Banda Aceh Holiday Packages

Holidays To Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh, at the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is at the top of many adventurers’ holiday lists.

With surfing, kiteboarding, snorkelling and diving, plus heaps of beautiful beaches, your getaway can be an action-packed or filled with R&R. Check out Wotif’s Banda Aceh packages and prepare to really get off the grid—in the best way.

Things to Do in Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh holidays offer a window into the past, when powerful sultans ruled—and built surreal monuments to their wealth around the city. Gunongan was a bathing house for a sultan’s princess wife, and the dream-like, all-white peaks and walls are fitting. The Museum Aceh shows off ancient gold jewellery and hand-carved recong (daggers), plus a two-headed buffalo (and you can’t miss that!). And while it doesn’t quite go back to the days of the sultans, the black domes of the Grand Mosque have been the city’s most recognisable landmark since 1883.

Banda Aceh holiday packages near Ulee Lheue Pier will make it easy to join a day trip to Pulau Weh, just an hour north by ferry. Known for its diving and snorkelling, Pulau Weh is a “shore” thing. Ogle giant sea fans, rare frog fish and friendly whale sharks, then relax on Pantai Sumur Tiga Beach near the capital city of Sabang. Don’t want to lift a flipper in the first place? Hire a catamaran and go for a cruise. Your snaps will be just as impressive.

Shopping, Dining & Nightlife

Awesome profile pics are great and all, but they probably won’t make you popular with your co-workers. Dodol (a toffee-like candy) or gula kelapa (palm sugar cakes) might though! You can find candies, colourful pashmina fabric and more at Pasar Aceh, near Taman Sari Park. Just north, the Peunayong neighbourhood will fill all your tchotchke needs, while Matahari Department Store in the Hermes Palace mall is a hundred stores of air-conditioned heaven.

Banda Aceh’s unique cultural mix really shines when it comes to the food. Near the Grand Mosque, you’ll find everything from Chinese and Malay street food to Western-style steaks and of course, fresh seafood. And if your idea of a great meal is relaxing with a Sumatran coffee, coconut rice and a great view of the rice paddies, Banda Aceh hotels in the Ulee Kareng neighbourhood, east of the downtown hustle and bustle, are for you.

A Banda Aceh holiday is about days filled with hiking, snorkelling and sightseeing, and nights when a good cup of decaf and the friendly chatter in your local coffee shop are all you need. However, the discreet traveller in search of a nightcap could check the resorts along the beach. Better yet, cap your trip with holidays to Phuket, Thailand, a 6-hour plane ride east across the Andaman Sea, where you can really get off your face and fist-pump the night away.

What’s Next

Booking Banda Aceh deals on Wotif is easier than cruising around on that catamaran. Just mix and match airfares and accommodation to create the trip of a lifetime, then relax and imagine the sea breeze in your hair.