch of waterfront in the middle of the city. A very nice sunset view. Food stalls set up every night here. This is a hangout place. Do not expect an actual sandy beach.
An old fortress from Dutch colonial days. Free entrance (they will insist you sign a guestbook). You will be requested to give a small donation, but you do not need to (the money will go to the guards and not to the site). The entrance fee for the Museum (Museum La Galigo) is Rp5000 for Indonesians, Rp10,000 for foreigners (two buildings, but you just need to paid once).
If you are a foreigner, you will be the attraction for the locals there, some people may ask you to take photo with them. The friendly attitude makes this experience quite fun, and you can learn a lot about Sulawesi as well from it.
A small island about 20 minutes away by boat from central Makassar.
A beautiful white sandy island with good diving. Trip from Makassar takes 30-45 minutes, and costs Rp600,000-800,000 (1 boat can carry 2-8 people).
Masjid 99 Kubah Makasar
This mosque with a very beautiful and interesting architecture is included in the list of 30 most unique mosques in the world.
Paotere port
Makassar's main port and home to many of its ships, including traditional "Phinisi" boats. Locals are friendly and you might even get invited to have a look inside the ship. You need to pay 10000 rupiah to get inside and then you're free to explore. Be aware that it's not a tourist destination but actual port. Expect to have lots of attention, locals taking photos with you, becak drivers and curious kids following you etc.
The largest indoor theme park in the world. Having more than 20 games and equipped with facilities such as shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, and marina.
Chinese style pork meatballs. Served in tasty pork broth.
Famous seafood restaurant. They serve various fish, shrimp, squid, lobster (sometimes), chicken, traditional vegetables, etc. There are other similar restaurants around the city, you might want to try Dinar or Ratu Gurih, both on Jl. Lamadukelleng.
One of the most famous Sop Konro restaurants. They serve Sop Konro (beef ribs in traditional dark soup) and Konro Bakar (grilled beef ribs, served with tasty peanut sauce). There are some other Sop Konro restaurants.
A cozy cafe. They serve traditional cakes, cookies, sweets, and drinks. They also serve home made ice cream.
Serves Coto Makassar.
Serves Coto Makassar.
Serves Coto Makassar.
Serves Coto Makassar.
Serves Coto Makassar.
Serves Mie Kanton.
Serves Mie Kanton.
Serves Mie Kanton.
The most famous Pallubasa. Note: Avoid lunchtime as it is very difficult to get seats on lunchtime.
One of the biggest Chinese food restaurant in Makassar. They are famous for their crab dishes. Ask for the female crab (it might cost more than the male crabs), female crabs have the delicious crabs egg inside them.
If you have a midnight hunger, you might take a walk to this place.
Famous seafood restaurant, they are famous for their grilled milkfish served with peanut sauce and coconut milk soup. Other seafood restaurant also sell grilled milkfish, but this one is remarkable.
Traditional restaurant offering mixed Indo-Chinese food in Makassar. They are famous for variety of food such as Mie Hokkian, Mie Kuah, Makassar Fried Rice, Bakpao (Makassar signature Pork Meat Bun), Healthy Soy Drink. They have many local and tourist customers especially during peak seasons.
Krispi Kriuk - Donald Bakmi serves Ayam Goreng 'Kampung' and Bebek Goreng with local spices and serve on banana leaves, kakap fillet, lele goreng, and crispy fried shrimp, which all are served on banana leaves. They also serve Makassar favorite noodle 'Mie Pangsit' and many more noodle dishes and desserts like Es Sarang Burung, which is a mix fresh fruits served in a coconut. And fresh local fruit Juices like soursop, avocado, jack fruit, terong belanda. Prices are affordable.
Famous for its local traditional food and various of seafood. Located near Sahid Hotel and MARI mall.
Offering Chinese-Makassarese noodle dish, Mie kering Makassar. The dish is dry noodles with seafood and thick savory sauce.
A small cafe-library near the harbor and is a good place for coffee and some Indonesian literature. There are also some books in English.
Nice café with excellent local coffee (in particular Arabica from Tana Toraja). Many other nice cafés in the same area.
Excellent locally blended coffee made by award-winning barista.
TV, AC, hot shower, free breakfast and Wi-Fi.
Swimming pool.
Helpful English-speaking staff. Central location. Price includes breakfast.
TV, AC, hot shower, free breakfast and Wi-Fi. Very clean.
The property offers 186 studio apartments with complimentary breakfast. Facilities included are meeting rooms, a business corner and a swimming pool.
Modern hostel with capsule style dorm. Has a nice cafe in the reception and a terrace, very close to Losari Beach.
Makassar Trade Centre Karebosi
IT Centre (electronic, mobile, and computer), Carrefour Express, local shops, cafés, playground, CFC, etc.
MTC Karebosi
Matahari Dept. Store, Gramedia bookstore, Hero supermarket, XXI Cineplex, Breadtalk, Excelso, J.Co, McDonald, Pizza Hut, KFC, Playground, Some cafes and boutique, etc.
Mall Panakkukang: Matahari Dept Store, Rimo Dept. Store, Hypermart, Diamond Hypermarket, 21 Cineplex, Excelso, Gramedia, Disctarra, Breadtalk, AW, Sport Shop, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, Rotiboy, Jco, some cafes, boutiques, playgrounds, etc.
Hugo Boss, Guess, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Giorgi Armani, and many other international brand store, Metro Dept Store, Gramedia Bookstore, ME Gallery (Apple authorised reseller), Pizza Hut and Crocs.
By boat
The main port of Makassar is the Soekarno-Hatta Harbor. Makassar is a major port for Pelni ships for Central and Eastern Indonesia.
By bus
Makassar has several bus terminals. One of the most useful bus terminals is Terminal Daya, 200 m from the main road from Makassar to Pare-Pare (and Rantepao).
By taxi
There's a lot of taxi companies, all have the same fare and all use meters. You can also use the taxi app Grab.
By petepete (Angkot)
Petepete is the equivalent to other cities' angkot (angkutan kota/city transportation). A trip in town usually costs Rp5000.
By Trans Mamminasata
Trans Mamminasata (Makassar, Sungguminasa and Takalar) operates with Corridor-2 Trans Studio-Mal Panakukkang.
By Transportation Sharing Application
On-demand (online) ojek services such as Go-Jek and Grab are ubiquitous can be booked through their respective smartphone apps, and offer generally cheaper fares which are stated in advance.
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Makassar · International · UPG
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