Indonesia · ID

Ancol beach

Ancol Beach—Pantai Ancol—is Jakarta's answer to the seaside without leaving the city. Set along Jakarta Bay inside the 550-hectare Ancol Dreamland (Taman Impian Jaya Ancol) recreation estate in North Jakarta, it is the most popular urban beach in a metropolis of more than ten million, reachable in roughly half an hour from the centre. It is less a swimming beach than a long, lively waterfront promenade with sand: a place for sunset strolls, kites overhead, kids paddling at the calm waterline, and seafood dinners that stretch into the evening under string lights. What makes Ancol worth a visit is its double nature. The open beachfront and its pathways are yours simply for the modest gate entry, free to walk, jog and watch the sun drop into the bay. Step past that and the same estate packs in a real theme park, a large aquarium, a water park, a handicraft art market and a marina that serves as the jumping-off point for Jakarta's coral-ringed Thousand Islands—so a single afternoon can be as relaxed or as busy as you like.