Medan Indonesia – Our Travel Planning

Medan is a bustling city located in North Sumatra, Indonesia, known for its strategic position as the region’s economic and cultural hub. Situated on the northeastern coast of Sumatra, it boasts a diverse population and a rich history shaped by Dutch colonialism and Malay influences. Medan’s cultural tapestry is vibrant, with a blend of Malay, Batak, Chinese, and Indian traditions, reflected in its cuisine, architecture, and festivals. It feels a little more diverse than Jakarta but very similar in terms of activity and buzz.

Is Medan worth visiting?

Let’s tackle this one straight away! Medan is absolutely worth visiting. It’s a melting pot of cultures which is reflected in it’s people, food, history and attitudes. Indonesian islands are very different to one another despite being part of the same country, and Sumatra is no exception. While this city is not particularly touristy and while we were there we saw very few other tourists, it’s well worth taking a couple of days to explore Medan to get an understanding of the history and culture of this region.

How long to stay in Medan

You are most likely going to be using Medan as a jumping off point for adventure activities such as an Orangutan Trek in Bukit Lawang (the closest airport city to the small region by the jungle) or to head further into North Sumatra. It’s well worth building in some time to experience Medan for itself and not just as a transfer point. One full day in Medan is enough time to see some beautiful parts of the city and learn more about the history of North Sumatra. If you want to take a slower pace then two days would be plenty.

4 must see places in Medan

The list below provides some of the must see things in Medan. We don’t provide a mapped out itinerary because setting out a list like this allows you the flexibility to just pick and choose as you like at your own pace. We’ve set out some suggested timings to help you plan.

State Museum of North Sumatra

This museum is huge and covers so much history of Sumatra from the very early traditions and cultures, through to colonialism (and the end of it), trade and the mix of religious influences on the region. The curation of the exhibitions has been done pretty well and most displays include comprehensive explanations in English. We really enjoyed our visit here and learnt a lot about the island.
Time needed here: 1-2 hours
Tickets are 30,000 IDR per person
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Masjid Raya Al-Mashun

Masjid Raya Al-Mashun is an absolutely beautiful mosque that you can enter for a small donation. You’ll need to take your shoes off and dress respectfully (knees and shoulders covered). Women also need to cover their hair but there are shawls on offer for free to cover up.
If your timing is off and you aren’t able to enter due to prayers the outside is still worth admiring. Do check prayer times locally online to make sure you’re not visiting when the Mosque is closed to non-devotees.
Time needed here: 10-30 minutes
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Tjong A Fie Mansion

The Tjong A Fie Mansion is the house of a Chinese immigrant who rose to incredible fortune and power in Medan over the late 1800s and early 1900s. His house, made into a museum by a couple of his grandchildren, encapsulates the opulence of his, and his family’s, lifestyle and position in society during a pivotal period in Medan.
Time needed here: 45minutes-1.5 hours
Tickets are 35,000 IDR per person
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Kawasan Heritage Area

There’s a lot of beautiful architecture in Medan, much of it from the colonial period. This basically means that you can do your own short walking tour just building spotting! Walking down this street in the evening when they’re lit up was one of our favorite things to do in Medan, the buildings just look even more beautiful at night. In total you might want to allow 45 minutes for the route below. Here are the buildings we recommend you stop at:

Pos Bloc Medan – the old post office, built between 1908-1911 by the Dutch, is still in use and is now also a multi-use pop up space! It also has a coffee shop in a beautiful attached building, Common Folk, that is well worth visiting. Make sure you go inside the post office itself to admire the lobby ceiling which is a vibrant work of art on it’s own.
Bank Indonesia Representative Office of Medan – built in 1909 in full ‘traditionalist’ style this is an imposing building just along from the post office. If you’re lucky and ask nicely the security guards at the gate might let you walk past them to take a photo or two!
Old Medan City Hall – now a bit dwarfed by the new city hall building directly behind it, but no less impressive and beautiful. Also built in 1909, it has very similar features to the bank building.
Jl. Balai Kota – this street continues from the Pos Bloc and Bank area (in fact everything in this list is all in the same area) it has some beautiful, but not necessarily landmark worthy, buildings on it and a perfectly lovely way to spend some time is to wander down this street admiring the architecture that is now dotted between newer buildings. Tjong A Fie had his house on this street showing the original prominence of the area.
Avros Cafe – the cafe is in a beautiful old building likely used as a factory or storage space in colonial times. In fact, the name ‘Avros’ belongs to one of the plantation corporations during the colonial period. There is a small museum inside, the opening hours are a bit hit and miss, so fingers crossed you catch it open!

