Most UK travellers to Indonesia and Bali are advised to be up to date with hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid, with hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis considered for some trips. Your final list is confirmed at a consultation at Crewe Travel Clinic.
For Indonesia and Bali, most UK travellers are advised to be up to date with hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid, with hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis recommended for some trips depending on your plans. Malaria risk is low in Bali, Lombok, Java and Sumatra but high in Papua, where antimalarial tablets are advised. The team at Crewe Travel Clinic will review your itinerary and confirm exactly which vaccines and antimalarials you need at your consultation.
From the beaches and rice terraces of Bali to the temples of Java, the orangutans of Borneo and the diving around Lombok and Komodo, Indonesia is one of the most popular long-haul destinations for travellers from Crewe and across Cheshire. It is a sprawling archipelago of thousands of islands, so the health advice can vary noticeably depending on exactly where you are heading, how long you are staying and what you plan to do. A short beach-and-pool holiday in a Bali resort carries different risks from backpacking through rural Sumatra, trekking in the highlands or working on a longer placement.
We recommend booking your travel health appointment ideally six to eight weeks before you fly, as some vaccines are given as a course over several weeks and a little forward planning gives them time to take effect. That said, it is always worth contacting us even at shorter notice, as there is usually still something useful we can do. At Crewe Travel Clinic our nurse will review your itinerary, planned activities, vaccination history and general health, then talk you through a tailored, non-individualised list that follows current TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC) and NHS guidance for Indonesia.
Spread through contaminated food and water, which is a real risk across Indonesia, so this is advised for almost all travellers.
A combined booster is recommended if it has been ten years or more since your last dose, keeping routine UK protection current.
Recommended for most travellers given the standard of food and water hygiene, especially outside larger resorts and on longer or rural trips.
Considered for longer stays, healthcare or aid work, adventure activities or anyone who may need medical or dental care while away.
Worth considering as rabies is present in dogs, monkeys and bats; pre-travel doses simplify treatment if you are bitten or scratched far from a clinic.
Considered for longer stays or repeated travel, especially in rural and rice-growing areas where mosquitoes spread the virus.
Only occasionally advised for higher-risk travellers, such as those visiting areas with outbreaks, poor sanitation or limited access to safe water.
Malaria risk varies a great deal across Indonesia. The main tourist areas of Bali, Lombok and the islands of Java and Sumatra are considered low risk, where awareness and good mosquito-bite avoidance are recommended rather than antimalarial tablets. Jakarta is considered to have no risk. However, there is a high risk in eastern Indonesia, particularly Papua (Irian Jaya), where antimalarial medication such as atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline or mefloquine is recommended in addition to bite avoidance. Because the right choice depends on exactly which islands you visit, we will confirm whether you need antimalarials at your consultation.
There is no risk of yellow fever in Indonesia, so the vaccine is not recommended for health reasons. However, there is a certificate requirement under the International Health Regulations: proof of yellow fever vaccination is required from travellers aged 9 months and over who are arriving from, or who have recently passed through, a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission. If you are flying directly from the UK this does not apply, but it is important if your trip includes parts of Africa or South America. We can advise on certificates and provide yellow fever vaccination where a registered centre is required.
Check yellow fever certificate requirementsFood and water hygiene is the single most common cause of illness in Indonesia, so stick to bottled or properly treated water, avoid ice of unknown origin, choose freshly cooked hot food and be cautious with salads, peeled fruit and shellfish. Pack a simple travellers' diarrhoea kit and keep up good hand hygiene. Mosquito-borne illnesses including dengue and chikungunya are common, particularly in towns and during the wet season, and there is no vaccine routinely used for these here, so insect-bite avoidance is essential: use a DEET-based repellent, cover up at dawn and dusk, and consider a treated net. Avoid contact with dogs, monkeys and other animals because of rabies; if you are bitten, scratched or licked on broken skin, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical advice urgently, whether or not you have had pre-travel rabies vaccines. If your trip includes higher-altitude trekking on volcanoes such as Rinjani or in the Papuan highlands, ascend gradually and be aware of altitude sickness. Arrange comprehensive travel insurance that covers your planned activities, including any diving, scooter hire or trekking.