Balikpapan Shopping & Eating

Balikpapan's shopping has grown well beyond the two malls it once had, pushed along by the city's role as the service gateway to Nusantara (IKN), Indonesia's new capital rising some 40km away. The main hub is now the Balikpapan Superblock on Jalan Sudirman, pairing the e-Walk mall with the upmarket Pentacity. Plaza Balikpapan, in the Borneo Bay City complex, holds Matahari and Hypermart; the older Balikpapan Plaza still trades downtown. For fresh produce, Pasar Klandasan is the main wet market.

Eats

Imported and premium groceries come from Ranch Market and Farmers Market inside Plaza Balikpapan, along with Hero, Hypermart, Transmart and the Lotte Grosir wholesale store (the former Makro) on the Ruhui Rahayu ring road. Ace Hardware and Informa share Living Plaza on Jalan MT Haryono. Among long-running restaurants, Jack's Place does Mexican and southern US food and Bondy remains a seafood standby; more seafood lines the seafront promenade east of the old plaza.

Fitness and leisure

Foreign residents at the oil and gas firms usually get access to company recreation clubs; TotalEnergies keeps one at Batakan. Two public golf courses operate: Karang Joang Valley in the north (only nine holes maintained at the time of writing) and the Pertamina Padang Sepinggan course near the airport. The Hash House Harriers still runs several times a week, organised through its Balikpapan Hash Facebook page. The former Women's Club has disbanded, replaced by the informal Balikpapan Ladies Group. Kemala Beach near the centre and Manggar Beach, about 14km east, are the swimming spots.

Day trips

Bukit Bangkirai, about 58km (90 minutes) away, has Indonesia's first canopy bridge, a 64-metre span some 30 metres up, with cottages and a pool, now billed as a gateway attraction to IKN. Near Manggar, the Teritip crocodile farm makes an educational family outing. At Tenggarong, a two-hour drive north, Pulau Kumala runs a river cable car and fairground rides. For diving around Derawan, Sangalaki, Kakaban and Maratua, fly to Berau's Kalimarau airport; Wings Air has served Maratua directly since late 2025. Kakaban's stingless-jellyfish lake reopened under strict limits after a 2023 population collapse, so swimming may be restricted.

Cinema

Mainstream films play at the mall multiplexes, Cinema 21 and CGV. Alliance Francaise still runs French classes and the occasional concert.

Contributor: nicklemeister

Have comments or corrections? Please email editor [at] livinginindonesia.info.