Ferries Indonesia. Local ferries between neighboring islands. What can be seen from the ferry

For an island country like Indonesia, water transport is of particular importance. Indonesia has more than 300 passenger ports, 43 of which have international status. Passenger ferries and boats allow more than 14 million passengers to travel annually throughout Indonesia, as well as to neighboring countries - the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.

In addition to sea routes, Indonesia has more than 10,000 km of river passenger routes along the country's 50 rivers. Most of their length is on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra.

Largest network ferry service between everyone inhabited islands Indonesia is owned by the state-owned company PELNI, which operates modern and spacious European-built vessels. Another leader in the country's passenger sea transportation market is ASDP, which organizes high-speed boat flights between popular destinations around the country.

Indonesian ferries are often overloaded (sometimes up to 2-3 times),
which dramatically increases the chance of an accident during bad sea weather.
Therefore, before you travel on an Indonesian ferry, make sure that the weather will be calm during the journey.

Popular ferry routes in Indonesia

Java-Sumatra (every hour, from Merak port to Bakauheni port)
Java-Bali (every 15 minutes, from Ketapang port to Gilimanuk port)
Bali-Lombok (every hour, from Padang Bai port to Lembar port)

The most important ports of Indonesia on the map

Water transport ticket classes in Indonesia

Depending on the amenities and level of service, ferry seats in Indonesia are sold in several categories:

I class - cabin with 2 berths, with private bathroom, TV and air conditioning
II class - cabin with 4 berths, with private bathroom, TV and air conditioning
III class - cabin for 6 beds, with shared bathroom and air conditioning
IV class - bed in a dormitory
Economy class (ekonomi class) - shared cabin with unlimited passenger seats and a minimum of amenities

Travelers looking for an unusual experience will surely enjoy a trip on the traditional Pinisi schooners, on which members of the Bugis ethnic group have been traveling between the islands of Indonesia for many centuries. You can easily hire such an exotic vehicle in the largest port of Jakarta - Sunda Kelapa.

Tickets and prices

Tickets for passenger ferries in Indonesia can be purchased at the ticket offices of ports of departure, offices of carrier companies, post offices (Pos Indonesia) and travel agencies countrywide. You can purchase ferry tickets in advance - a maximum of 21 days before departure.

The cost of ferry tickets in Indonesia depends on the travel distance and seat class. You can learn more about the cost of ferry tickets in Indonesia on the websites of transport companies and directly at port ticket offices.

And other CIS countries can be reached, flown or sailed with transfers. If you are considering the option of getting to Indonesia by plane, it is recommended to make a transfer in either Kuala Lumpur (), or. The flight from Singapore to Jakarta takes 2 hours, and the ticket costs from 30 USD. You can also fly from Kuala Lumpur to the capital in 2 hours, but the ticket will cost a little less – 25 USD. The Dubai-Jakarta flight will take about 8 hours and the ticket price is 295 USD. The most expensive and longest route is considered to be from Istanbul to Jakarta. The flight lasts 12 hours, and the ticket costs from 520 USD.

Water transport

Relatively water transport, it should be said that ferries regularly run from Singapore to the Indonesian island of Sumatra with the possibility of landing in the capital - Jakarta. From Malaysia, most ferries and boats to Indonesia depart from Port Klang, operated by the Port Klang Authority. The average cost of such a trip is 40-50 USD. From some Malaysian ports, for example, Malacca, a boat ticket to the Indonesian Dumaya can cost you 20-25 USD. Also, you can get from Malaysia to Indonesia by sea from Penang, Port Dickson, Kukup.

From Singapore you can find less expensive tickets to the boat. So, through the Penguin company, you can book a ticket to the Indonesian Sumatra for an average of 15 USD. Such flights from Singapore to Indonesia are daily and operate on a strict schedule.

