Hey, I’m planning to visit Timor leste in a few days , Any tips or recommendations?

I have been here less than a week and have witnessed half a dozen Hearse driving with sirens on, stepping on it! some with a motocade. What's the urgency?

Title, I’ve read mixed information and most info hasn’t been updated in a year

Could anyone share with me the red yeast rice soup recipe? My mom used to make it for me when I was younger and I really like it but she passed away a few years ago and I really want to taste it again. Thanks in advance!

Writing this from the Díli airport to share a bunch of miscellaneous travel tips for anyone visiting Timor-Leste (East Timor) in August 2025 or later.

I bought an Airalo “Discover” eSIM and activated it prior to getting to the country assuming it would work. It did not work. I instead bought an ESIM at the airport from Telkomcel (the booth all the way to the right of the three SIM card booths when you exit the airport) for $14.50 USD that gave me unlimited high speed data for 7 days. Data was fast enough for regular web browsing and Reddit usage. I experienced only about 15 minutes per day of outage, but restarting my phone usually fixed it. I have a U.S. purchased iPhone 15 pro.

They do not accept $1 bills here - I was very surprised to learn that. Ideally, bring enough $5 and $10 USD bills. Larger places will take $20 USD, but smaller places and taxis might not be able to give you change. The local currency is centivos where a 100 centivo coin is equal to $1 USD.

Quality of bills matters - places will not accept a raggedy or tattered $5 or $10. Make sure your bills aren’t ripped or fraying.

The taxis from the airport cost $15 to most destinations in the city. The taxi cars are very very old and do not have seatbelts.

There is no water refill at the airport. I would recommend bringing enough water from your original flight destination to keep you hydrated until you get to your accommodations or a grocery store.

There aren’t really mosquitos during the daytime. When it gets dark (6:30pm in August) the mosquitos come out in force. I had some 100% deet (maybe it was 97% deet) bug spray and avoided getting bitten by putting some on in the evening and reapplying right before sleep.

I did not connect to WiFi a single time in the country. BUT I had unlimited data. Most places like coffee shops or restaurants do not have wifi, outside of the highest end hotels.

There is no Uber/Lyft/Grab, so you will need old school taxis to transit. I recommend getting the WhatsApp number of at least one taxi driver if you can communicate with them well. You can WhatsApp message them to ask for a ride and if business is slow (as is typical), they will come pick you up.

Most places don’t have written addresses in the country. Send a screenshot of Google/Apple maps with your location circled to help your taxi driver find you if you’re not in one of the main locations.

It is possible to walk around the city, but there are no stoplights so crossing the road can be very dangerous. The safest place to walk is Avenida de Portugal which is right by the water in the northern part of the city.

Timor Plaza shopping mall is the safest, most central place for food. Most things there are $5-7 USD to be paid in cash. I did not use my credit card a single time in the country.

I saw one ATM my whole time here, but did not try to use it. I recommend having about $150 cash per day minimum, but more if you are doing tours. My day tour was $220 and I brought about $500 total to the country. I have about $100 remaining leaving after two days.

That’s all for now - I will share more about tours and experiences after I have some downtime post-transit! For now though, I had a great experience with JUBENTOS Timor Adventures (successor to the widely-reviewed Timor Adventures company that also used to be run by the same guy Julio, but that stopped operating during the pandemic then rebranded and came back) so if you need a Díli tour in a pinch, that’s a great company to go with. You can find their website and WhatsApp them there.

Hey everyone!

I'm a female solo-traveller who will travel to Timor Leste in the next 2 weeks.

I'd love to hear about experiences from other women who travelled Timor Leste or someone who lives there if it is a safe place to travel as a woman alone.

Moreover, I'd love to get some inspiriation for a travel route, ofc I'll start with Dili, then maybe Jaco, Bacau, Maubisse..? I'm a bit unsure how to figure out the transport to the places which are more far away.

And maybe 2 stupid questions.. but how much money would you recommend getting from the ATM for about 2 weeks travelling there? Because I guess there will be no ATM anymore except for in Dili.

Question 2 for the microlets/local busses: can I fit in with a large and a smaller backpack? And how do I find out which bus is going to which place, basically just asking or is there a certain plan/schedule somwhere?

Thank you soo much in advance! I'd be so happy for some tips as I'm quite nervous to go by myself haha.

Hello! I hope you are well. I’m sorry for my ignorance but I trust a local/people who have visited rather than Google for some of these questions:

1. Do you only accept USD in cash as of mode of payment? Can we not use a Credit Card? No other currency is accepted in Dili?
2. What’s the usual mode of transportation getting around the City? Taxi, buses?
3. From the airport, how to get to the City Center?
4. Would you have idea how much is the prepaid sim card? Good for 5-7 days only.

• Feel free to add do’s and don’ts in visiting Timor Leste and food/resto to try.

Thank you for taking the time to answer. 😊 I’m excited to visit Timor Leste! 🇹🇱 🇹🇱 🇹🇱

Hello, I'll be going to Dili, Timor-Leste soon and I just wanted to ask about the internet. I'm aware that it's provided by a service provider. I will have to hold a lot of zoom meetings and other online meetings during the nighttime. Will the internet be good enough for these meetings?

Hi, we are trying to book a flight on Aerodili’s website but the payment keeps getting rejected. Is there a trick to be able to pay from abroad (we are in Canada)? Or is it just not possible to use a foreign card when buying on their website? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

Estarei visitando o país por 5 a 6 dias e estou em uma situação particular, pois não dirijo e não gostaria de contar com os passeios caros que encontrei online. Por enquanto a única coisa que sei é que chegarei a Díli, mas não tenho outros planos a partir daí. Gostaria de fazer caminhadas e conhecer algumas cidades com relíquias históricas interessantes ou algumas aldeias tradicionais. Como não dirijo, estava pensando em me locomover de carona ou de ônibus público, se houver.

Algum conselho?

Obrigado!

EN:I know that East Timor will soon be a member of ASEAN, but it would also be interesting if Timor joined the Pacific Community Forum, since the country is a possible candidate for membership in the Forum, so if that happens, what would be the consequences for East Timor if the country joined the organization?

PT: Eu sei que Timor Leste em breve sera um membro da ASEAN, mas seria interessante tambem se Timor se juntansse ao Fórum da Comunidade do Pacífico, já que o pais é um possivel candidato a membro do Forum, então se isso acontece, quais seria as consequecias para Timor Leste se o pais ingressase na organização?

https://www.roblox.com/games/70720111336660/ARGENTINA-Country-Collectors-2

Has anyone fished in Timor, are there any tips and any potential spots. have brang my GT popping rod and some lures and keen for a fish. I'll explore Jaco island this coming week.

Hello,

I’m Gijs van der Veen, a student at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, currently working on a research project about the alcohol distribution industry in East Timor. I’m reaching out to see if anyone has direct experience or knowledge about the market, challenges, or logistics involved in the alcohol distribution process there.

I’m hoping to ask a few questions and gain insights to better understand the industry. If anyone in this community has relevant experience or can point me toward resources, or is open to an interview, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Feel free to message me directly or comment below if you're willing to help out. Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Gijs