Indonesian Ferries
 

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are currently traveling through Indonesia and since we couldn't really find too much info on the ferries between the islands I thought I should put something up, we are only on Bali just now but I will endeavor to update this as we travel along the remainder of our route :-)

From: Sumatra (Bakauheni)
To: Java (Merak)
Frequency: 1 every hour 24 hours a day
Duration: 2 hours
Cost: 67000 IRP
Date We Traveled: 24-05-2009

From: Java (Banyuwangi)
To: Bali (Gilimanuk)
Frequency: 1 every half hour 24 hours a day
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: 27000 IRP
Date We Traveled: 31-05-2009

From: Bali (Padang Bai)
To: Lombok (Lembar)
Frequency: We got ours at 12:30 ish and have been told various stories ranging from they only run at 08:30, 12:30 and 16:30 to someone telling us they run every two hours 24 hours a day so good luck!! :-D
Duration: 4 hours (Approx, had some waiting around for a jetty to clear at Lombok)
Cost: 195000 IRP (Charged for big bike)
Date We Traveled: 03-06-2009

From: Lombok (Labuhan Lombok)
To: Sumbawa (Poto Tano)
Frequency: 1 every hour 24 hours a day
Duration: 2 hours
Cost: 69000 IRP (Charged for big bike)
Date We Traveled: 05-06-2009

From: Sumbawa (Sape)
To: Flores (Labuhanbajo)
Frequency: 1 a day, at present it is supposed to leave 16:00 on Mondays and then 08:00 Tuesday - Sunday.
Duration: Supposed to be 8 hours but ours left forty minutes late and took 9 hours
Cost: 206000 IRP (Charged for big bike)
Date We Traveled: 10-06-2009

From: Flores (Ende)
To: West Timor (Kupang)
Frequency: Random at best, when we turned up on Flores we asked a few folk and got told different stories each time, the best thing to do is to go to the town you aim to leave from (Aimere, Ende or Larantuka) and ask at the port there and even then make sure you check regularly before the boat leaves (we did it every couple of days) as they are quite often known to change without any prior warning!
Duration: Supposed to be 18 hours ended up being a rather choppy 22
Cost: 215000 IRP (Charged for medium bike)
Date We Traveled: 18-06-2009

P.S. If anyone knows how to put this up in table form can they tell me, would be a lot more useful then I think :-)


The Wonderful Wander To Oz

Fantastic! We are about 2 weeks behind you doing exactly the same thing, so will be eagerly keeping an eye on this thread. I was actually just about to post in the the other thread to ask about ferries, so thankyou. :)

bali
 

hello every one yet again. this subject has been going around here for the past 2 yrs pls just read all the info that has been posted on here, I live in Bali and you are welcome to contact me if you need to know any thing just send me a pri msg and i will try and help
cheers
dingo?c?

Updated
 

Just to bump the thread and to show it has been updated.

Dingo - As I mentioned above, we are following a few weeks along behind hobospy and trying to plan our itinerary.

Do you (or anybody else?) know how often the ferry runs from Flores to West Timor?

Also, I have read there may be a ferry from Sumbawa to West Timor directly. Any information on either ferry about how often they run would be very helpful to us. I have searched other threads but can't find this information.

Of course I'm hoping hobospy will update the thread once they've done the trip themselves, but if we can find out sooner that would be great!

Bumpy Bump
 

There you go Dave (I think that is you anyway),

Just to let you know there is a ferry from Flores (Ende) going to West Timor (Kupang) this Thursday (18-06-09), well that is what we were told when we went down to the office on Saturday, we are going again tomorrow to check that it is still leaving then and we will try and find out dates for next week and a number for the office. The ferries from here (Flores) to West Timor seem to be a bit more ..... freestyle so if I was doing this again I would try and get a friendly Indonesian hotellier to call up on my behalf and try and find out for me as the guys there don't really speak much English.

ASDP Flores Ende Office Telephone Number
 

Just one final hint for anyone traveling this way the number for the Ende office is 0 THREE 8089 ZERO 420 and there is at least one guy that can sort of speak English but if I was you I would try and get some friendly hotel chap or chapess to make the call for you in Indonesian to make sure you get the right info!

When I was in Kupang trying to get to Endes there should have been a daily ferry service, but because of the weather I had to wait a week.

If the seas have calmed since then (I sailed in Feb) then I can't see why you can't use those. 18 hours. Cheap.