Bus

You can get to Indonesia by bus from Malaysia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea. Daily buses link Dili (East Timor) and Kupang (West Timor province in Indonesia). The border point is the village of Motaain (Mota'ain). The trip takes about 12 hours and will cost you approximately 23 USD. From Malaysia to Indonesia you can travel via the island of Kalimantan, from the Malaysian city of Kuching to the Indonesian Pontianak. The cost of such a trip, which takes about 9 hours, is 14 USD. Also, you can get to the Indonesian city of Jayapura from the city of Vanimo in Papua New Guinea. The cost of such a trip will be only 3-5 USD, and the duration of the trip will be 2 hours.

I would like to talk separately about such a topic as transport in Indonesia - it deserves a separate post and mention!

In March 2016, we traveled around the island of Java, moving from the capital Jakarta east towards Bali, and managed to try almost all types of local ground transport, and we’ll tell you about our impressions here. All information will relate specifically to the island of Java; perhaps in other parts of the country the situation is slightly different.

Moving around Java is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent: for us it was sometimes fun, sometimes annoying, and sometimes downright scary :-)

Most tourists fly to the island of Bali, many limit themselves to it, but we still recommend taking a trip to other parts of the country, because Indonesia has 17,000 islands, many of which are completely uninhabited. At least Java has a developed transport system, and the easiest way to get there is from Bali.

You can also get to Indonesia by flying to major cities, such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Medan from neighboring countries Asia on local airlines. The popular low-cost airline Air Asia has many flights from Malaysia and Thailand, where in turn there are many flights from Russia.

We are approaching Jakarta

How to get from Jakarta airport to the city?

If you have arrived in the capital, exit the airport building and go left. There you will see several buses and a ticket sales counter, the Damri company. The fare from the airport to Jakarta (central railway station) is 40,000 rupees. You can go to various parts of the city or to nearby cities, for example to Bogor.

Indonesia Trains

There are railway connections in Indonesia only on the islands of Java and Sumatra (they are not of particular interest here). Trains are a fairly fast and comfortable way to get around the island, but the prices are much more expensive than by bus.

There are 3 classes of Indonesian trains:

Executive (Eksecutif in local) - air-conditioned carriages with wide and soft seats, each with a power outlet, and plenty of legroom. The most comfortable and most expensive class.

Business (bisnis) - also an air-conditioned carriage, but without prior reservation of seats.

Economy (ekonomi) is a carriage without air conditioning with ordinary benches, like in electric trains. A lot of people with all their belongings.

Executive - class

The main trains in Indonesia are not numbered, but named. Another one interesting feature that in large cities there are several railway stations and different trains depart from different points. For example, in Jakarta Central station Gambir forms expensive trains, and from another station, Pasar Senen, economy class trains depart.

Gambir railway station schedule

You can view the schedule and find out prices at. Enter in the right column from where to go, and all trains with prices will appear. You can buy it there, but you need an Indonesian SIM card and most likely a local bank card.

We simply bought tickets at the box office, having previously found out the price on the website. In Jakarta, we saw ticket machines and even used them (they don’t give change, you need a local SIM card!) It’s better to get train tickets at least a few days in advance, they run out quickly, especially on weekends.

Scheme railways Indonesia

Indonesian Railways

Airplanes and domestic flights in Indonesia

The internal network of air services in Indonesia is quite well developed, and this is understandable - how long does it take to travel by land and by ferry from island to island! Often, an airplane is the only way to get to a particular island. Flights between major cities, as well as to/from Bali are inexpensive and can cost the same as trains.

— Garuda Indonesia

— Sriwijaya Air

You can buy tickets on airline websites, although some either do not sell them online at all, or you need an Indonesian card. Travel agents and travel agencies can also help with tickets.

Luxurious Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali

Buses in Indonesia

Intercity buses are the main and most popular transport in Indonesia, well at least in Java. Moreover, they can walk not only within one island, but also on neighboring ones.

There are three classes exactly the same as for trains. The fastest and most comfortable Executive class buses are equipped with air conditioning and travel from start to finish without any special stops. And economy buses are many times worse and trashier.

Java has very dense traffic (140 million people on one island) and narrow roads, plus sometimes in the mountains, so all the buses are very slow. You can’t even imagine how long they can trudge, stopping at every pillar and picking up passengers. For example, we sat down in the city of Jember with the goal of getting to Banyuwangi (to the ferry in Bali) some measly 100 km. Well, we’ll get there in two or three hours, we naively thought. Ha! Seven! Our difficult journey that day took seven hours.