When to visit Medan

The weather in Medan is usually pretty similar throughout the year, hot and humid and ranging from about 25 to 35 degrees Celsius. There are two distinct seasons, wet and dry, with the wet season running from October to March and the dry season from April to September.

We stayed in Medan in March and saw just one proper rainfall during the week we were there. In the peak of the wet season it is very common to have a lot of rain and be quite humid, however there are also fairly high chances of rain throughout the year in Medan!

What to wear in Medan

Medan is in Sumatra which is a predominantly Muslim region. From the 2019 census Medan’s population was made up of about 65% Muslim, 25% Christian, and smaller percentages of other religions such as Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu religions as well.

This means that generally people wear conservative clothes and women tend to keep their arms and legs covered. When we arrived in Jakarta on Java, which is also a majority Muslim region, Em received some stares while wearing shorts (straight off the plane) and quickly changed into legs and arms being covered which meant far less attention. In Medan, for comparison, it felt a little more relaxed. There’s a greater mix of cultures here than on Java, which made it feel less disrespectful to be uncovered. Em wore long trousers but with strap tops etc. rather than covering up fully.

Please note – any attention we got for wearing different clothes never felt aggressive or unkind, but Em prefers avoiding unnecessary stares if possible and dressing respectfully for the culture of the country / region we are in, so making a small change (though warmer!) was something she was happy to do.

Where to eat in Medan

Medan has a fantastic historical food culture as well as an up and coming new food scene, which really demonstrates how vibrant this city is. Jonny was delighted to learn that Sumatra was the home of rendang, and made it a mission to consume as much as possible. The spice levels of the rendangs changed substantially depending on the restaurant, which was really interesting, but it was always delicious and tender. A few of our favorite places to eat below:

Garuda Restaurant – this is a small chain with a helpful scattering of restaurants in the center of Medan. It offers very standard Medan and North Sumatra local cuisine in comfortable (including AC rooms) restaurants that serve Padang cuisine. Padang food for westerners is a great experience! Lots of different plates of food which you can enjoy together including fish curries, rendang, fried potatoes and steamed vegetables. Some of the dishes are a little spicy but not all. At Garuda, and other similar restaurants, you will be seated and then about twenty dishes will be put on your table. Just eat what you like and pay for that – so don’t panic when multiple dishes are placed in front of you!
Juro Ramen – a new and modern Japanese ramen restaurant with beautifully curated mocktails in a very cool building. The staff are lovely and the food is insanely good. Try the OG Ramen and rice and salmon rice cake as an appetizer (that arancini style unctuousness – they are mind blowing)! This place could be a great option for dinner after an evening walking tour of the Kawasan Heritage Area as it’s in the same location.
El’s Pizzeria – a little outside of town but worth the visit. This small pizzeria serves incredibly good pizzas for South East Asia. To be honest, they’re pretty good full stop (Em promises that isn’t an empty statement having lived in Italy!). The restaurant is basically in someone’s house and the only sign that it’s a restaurant from the outside are the pizza stickers on the window! A bit pricey but the ingredients are legit and the atmosphere very fun.
96 Bakery – this has got to be one of the prettiest and aesthetically pleasing cafes in Medan! The decor is straight out of Pinterest and the brownies are delicious. The cakes also look amazing but we didn’t buy one sadly, a bit too big for us to eat in a day before heading to Singapore! The brownies lasted for three days and still tasted incredible so worth the splurge.
Avros Cafe – this building features twice on this list as it’s located in the Kawasan Heritage Area. The cafe itself is very picturesque and almost art-deco, well worth a coffee stop here.

How to get around in Medan

Because Medan is so hot during the day walking everywhere isn’t advisable! Grab is such an easy and cheap way to get around, especially if you’re happy to jump on the back of a Grab bike – just make sure they’ve got a helmet for you. We’d really recommend downloading Grab to use across South East Asia as the rates are usually better than local taxis or tuk-tuks

You can also use an Angkot, a little van usually yellow and brightly coloured. These offer very cheap fares and work a bit like a community bus in that drivers will generally be happy to stop along their standard route to pick up or drop you off. Check with each driver where their route is taking them to make sure you’re headed in the right direction. Using these are a fun way of meeting the locals who will generally be happy to help you out as well!

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We hope you found this helpful in planning your trip to Medan! We really enjoyed spending a few days here and we’re sure you will too. Don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on new posts (if that’s your thing) and follow us on Instagram @jemily_travels to share your travels with us. Happy Travels!

Tag: Medan Indonesia

How to spend a day in Medan