Pelni is the other one that sails fortnightly - something like the 14th and 28th - of each month but they have to crane your bike on so it gets expensive as is a real hassle to organise.

I just kept get getting the guy who owns the open-sided cafe down on the waterfront - can't for the life of me remember the name - to call the ferry company.

Personally I wouldn't skip Flores and sail straight to Sumbawa. Flores is a lovely island. Apart from Endes, that's a hole.

First up - massive thanks to Hobospy. Your posts are the only reason we are sitting in Darwin right now! We couldn't have managed our insane schedule without detailed knowledge of the ferries.

Just thought I'd add our experiences to the list also - I'll only mention something if it's different to what Hobospy has already described.

From: Sumatra (Bakauheni)
To: Java (Merak)

No issues - showed up and straight on to a ferry. Think it was 94,000 IRP for the car.

From: Java (Banyuwangi)
To: Bali (Gilimanuk)

No problem getting on ferry. The police were a major hassle though - basically seemed to be angling for a bribe and held us up for about an hour. Think it was around 250,000 IRP for the car.


From: Bali (Padang Bai)
To: Lombok (Lembar)

We caught this at 7pm, so there are definitely more ferries than just the times Hobospy listed. I think they run every 2 hours. We were the only car to fit on the ferry though (lots of trucks), and there was still a queue waiting behind us to get on. Bikes should be fine. 605,000 IRP for the car.


From: Lombok (Labuhan Lombok)
To: Sumbawa (Poto Tano)

We caught this at 2am. Still quite busy at this time of night, but no problems. Think it was around 200,000 IRP for the car.

From: Sumbawa (Sape)
To: Flores (Labuhanbajo)
We caught this at 8am on a Thursday. We arrived the night before and gave the guy at the terminal our number plate details. The ferry was totally full, so probably worth doing this to get in the queue if you have a car. Bikes would squeeze on no problem. About 800,000 IRP for the car.

From: Flores (Ende)
To: West Timor (Kupang)
The ferry from hell. We were told by the ticket guy in Sape (via a helpful local translating) that there was a ferry from Aimere going on Sunday and from Ende on Monday. We went to Aimere at 11am on Saturday (just in case, on our way to Ende) and discovered that the ferry was going at 1pm! The ferry we were on then stopped at Ende on the way to Kupang. It was incredibly crowded, and no vehicles were loaded at Ende, it was just too full already.
We asked a couple of people in Aimere about the schedule and were told they only go once a week (although that might just be the Aimere-> Ende-> Kupang ones). I suspect that there are other ferries from Ende to Kupang.
Total time on the ferry was 29 hours. Cost 1.8 million IRP for the car.

Indonesia ferry update
 

Hobospy and others ... just want to say thanks for posting the really useful info. A relief to find. It's January 2010, we're in Bali, will be riding to East Timor and Australia in the coming weeks. Will post updates. Very hard to get good ferry info, people-who-did-it is the only recent truth.

If you are riding the area we may have additional useful info for you at
Wheezy Rider & Thao

See the "Getting to Indonesia" blog. It is not that easy these days due to Carnet issues here, but I think we found the simplest way for now.


:clap::clap:

-Peter AKA Wheezyrider

Indonesia ferry update
 

Hobospy and others ... just want to say thanks for posting the really useful info. A relief to find. It's January 2010, we're in Bali, will be riding to East Timor and Australia in the coming weeks. Will post updates. Very hard to get good ferry info, people-who-did-it is the only recent truth.

If you are riding the area we may have additional useful info for you at
Wheezy Rider & Thao

See the "Getting to Indonesia" blog. It is not that easy these days due to Carnet issues here, but I think we found the simplest way for now.


:clap::clap:

-Peter AKA Wheezyrider

great stuff, will be using all this as from tomorrow. if anyone had any good info on how to get across from butterworth, malaysia to sumatra that would be fantastic to hear. we are stuck in penang for a few days trying to sort it out. we are using panomoto.com for the info there but any more would be great.

also if there is anyone going across east timor to darwin we would be looking to share a container with perkins some time mid- late february..

all the best
nicky

Malaysia to Sumatra
 

Hi Nico-la-vo,

I think the main way to get across (and the way we used) was to use Cakra Shipping in Penang. The details are here:

Cakra Shipping and Trading
187 Lebuh Pantai
2nd Floor
Penang


I can't remember his phone number but just wander in and ask to speak to Mr Lim and you will get the right person. The office isn't too hard to find, it is on the mainland side of the road (if that helps) they pretty much know what to do but weren't that great in giving us a definite time for getting our bike onto a boat which led to us staying on Penang for a few days more than necessary.