5 seats in a row - a regular Indonesian bus

On almost all of our trips, luggage could not be stored in a special compartment, so we had to keep our backpacks on our laps for several hours. Legroom is very limited and the seats are narrow and arranged three abreast rather than two.

But this is not all the delights of Indonesian bus transportation. When you enter the station, a whole company of men swarms at you asking “where are you going?” Once we were prompted to answer, we thought it was a station worker in uniform (well, in Thailand we are used to the fact that everything is arranged in a human way). He took us to the bus (which we could have found ourselves in 3 minutes) and told us to get on. A conductor in uniform immediately came up and took 50 thousand rupees each and issued tickets. Well, okay, we think, everything seems to be official, although it’s a little expensive, maybe inflation.

Already during the trip, we saw how the locals were giving a completely different amount, we began to ask them - it turned out that the fare costs 16 thousand. We're going to the conductor, why did you charge us more? He turned on the fool, they say, I don’t understand anything and in general “Offer” (deal). That is, he took three times as much from us, took some for himself, gave it back to that guy at the bus station, and now, of course, he can’t return it! Moreover, the locals sit and understand everything, but no one will say a word. It seems like the amount is small, but a residue remains...

We often found ourselves in such situations while moving around Indonesia on buses and bemos (minibuses).

The wheel is smoking - the pads are burning

Another way of scam: just the left person (taxi driver) gets on the bus and says that you have arrived, although in fact you have not yet. The conductor on the bus is silent and says nothing, although he understands everything. This is how you go out late in the evening and don’t understand where, and here’s a taxi :-) Use a map and GPS.

Plus to all this, Indonesians smoke a lot right on the bus, and it doesn’t matter that their own person is sitting next to them. Small child and wife. Some smoke without stopping at all! At all intermediate, as well as at initial and final stops All sorts of sellers of everything in the world and musicians walk around the narrow interior of the bus. The latter act on the principle of “Give me money and I’ll leave” and sing terribly, playing broken, out-of-tune guitars. Interestingly, a trip on an expensive VIP bus will not get rid of all these characters! To get acquainted and immerse yourself in the local flavor the best way You can't imagine anything better than riding a local bus.

I apologize for the poor quality, but this is what riding a Bemo looks like from the inside, fun, but cramped.

Bus drivers drive straight into oncoming traffic, accelerating motorcyclists and dodging oncoming trucks. In general, it's still fun!

Boats and maritime transport

We didn’t go on boats, except for the ferry from Java to Bali, so I can’t say anything for sure about them. I know that sea transport in Indonesia it is quite well developed; most of the inhabited islands are connected by sea communication with the Pelni company. On their website you can see the schedule and cost of ferries. They don't run that often, so if you plan to travel between the islands by ferry, allow plenty of time. It is also better to book and buy tickets in advance.

About the ferry from Java to Bali

Getting from Java to Bali is very easy - the islands are separated by only about 5 km of strait, where ferries run very often. extreme point Java in the east is the city of Banyuwangi (ferry departs from the village of Ketapang), and the westernmost point of Bali is Gilimanuk.

You can get to Banyuwangi by bus from Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Probolinggo and some other cities in Java, or by train from Surabaya and Probolinggo.

The ferry itself costs 8,000 rupees per person and 18,000 rupees per motorbike. From Gilimanuk you can already drive to Denpasar (30-40 thousand rupees). We recommend taking a bus in Java directly to Denpasar, you and the bus will be loaded onto a ferry, and then you will travel around the island of Bali on the same bus.

Urban transport in Indonesia

City transport in general is difficult and unclear; only in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Solo (Surakarta) did we encounter a more or less clear bus system with routes and fixed prices.

Buses

In the multimillion-dollar capital there is no metro, but only trains to the suburbs from central bus station Gambir. But there is a bus network, Trans Jakarta, with routes throughout the city. Buses run along a dedicated lane and stop at specially equipped pavilions. To get inside, you need to buy a ticket from the cashier, then go through the turnstile, and then sit on a bench to wait.

