Learning Indonesian for travel to Bali/Jakarta (best, people, speak)

[dmlandissf]

Will be in Indonesia in September and going to Bali for 2 weeks and also Jakarta/Java. Is it worth learning some Indonesian (I love learning new languages). Do most people in Bali/Jakarta know some English?

[mojo101]

tourist area,English is spoken

[Milky Way Resident]

English is perfectly fine for getting around Bali.

[recycled]

Several years ago, I attended a two month German language class here in Germany with people from many other countries. Two women from Indonesia in the class explained how the Indonesian language (actually a version of Malay) is grammatically simple, where the present tense is used for almost all normal conversation.

This article explains it all in far more detail than I can:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_language

[arr430]

I spent two months there and never learned, although I told myself I was trying. When locals hear you, they will just switch to English to save time.

[smpliving]

My daughter spent the past nine years living and working in Jakarta. She found that many Indonesians like to practice their English skills especially taxi cab drivers. You should be okay getting around. English is more common in Bali. Shouldn’t have any problems there.

[orbiter]

Originally Posted by dmlandissf

Will be in Indonesia in September and going to Bali for 2 weeks and also Jakarta/Java. Is it worth learning some Indonesian (I love learning new languages). Do most people in Bali/Jakarta know some English?

The locals speak Balinese, which is quite similar to the version of Javanese spoken on the eastern part of Java Island.
Although Bahasa Indonesia, spoken in central Sumatra Island, is now the national language, the Indonesia archipelago consists of various ethnicities and languages.
For a 2-week visit, I would stick to English.

[arthskov]

Originally Posted by dmlandissf

Will be in Indonesia in September and going to Bali for 2 weeks and also Jakarta/Java. Is it worth learning some Indonesian (I love learning new languages). Do most people in Bali/Jakarta know some English?

it is best you speak English, people do understand, you can use grab taxi post driver on grab understand. if you want to rent a motorbike or car then make sure you bring your international driving license and have it translated.

For motorbike and car rental, you can use the book2wheel service. Most motorbikes and car owners on that website speak good English. If you like there longer you will understand with time the local language. just focus on listing

[dmlandissf]

I decided to take a few Indonesian lessons on line for fun - it seems like an interesting language and easy to learn - no tones, no masc/feminine nouns or articles, and easy streamlined grammar. Maybe saying "makasih" thank you will be appreciated.