By car
Dili is well linked by road from the Indonesian border at Mota'ain, near Batugade, which lies about 115km west.
A reasonably good road also links Dili with Baucau, East Timor's second largest city 123km west. The road continues east to Los Palos and 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 ship
Dili is no longer a port of call for Indonesia's Pelni ships. There are also no regular boats to Australia.
By plane
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport formerly Comoro Airport DIL is located 6km west of Dili. Indonesian carrier Merpati (http://www.merpati.co.id) has daily flights from Denpasar, Bali but cannot be booked on the internet. Starting from 27 December 2010, other Indonesian carrier "Batavia Air" flies daily from Denpasar to Dili. Australian regional carrier Air North (http://www.airnorth.com.au) operates at least one flight a day from Darwin, Australia. There are also direct flights between Singapore on Air Timor (http://www.air-timor.com) using Silkair aircraft scheduled only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 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. Alternatively, you can pre-book online through companies such as Green Path Transfers (http://www.greenpathtrans...), although this is usually more expensive.
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 Batugade and the Indonesian border at Mota'ain. US$3. The journey is about 3 hours.
Buses also go to Maliana and 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.