Yogyakarta and Solo have a similar system with similar names TransYogya and Batik Solo Trans. The fare is fixed and does not depend on the distance; you can travel like on the subway, jumping from line to line - quite convenient and inexpensive! All buses are equipped with air conditioning, although it is often not very cold inside and can be stuffy.

In addition to these buses, there are many others; in Jakarta there are generally a lot of different companies; it is quite difficult to understand their routes.

In all cities in Java we met local minibuses, in different places they are called differently - bemo or angkot.

Bemos are very small minibuses that ply around the city and surrounding areas along a given route, but it is quite difficult for a foreigner to understand them, as they are not always signed. They pick up and drop off passengers anywhere, stand for a long time, gathering people, there are small benches for sitting inside and it’s very crowded. Drivers are constantly trying to deceive, calling the price 2-3 times higher than normal, it is better to find out in advance from the locals.

Often, a bemo is the only way to get somewhere, so you have to grit your teeth and put your feet under you and drive for more than one hour. For example, from Yogyakarta it took us a couple of hours to get to the volcanic lake Kawah Putih.

Bemo - Indonesian minibuses Bemo Indonesia

This is a simple motorcycle taxi, which is found everywhere in cities, mainly near markets, shopping centers, major intersections. They will find you themselves (by the end of the trip their importunity even ceases to irritate you). It's fast, but it's inconvenient to travel with luggage. You can also travel by ojek outside the city; for example, they can take you to the nearest village.

Becak are three-wheeled pedicabs where the “basket” is located at the front and the driver pedals at the back. Drivers usually sleep lazily in the shade, waiting for you at hotels and guesthouses. The seat can accommodate two people, and quite slender ones at that :-) As a rule, travel is inexpensive if you bargain well, but in my opinion, there is little practicality in this transport, unless you travel for the sake of the exotic.

The main highway of the country Bandar Aceh-Jakarta-Kupang passes through seven islands: Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Timor. This entire route is paved and full of cars. Ferries circulate between the islands.

Sumatra (Ketapang port) - Java (Merak port). There are at least seven huge ferries operating around the clock, departing every 15-25 minutes. They swim for less than an hour.

Java (port of Banyuwangi) – Bali (port of Gilmanyuk). Several huge ferries operate around the clock, every 20-30 minutes. They sail for less than an hour.

Bali – Lombok (port of Matarram). Large ferries depart around the clock, approximately every hour, and sail for 6 hours.
Lombok - Sumbawa. Large ferries operate around the clock, once every hour or two, the journey takes about 6 hours.

Sumbawa (port of Sape) – Flores (port of Labuanbajo). There is one small ferry per day, in the morning at 8 am on each side, it takes about 8-9 hours. It may or may not stop at the intermediate island of Komodo. On each ferry from Flores you can see several trucks going all the way to Java, Surabaya or even Jakarta, via four ferries! The journey of such trucks takes 4-7 days!

Flores - Timor (Kupang). Ferry three times a week. Probably there are trans-Indonesian trucks on it, traveling for example from Jakarta to Dili (East Timor), but I have not checked this.

There are also ferries between some other islands. The cost of transporting passengers on them is low. People are expected to purchase a ticket from the ticket office before boarding the ferry. Tickets for popular crossings (between Sumatra and Java, between Java and Bali) cost about 6,000 rupees, less than a dollar. To Madura Island, a ferry from Surabaya costs 3,000 rupees (and they run every 15 minutes around the clock). For long distances, a ticket can cost 50,000 rupees. When entering the ferry, tickets are checked, sometimes two or three times in a row, but not very vigilantly, since the ferry receives the bulk of its money from cars, trucks and buses. Passengers of these travel on board for free, so you can board any vehicle, on a bus, or in the cab of a truck, or in the back. It is not difficult to choose a vehicle; they graze in abundance in front of the ferries, waiting for loading. On long-distance ferries (for example, Flores-Sumbawa), tickets can be checked again on board the ship.

