• Just down and across the road from the Leader supermarket is a Church that has an English mass on Sunday morning at 10am (and Tetum Masses at other times).
• You can buy VCDs, DVDs & Audio CDs very cheaply. If you are taking a laptop its well worth having software installed.
• Visit Ramalau - the highest mountain in East Timor. You can stay at a place just before the top, and climb up for the dawn (a couple of hours climb). It is a fairly popular thing to do so ask around or ask at the Hotel Dili – they can arrange a great 4WD tour. NB: It is FREEZING at night!
• Visit Jaco Island. Jaco is the Island on the Eastern tip of East Timor. You will need a 4WD (you can hire them) but it is well worth the trip. You drive out to Baucau (a sensational drive – lots of rice paddies etc) and continue on to Tutuala. Ask directions there – you go down a road that is very overgrown after about 1km. The beach is white and the water is clear! Take plenty of food and water because there aren’t any local eateries but you can buy fresh produce very cheaply on the way there (about 10% of what you pay in Dili), but you are just buying them from tables outside people’s houses so it is just a matter of what they have then. Often there are fishermen on the beach and you can purchase fish from them, which they will cook up for you. It is quite expensive, about US$10 per fish and $5 to cook but two fish plus some paw paws feeds 10. The fishermen will paddle you over to Jaco but its again expensive –about US$5 each. Still, it is amazing, a truly unspoilt beach.
• Atauro Island is more easily accessed than the other two destinations, and just beautiful. Atauro has a ferry that goes regularly for about $11.00 return. Chat with someone in a dive company about the best way to get there. You may be able to join a group or get some people together and make up a group and hire a boat (with crew and including lunch and snorkel gear) for a day. It is quite expensive but the water is incredibly clear. There are 2 accommodation options at the Island one is Eco Lodge. Remember to book in advance to save disappointment.
• Dive around Dili and Atauro Island. Dive Timor Lorosae and Freeflow are two popular dive operators. There are a number of dive sites around Dili. Further out east, K41 and Bob's Rock are popular sites near Manatuto. Dive operators can arrange longer trips to Jaco Island. Don't pass up the chance to see the last untouched reef in the world.

• Visit the Statue of Jesus that stands on a headland to the east of Dili. Rumour has it that, when the (mainly Muslim) Indonesians built the statue as a gift to the (mainly Christian) East Timorese, they designed it so that Jesus would be facing towards Jakarta. The statue is about 20 metres tall and stands on a globe of earth. The route from Dili along the beach and up the steps to the Jesus statue is popular with exercising internationals and local fishermen, and passes several niches representing the stations of the cross. The view from the statue across the bay to Dili is spectacular. From Dili, follow the main road east out of town. Taxi drivers will take you there for US$5 but you will need to pay extra to make sure they stick around while you have a look.

Visas

See - Immigration Department of Timor Leste

A 30 day travel permit is available to foreign nationals for US$30 on arrival. This permit can be extended after arrival allowing a total stay of 90 days.

Portuguese passport holders do not need a visa for short stay entry (max 90 days).

By plane

Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport (formerly Comoro Airport) (DIL) is located 6km west of Dili. Indonesian carrier Merpati has daily flights from Denpasar, Bali but cannot be booked on the internet. Australian regional carrier Air North operates at least one flight a day from Darwin, Australia. There are also direct flights to Singapore with AustAsia Airlines on Silkair aircraft. As there is hardly any competition, fares are high. There are no domestic flights.

Getting there/away: Taxi drivers ask for at least US$5 for the trip into Dili. You could try bargaining. You can also walk out to the main road - which is the main road linking Dili with Batugade on the Indonesian border - to catch a mikrolet.

By car

Dili is well linked by road from the Batugade, which lies about 115km west.

A reasonably good road also links Dili with Tutuala.

Southwards, a road climbs up the mountains which run the length of the island of Timor, passing the hill town of Maubisse, on the way to the southern coast.

Cars can be hired from Rentlo but not Thrifty, as that company left in early 2006, shortly before the troubles began.

By bus

Buses fan out from Dili to various parts of the country. Most leave very early in the morning, and would do the "keliling" (going around town to scout for more passengers) before actually leaving Dili.

• West of Dili

Buses leave for Mota'ain. US$3. The journey is about 3 hours.

Buses also go to Ermera.

• East of Dili

Several buses leave for Baucau early in the morning from Rua Quinze de Outubro just south of the stadium near the Mercado Municipal roundabout. US$2, 3 hours. These buses can also be caught at Becora, the suburb to the east of Dili.

By boat

Dili is no longer a port of call for Indonesia's Pelni ships. There are also no regular boats to Australia.

Plenty of taxis shuttle passengers around the city for US$1 (although locals pay less). Further journeys, such as to Areia Branca beach and Cape Fatucama will cost more.

Mikrolets (vans converted to take passengers) also run from near the Mercado Municipal to Comoro, Becora and other suburbs of Dili and even further. They cost 20 cents per ride.

There is an ANZ bank branch in Dili, and there are two ANZ automatic teller machines – one at the bank, and one in Leader supermarket on the road to the airport. The one in Leader doesn’t usually work. You don’t need an account with ANZ (in fact, there doesn’t seem to be any advantage to having one) but you do need a bank card which will allow you to use the ATM (eg Visa). The use of these machines can be expensive however – ANZ charges USD$5 per withdrawal.

In addition you cannot transfer money from an ANZ overseas account to an account with the ANZ in Dili without incurring a USD$25 fee. It is best to contact your bank in your home country and seek advice about the cheapest and most efficient way to transfer money between accounts.

Bank Mandiri, one of the major banks in Indonesia, has a branch in Dili. The bank is located close to the Government Building in Dili.

• Arte Moris, detween Dili and the airport. Art center that sells Timorese paintings, often painted directly on Tais. Recurring themes are local symbols and the life (and death) during the Indonesian occupation.

There are plenty of restaurants in Dili, from local, Italian, Portuguese to Australian. Most popular in the evenings are the seafood BBQ places east of Dili on the beach.

Budget

Start at the East Timor Government Building, Palacio Do Governo. Head east, away from the airport. If you walk up the left hand road, about half way up on your right is Dili Cold Store supermarket.

If you head out on the road towards the airport you will find the Comoro market (one of the two big markets in Dili). It is a little bit hard to find as it is set back from the road. If you are travelling from the UN building it is about a 20 minute walk – if you reach the Leader supermarket on the right you have gone too far! The markets are amazing. When you first arrive they look grimy and the place is covered in dust in the dry season and very muddy in the wet, but if you go inside you will find fruit, vegies, coffee etc all piled in little piles (this is the measurement for purchases – around 10c for leafy vegies and 50c for everything else). If you live with a Timorese family it is wonderful to go there and bring home little treats like eggs and condensed milk, bananas and potatoes as they are usually beyond the everyday budget (rice and green vegetables are the staple diet of East Timorese).

The Leader supermarket has lots of western treats including chocolate and toilet paper!

Mid-range

Splurge