WIB, WITA and WIT: Indonesia's time zones

Indonesia runs on three standard time zones: WIB, WITA and WIT. WIB means Western Indonesia Time, WITA means Central Indonesia Time and WIT means Eastern Indonesia Time. Each is one hour apart, and there is no daylight saving anywhere ^[4].

Which zone is which?

WIB runs at UTC+07:00 and covers Java, Sumatra and the western half of Kalimantan, including Jakarta ^[1]. WITA runs at UTC+08:00 and covers Bali, Sulawesi, eastern Kalimantan and the Nusa Tenggara islands ^[2]. WIT runs at UTC+09:00 and covers Maluku and Papua ^[3].

Lombok sits in West Nusa Tenggara, so it keeps WITA time with Bali.

How do they compare with Malaysian time?

Malaysian Standard Time is UTC+08:00 in both Peninsular and East Malaysia ^[5]. That puts WITA on the same clock as Malaysia, WIB one hour behind, and WIT one hour ahead.

For a standard Malaysian trip, Bali and Lombok need no clock change. Jakarta and the rest of Java run one hour behind your phone’s home time. A Sumatra stop such as Medan or Lake Toba should follow WIB, so confirm the zone beside each booking time.

Where do Malaysians meet the term?

On flight tickets, ferry schedules and driver confirmations, where a time may be followed by WIB or WITA. The letters tell you whose clock applies. A pickup at a stated time in Bali follows WITA, even if your flight left from a WIB city.

How does the gap affect your plan?

When you fly from Bali to Java, the clock drops back by one hour on arrival. A flight that looks short can therefore land earlier on the clock than you expect.

Write both times beside each other in your itinerary. Our guide on choosing arrival times for a private Indonesia itinerary shows how to line up a driver with a flight.

The departure planning hub collects the other pre-flight checks.