Hope this helps.

Anybody heading East through Indonesia do yourself 3 favours:

Cross over with Cakra. All you need is a carnet.
Avoid the ferry from Aimere and Ende, continue on to Larantuka and take the ferry to Kupang from there.
2 months is not enough we found. Park the bike(s), fly out and get another (2) month(s) visa. Bali is a good place for that.

:funmeteryes:

Indeed Indonesia is a beautiful country that deserves more than 2 Months.

A note on the Visa situation;

1) If you have a 2-Month Visa (211) its possible to extend that up to 6 months for 1 month each at a Kantor Immigrasi available in each major city. This might sound scary but they are quite friendly and might even give you a receipt for payment. The cost is around 250.000Rp, hand in your passport 1 week before visa expires. Or head to Kuta, Bali where you can find numerous travel agents who can arrange the extension for you (at a cost...)


2) If you have a 1-Month VOA VisaOnArrival, a recent change allows you to extend this for another 30days only. Same procedure, cost i dont know.



Im actually living in Mataram, Lombok and if you are passing through and need some help with visa extensions just let me know :thumbup1: Ive been through the process of extensions numerous times myself......

seriously?
 

Hi,

gozell, this is new since January this year or how is that? I contacted multiple embassys along my way in the last 12 months and they always said the maximum is a 2 month visa, not extendable under any circumstances. Now last month a friend of mine told me about a change in laws this January, that most embassys don't even know of yet. That's that? So I just apply in say Kuala Lumpur for the 2 months and you're sure it'll work with the extensions?

The point is if I google that stuf I get extremely different answers, even from official adresses.


How major do you mean by major?


Cheers
Tim

It depends on luck. I just read a story somewhere (I think it was on HUBB) by a guy who got the run-around by the immigration office, incl. having to pay lots of money while another person at the same office the day before got his/hers without problems.

Don't wait till the last minute when organising it, you may have to go to another city or even leave the country. In any case, if you enter and leave you can get a new 2 month visa. That's what we did, twice.

Some more ferries here: www.dluonline.co.id

Java to Sulawesi and god knows where else they go. Unfortunately, online translation doesn't work well with this site.

Yeah, we were screwed over in Jakarta for a one month extension, possibly due to luck, but probably more likely due to bad timing and the fact we tried to do it ourselves. We've been offered this service by locals at other times and while they'll usually want a commission, one lady even offered to do it for nothing. Can't remember the actual cost of the visa, but if you're quoted any more than a few hundred thousand rupiah, the rest is going into someone's pocket.

Like everything else in Indonesia, each embassy will tell you a different story, but the extension thing has been current policy since at least mid-last year.

I would say leaving Indonesia to apply for a new visa rarther then to apply for extension seems like overkill to me. That money is better spend on petrol... lol Apply for a 2 Months Visa (Visa index 211) and im positive thats extendable for another month each up to a maximum stay of 6 months for a cost of 250000Rp/each extension (official price). Ive been through this process several times myself in Indonesia, if you are seeking official confirmation however try contacting the embassy in Kuala Lumpur or Australia.

Nice post! I haven't had the time to compare / read through everything. But I posted some ferry info on my website as well... (see link below in the signature).

I just wanted to check, if somebody has had some recent experience with the visa extension of the type 211 Visa in Indonesia, Jakarta in my case. I'm over the first month already an haven't even made it over the equator so this will be an issue over and over for me.

I generally am not too optimistic as all I hear from people in Sumatra so far is depressing at best.

Cheers for all info.
Tim

Indonesian Visa
 

Hi I started on a 60 day 4 months ago my last extension was in Singapore I flew in and flew out 2 days later with another 60 days . I found if you do it in the local immigration office you lose to much time for a week you can not move and I found it expensive In Singapore it cost me Sing $65 back on the road in 3 days with 60 not 30 days. BTW if travelling through Indonesia do yourself a favour and go through Sulewesi unreal unless it is flooded out.
Cheers:welcome:

ferries
 

Ferry to Sulawesi leaves from the Surabaya Port in the north and takes 2 nights . you will need earplugs as the Karaoke starts at 8.00 am. But fun just the same.
:thumbup1:

You got a price quote from the Sulawesi ferry for me plus bike? I was thinking about it a lot lately.

