Surabaya travel guide: heritage streets, Ampel, rawon and where to stay

Choose a base by how you will leave

Surabaya is spread out, its sights sit in two clusters, and the traffic is heavy, so the right hotel saves real time. The most practical base for a short stay is the centre around Jalan Tunjungan and Embong Malang. The Siola building, the heritage shopfronts of Tunjungan and the city's best-known evening food are on foot from here, and the old north is a short ride away. Hotel Majapahit at Jalan Tunjungan 65 is the landmark: it opened in 1910 as the Hotel Oranje, built by Lucas Martin Sarkies of the family behind Raffles in Singapore and the E&O in Penang.

If your next step is a train, look at Gubeng. Gubeng station handles most trains to the south and east of Java, including Yogyakarta, Bandung and Banyuwangi, and the hotels around it are within reach of the centre. Trains from Jakarta, Semarang and the north coast mostly use Pasar Turi instead, also in the centre, so check which station your ticket names before booking a room on the strength of it.

The large modern hotels and malls along Jalan Mayjen Sungkono and the Darmo area suit business trips and longer stays, but they put you further from the heritage districts. Wherever you stay, note that some hotels in Java refuse check-in to unmarried couples; read the hotel's policy before booking.

Old Surabaya on foot: Tugu Pahlawan, Jembatan Merah and the bank district

Start at Tugu Pahlawan, the Heroes Monument, an obelisk shaped like an upturned nail and about 41 metres tall, raised to the fighters of the Battle of Surabaya. Below its grounds, built underground so as not to compete with the monument, the Museum 10 Nopember holds Bung Tomo's radio and the original recordings of the speeches he broadcast during the battle, alongside weapons, uniforms and dioramas. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the city's official ticket site listed the museum at 08:00–15:00 for Rp 8,000 (free for students), payable in cash or by QRIS; the city price list shows it open Tuesday to Sunday.

From there, the Ministry of Tourism suggests taking Tugu Pahlawan, Jembatan Merah and the historic buildings of North Surabaya as one route. The Red Bridge was part of the fighting of November 1945 and is still a working bridge in the middle of a busy trading district on Jalan Kembang Jepun. Around it stands the old Dutch commercial quarter: De Javasche Bank at Jalan Garuda 1, now a museum (Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00–15:00 and free, according to the ministry's 2026 guide), and Gedung Cerutu at Jalan Rajawali 7, named for its cigar-shaped tower, which is not set up for regular visits; look at it from the street. The Kalisosok prison, built on Daendels' orders in 1808, is in the same area.

Two changes catch people out. House of Sampoerna, the restored 1862 compound that once headlined this walk, has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic according to both Wikipedia and Wikivoyage; do not build the morning around it. And the north is hot and traffic-heavy by late morning, so start at the museum's opening time and keep the walking short between rides.

The Ampel quarter: mosque, market and modest dress

A short ride north-east of Jembatan Merah, the Ampel Mosque is the oldest mosque in East Java, founded in 1421 by Sunan Ampel, whose tomb lies in the walled complex behind it. The streets around it, in the Semampir district, form Surabaya's Arab quarter, lined with buildings of Arab and Chinese style.

Pasar Ampel, the Arab market beside it, sells imported dates, perfumes, hats, water pipes and Qurans along with food you will not find elsewhere in the city, and it is one of Surabaya's real highlights on foot. This is a religious neighbourhood first: dress conservatively, be friendly, keep photography respectful and keep out of the way of worshippers. Wikivoyage suggests exploring in daytime and not wandering too deep into the back alleys at night.

Combine Ampel with the old north on the same morning. If you have time, the Chinese temple Hok An Kiong on Jalan Coklat, built in the early 19th century and full of old wooden carving, is nearby; from it, walk through the surrounding streets of old commercial buildings.

Tunjungan, Siola and the Submarine Monument

After a midday break, move to the centre. Museum Surabaya occupies the Siola building at Jalan Tunjungan 1–3, the former Whiteaway Laidlaw department store; it opened on 3 May 2015 and covers the city's social history with more than 1,000 objects, from old office equipment to vehicles. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the city ticket site listed it as free, 08:00–15:00, and the ministry gives Tuesday to Sunday.

Jalan Tunjungan itself is the old shopping street, with Hotel Majapahit, the Monumen Pers Perjuangan at number 100 and restored shopfronts that come alive in the evening. A little to the east, on Jalan Pemuda beside the Kalimas river, the Submarine Monument (Monkasel) is the Soviet-built KRI Pasopati 410, which served in the Operation Trikora campaign for West Irian; you can walk through its control room, torpedo bay and crew quarters. The ministry's 2026 guide lists it at around 08:00–21:00 and about Rp 15,000, noting that both can change.

From Taman Prestasi on Jalan Ketabang Kali, the city runs Kalimas river boats to the Submarine Monument in morning, afternoon and evening sessions. Tickets are sold through the city ticket site on the day only, paid by QRIS, and the boats do not run when the river level is too low.

A guided bus loop and the Suramadu Bridge

The city's Surabaya Sightseeing and City Tour (SSCT) bus is a cheap way to see heritage stops you would not find alone. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the official ticket site listed a 'Road to Surabaya Heroic Days' programme from 2 October to 29 November 2026 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with two roughly two-hour sessions a day from Alun-alun Surabaya (Balai Pemuda), on routes that include the old town and Willemsplein, the Kemayoran mosque and Pasar Atom. Tickets go on sale online only from 09:00 the day before, payment is by QRIS, you must re-register at the Tourism Information Centre in the Alun-alun complex 30 minutes before departure, the bus does not run on national holidays, and passengers are asked to dress neatly and modestly.

To the north-east, the Suramadu Bridge crosses the Madura Strait for 5.4 km to Bangkalan on Madura. It opened in 2009 and has been toll-free since 27 October 2018. The easiest look at it is from Kenjeran Beach park, which the city lists at 07:00–16:00, Rp 10,000 on weekdays and Rp 15,000 at weekends when we checked. A full day on Madura means a car and driver: the bull races (karapan sapi) have their main season from late August to September, centred on Pamekasan, and Sumenep's 1750 kraton is at the far eastern end of the island.

Surabaya as a gateway: Bromo, Malang, Ijen and Trowulan

Surabaya is the usual arrival point for East Java's volcanoes, but it is not the closest base for them. The Ministry of Tourism puts Mount Bromo about four hours' drive away and suggests leaving Surabaya between 23:00 and midnight to reach the rim for sunrise; most visitors are better off sleeping in Malang or near the park first. Bromo's entry tickets are sold online only, so see our Mount Bromo guide before you book anything.

Malang is the comfortable next stop, reached by train or road, and Banyuwangi, the base for Ijen, has trains from Gubeng. For history, Trowulan near Mojokerto is believed to be the site of the Majapahit capital, with the Segaran pool and the Tikus, Brahu and Bajang Ratu remains; it makes a day trip from the city.

If you only have one evening in Surabaya between connections, spend it on Jalan Tunjungan with a bowl of rawon rather than in an airport hotel.

• Day 1: Tugu Pahlawan and Museum 10 Nopember at 08:00, Jembatan Merah and the bank district, Ampel by late morning; rest; Siola and the Submarine Monument; dinner on or near Jalan Tunjungan.
• Day 2 (optional): Suramadu Bridge and Kenjeran, a driver for Madura, or Trowulan; or the SSCT bus on a Friday to Sunday.
• Then: train or road to Malang for Bromo, or a train from Gubeng towards Banyuwangi for Ijen.