Sightseeing in Surabaya on a bus
A tour bus can be a comfortable way to take a recreational trip around any city; it conveniently accommodates our need for transportation and a tour guide at the same time.
In Surabaya, the city government provides a tour-bus service called the Surabaya Heritage Track (SHT), giving a positive impression about how seriously the city takes tourism.
SHT is a city-tour program initiated in 2010 by the city council, in partnership with the House of Sampoerna (HOS) Museum. The program offers a free bus tour three times a day, each with a different route, with HOS being the base where the tours start and end.
Surabaya has made its mark in history as one of Indonesia’s most important cities for centuries. Many of the country’s defining historical moments happened in the city. Currently, it is home to more than 150 historical sites and buildings preserved by the government.
That much historical value makes Surabaya a perfect city for a tour bus. Despite each tour in the program only stopping by two or three places, the whole trip is a very informative experience as the guide rarely stops talking to explain all the points of interest the bus passes by.
The tours are divided into weekdays (Tuesday to Thursday) and weekends (Friday to Sunday), with Monday being the day off. Weekday tours last for around an hour; weekend tours last longer as they stop in more places.
There are three schedules for the tour every operating day; they start at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Each schedule has its own theme, passes different routes and stops by different places.
The morning schedule on the weekday tour explores the heroic history of Surabaya by visiting the Monument of Heroes and the PT. Perkebunan Nusantara building. The mid-day schedule is called Surabaya the Trading City; the bus stops at Hok An Kiong and Escompto Bank. The last schedule that departs at 3 p.m. is the longest one as it stops in three places: Kebonrojo Post Office, Kepanjen Church and a building that formerly served as De Javasche Bank.
The weekend tour has the same departure times as the weekdays, but the routes and destinations are different. The morning one will take you to visit Balai Pemuda, city hall and the former De Javasche Bank building. The mid-day schedule has the same itinerary as the weekday tour’s morning schedule, with an additional visit to the National Building of Indonesia. Going on the last scheduled departure will take you to Kraton Village, the city hall and the art house of Cak Durasim.
To get on the tour, you just have to go to HOS at Taman Sampoerna 6 at least 30 minutes before your chosen departure. Reserving seats can be done through the hotline (+62 31) 353-9000, with a maximum of 10 seats (half of the bus’ capacity) per reservation.
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