North Sumatra · Indonesia
Where to stay in Medan
Medan is a city in North Sumatra, Indonesia, home to about 2,109,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- KNO23 km · Kualanamu International Airport
- Currency
- IDRrupiah
- Time zone
- Asia/Jakarta
- Language
- Indonesian
About
About Medan
Medan is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multicultural metropolis, acting as a financial centre for Sumatra and a gateway to the western part of Indonesia.
With a population of about 2 million people, Medan is the fourth-largest city in Indonesia (after Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung) and the largest city outside of Java. No ethnic group forms a majority; the largest ethnic groups are the Javanese, Batak, Chinese, Minangkabau, Malays, Acehnese and Indians, and there are many more smaller ones. Each ethnic group contributes to thousands of mouth-watering dishes found in every corner of Medan. They offer dozens of food streets and hawker centers to suit their appetite at any time of the day.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Medan
See
Most tourists stop in Medan only to get transport to elsewhere in Sumatra, but Medan offers a glimpse of a large Indonesian city still unfrequented by western tourists, and shouldn't be quickly dismissed. Medan is more chaotic and has a bit more litter than Jakarta or Denpasar and open sewers abound. Furthermore, fewer people speak English in Medan compared other large Indonesian cities, but even a little Bahasa goes a long way, and Sumatrans are still unjaded by westerners. Medan hosts a great lot of very nice Art Deco buildings from the Dutch colonial era, like the Old City Hall, the Post Office, the Great Mosque and many business buildings in and around Jl. Ahmad Yani.
- Gunung Timur Temple
- Great Mosque of Medan
- Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni
- Maha Vihara Maitreya
- Maimoon Palace
- Rahmat International Wildlife Museum & Gallery
- Sri Mariamman Temple
- Sikh Temple
- Tjong A Fie Mansion
- Tirtanadi Water Tower
- Medan Zoo
- North Sumatra Museum
Do
- Pantai Cermin Theme Park & Resort
- Quan Spa
- Zengarden
- Eucalyptus Spa
- De'Spa
- Ocean Spa
- H.o.M.E Family Karaoke
- Karaoke Keluarga (K2) Family Karaoke
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Medan
331 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata; the 40 best known are shown, by the number of Wikipedia editions that cover them. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Inna Medan | 1898 | 0.4 km |
| Adimulia Hotel Medan | 0.5 km | |
| Alpha Inn Hotel Medan | 0.8 km | |
| Amani House Syariah | 6.0 km | |
| Bobotel Gatot Subroto Medan | 0.8 km | |
| Bua Guest House | 9.9 km | |
| CAMAR GUEST HOUSE SYARIAH | 5.2 km | |
| Cambridge Hotel Medan | 2007 | 0.9 km |
| Capital O 2023 Medan Ville Hotel OYO Rooms | 1.9 km | |
| Carolina Transit RedPartner RedDoorz | 2.7 km | |
| Collection O 90050 Raz Hotel And Convention Syariah OYO Rooms | 4.1 km | |
| Cordela Hotel Medan | 1.6 km | |
| Cordela Inn Millenium Medan | 3.5 km | |
| D&D Guest House & Café Syariah | 3.1 km | |
| Danau Toba International Hotel | 0.8 km | |
| Dazhong Backpackers Hostel | 0.9 km | |
| De Paris Hotel | 2.7 km | |
| De'Tonga Hotel | 2.8 km | |
| Deli Homestay RedPartner RedDoorz | 0.4 km | |
| Deli Hotel | 2.7 km | |
| Depari Hotel Medan | 4.9 km | |
| deSatu Hotel Medan | 0.9 km | |
| Diva & Dya Residence Syariah RedPartner RedDoorz | 5.1 km | |
| Djaboerigin Mongonsidi Guest House RedPartner RedDoorz | 2.0 km | |
| dprimahotel Medan | 0.7 km | |
| Edbert Guesthouse. RedPartner RedDoorz | 7.0 km | |
| Elite Homestay Medan RedDoorz | 3.0 km | |
| Emerald Garden International Hotel | 1.4 km | |
| Faster Inn 2 Redpartner RedDoorz | 8.5 km | |
| Faster Inn Medan RedDoorz | 2.2 km | |
| favehotel S. Parman Medan | 1.3 km | |
| Four Points by Sheraton Medan | 2017 | 2.5 km |
| Gandhi Inn | 2.2 km | |
| Garuda Plaza Hotel Medan | 1920 | 1.8 km |
| Gentala Hotel RedPartner RedDoorz | 1.7 km | |
| Glamour Hotel & Spa Medan | 1.8 km | |
| Grand Antares Hotel Medan | 4.3 km | |
| Grand Aston City Hall Hotel | 0.3 km | |
| Grand Central Medan | 2.8 km | |
| Grand City Hall Medan | 0.3 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Medan
Medan has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; October is the wettest, with about 299 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Medan: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), about 23 km from the city centre in a straight line; Alas Leuser Airport (LSR, 93 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
Medan's Kualanamu International Airport and Belawan sea port are visa-free and visa-on-arrival points. For more visa information, see the Indonesia page. Medan's civilian airport, Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), is in Deli Serdang, about 45 minutes from the city. It handles domestic and regional international flights. After arrival, ATMs and an information desk are available inside the airport.
Getting around
Medan city is swamped by becaks and taxis (the preferable choice to get around). There is also a form of public transport known as the angkot (small minivan). There are two types, the noisy smelly motorized ones, called becak motor, and the human powered pedal ones, called becak dayung, or in English, trishaws or pedicabs. You have to be a good negotiator if you want to go by becak, with price ranging between Rp5,000-30,000 depending on distance and bargaining skills. The pedal ones are becoming scarce, but are much more fun for short trips.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
KNO · Kualanamu International Airport
LSR · Alas Leuser Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Medan
Eat
With its diversity of ethnic group, Medan is a culinary paradise. Here you will find several of Indonesia's regional cuisines, as well as localised versions of Chinese and Indian cuisine. Common sights are mie pangsit (a variant of wonton noodles, sometimes without wonton - commonly pork, but beef and chicken version exist), nasi padang or nasi minang, kwetiau/bihun/mie/nasi goreng (fried noodle/kway teow/vermicelli/rice), bakso (meatball soup served with/without noodle) and sate padang (satay with spicy yellow sauces origin from West Sumatra). Also you may try some of Medan's specialties such as soto medan, mie sop, mie rebus medan, mie balap and bihun bebek.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Medan: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Medan?
Medan has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; October is the wettest, with about 299 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Medan?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), about 23 km from the city centre in a straight line; Alas Leuser Airport (LSR, 93 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Medan?
rupiah (IDR).
Nearby
Destinations near Medan
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.