The structure of the ferries is as follows: on the lower floor there are cars (sometimes even on the two lower floors), it is dirty, stuffy, and smells of urine and exhaust gas. On the top floor there are lounges for passengers, a deck, a prayer room, buffets, a VIP lounge with armchairs and a TV (entrance to it is for a small surcharge, for example 3000 rupees), a VIP lounge with lying down places (for a special surcharge). Toilets. You can find boiling water. You can climb out to the top floor at night and sleep under the stars if it’s not raining. Vendors often walk around all salons, offering coffee, food, newspapers, and other goods (inexpensive). Apart from the Sumbawa-Flores ferry, for some reason there are no sellers there; everything is monopolized by the ship's buffet.

The convenience of ferries is that while sailing you can get to know the drivers Vehicle, going quite far. Look for them in the hold. Some trucks have a convenient empty body and travel hundreds of kilometers, at least to another ferry.

Ferries and passenger ships not to Australia.

There are no ferries or passenger ships to the Philippines.

There is no steamship service to Papua New Guinea from Indonesia.

I'm planning a holiday in Indonesia and want to visit several islands. I was thinking about taking a ferry between the different islands. However, many people have told me bad things about ferries in Indonesia, including:

(a) The ferries are packed with too many people, significantly exceeding the limit set for health and safety reasons

(b) Ferries are not seaworthy and may therefore be involved in a tragic accident

Basically, I just want to know if the situation is really that bad. For example, are there safety records of Indonesian ferries to give an objective view of the situation?

To be more objective, some pointer questions:

Is this true or are people just complaining for no good reason?
What things could go wrong if ferry operators put more people than the limit?
How often do accidents occur on ferry routes compared to the number ferry crossings in year? For example, are you significantly more likely to be killed in a boat accident in Indonesia than in a plane crash?
What are the other ways to travel between Indonesian islands and the advantages/disadvantages of each? Flying is obvious, but is it really practical (to get to typical tourist destinations to fit into, say, a 10-day vacation), and do they have similar security risks associated with local carriers?

Gerrit

I've heard scary stories about airplanes in Indonesia too. The truth is that in a country with fewer (enforceable) regulations/lower safety standards public transport, you may have a higher risk of getting into an accident.

Flimzy

I've edited the question in an attempt to focus it (by removing the request for alternatives) and make it more objective (by asking for security records). If you think I've messed up your question, please feel free to revert my changes.

hippietrail

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask about the safety of ferries in a given country. For example, in the Philippines it is very scary tale, and in South Korea- extremely contradictory. If he is responsible for these countries, then he is responsible for arbitrary countries.

Answers

jpatokal

One by one:

Yes, Indonesian ferries are so bad. Overcrowding is common, safety precautions are often lacking, and the high seas are often rough. As a simple example, the Jakarta Globe category "Indonesian Boat Accident" is for 2014, and see the links in this answer to some stories of a typical tourist ferry crossing (Flores-Lombok).
Either a) nothing happens, or b) the ferry sinks and you will most likely die.
Indonesian planes much safer: no one has died in a plane crash since 2011, and it was a turboprop on a marginal airline (Nusantara). Except for the crash Sukhoi Superjet(which was a demonstration flight of the new Russian plane at an airshow and not on a commercial flight), the latest failure jet plane happened in 2007.
Indonesia is all islands, so you can take a boat or fly. But flying is very practical (much more practical than ferries, IMHO): fares are very cheap, and the major carriers (Garuda, Lion, Air Asia) are quite reliable and safe.

It's worth noting, however, that there are big differences between ferry operators. National operator Pelni has not had a conch since 1981, despite plying all year round throughout Indonesia's backwaters. The large car ferries (Sumatra-Java, Java-Bali, Bali-Lombok) are also quite respectable. These are small speedboats that travel off the beaten path to bad weather, which will most likely kill you.

Last but not least, if you only have 10 days, how many islands are you planning to visit? Could you easily spending all that time in, say, Bali, and 10 days to even get through Java and Bali, would be quite a rush in my book.