Also, do you know, is there a ferry from the northern end (Suwawa or Pinolosin) back to Java/Bali/Lombok?

Thanks

In any case try not to overstay your visa because they charge steeply. I do not know how it is now but back in the beginning of this year it was USD 20 per day of overstay. We met a guy with a bicycle who had entered the country on the 5th of November and was leaving on the 5th of January, thinking he was just in time, but he had not calculated the days and thus had overstayed 2 days, resulting in 40 USD fine!

Hey All,
Just rode across Indonesia in August and September, all info on ferries is still correct.
Only difference is Flores to Kupang, there are 3 car ferries per week but the days are not confirmed. The 3 ports from Flores when I crossed were:
- Aimere on Friday morning
- Ende on Saturday
- Larantuka on Monday

It is well worth the ride to Larantuka, good roads, spectacular views and shortest ferry time - 16 hours.
Cheers
Ben

Floress
 

We'd second that. Larantuka is lovely, and travelling the length of Flores is very worthwhile. We've ridden from E Timor to W Sumatra so far and Flores was one of the highlights. The Kupang Larantuka ferry was 18 Hrs in reality, and interesting if you like cockroaches and rats. They did have bike racing on the tv most of the way though.....

We found that the ferries either end of Java are quick, but there are so many of them in competition that we waited 3 Hrs to dock on the way to Sumatra (1 Hr ferry) and 1 Hr from Bali (3 1/2 Hr ferry). Worth bearing in mind when working out timing.

The onion boat to take bikes/cars from Medan(Sumatra) to Georgetown(Malaysia) is still running by the way. Thanks to Panomoto.com for the info. which is still up to date.

BB

Saga Louts on Tour

Sulawesi Ferry
 

Hi all,

Picking up on the shortly mentioned Sulawesie issue up there.

I'm not sure if it's of use to anyone, but as it's not the exactly easy to get the info, in the end it took me 4 hours and multiple pelni offices, officers and a translator I'll throw it up here. Also i just noticed that the boat doesn't even show up at all on the Pelni site.

To Get to Sulawesi with the bike there is only one Pelni Boat that operates as a kind of RoRo service. For all other ships you officially need to crate the bike and get an agent and bla.

The Ship is called Km. Dobonsolo it docks 3 times on Java, Priok(Jakarta) - Semarang - Surabaya, before heading over to Sulawesi. First port of call is Makassar, then a few smaller ones and last one on Sulawesi is Bitung.

The boat then goes on to make a complete round over to Papua, the Spice Islands and so on before calling on Makassar once more before heading back to Java. So the most senseful thing, at least I think, as I don't want to spend a week doing the circle on the boat, is to Take the boat up to Bitung first and go north to south. The Price is around 940.000 Rp for the bike and me (economy) and takes 3 days. It's not exaclty cheap.


During the next two months the ferry will leave Surabaya at 12:18 (as if) on following days:

9. November
23.November
7.December
21.December


The boat should dock in Makassar for the second time 10 days after leaving Surabaya, meaning leaving Makassar for Java on those dates:

19.November
1. December
17.December
31.December

But if even the Pelni office says they are sometime late this is vague.


I'm pretty sure I'll be on the one on the 23rd of November. Maybe see you there. If someone wants the complete list of ports with the times say so as I got a printout.


May the Karaoke begin.
Cheers
Tim

Ferries Surabaya to Sulewesi
 

I found the ferry pretty good apart from the pickpockets on the dock which forced another 3 weeks in Surabaya waiting for replacement ATM cards(panas) hot town. It leaves late generally around 2.00 am and the quarters were good for around Rp600,000 and private room and a bike over 500cc R1200GSA 2nights travel and a really good karaoke at 8.00am. They ask you to lash down your bike yourself and everything is chained down. Meals were provided but not sure when as it was Ramadan when I crossed but problem was coming back as there was no ferry for nearly 3 weeks because of Leberan Day the end of the Buasa
Rick:thumbup1:

Medan to Port Klang? Visa Indonesia
 

Well I just got my first quote Rp5,800,000 Seems they want a whole container for 1 little bike. I just laughed so I am waiting to here from Mr Lim thanks for the info the previous posts people. I am going to try and cross on the same boat if possible. Uhhm and yes they do charge for overstaying your visa at Rp200,000 per day over :oops2:

Believe me, you want to avoid long-distance ferries as much as possible. Ride back down and take the shortest possible ferry trip.

Go and see the agent for Cakra in Belawan. I'm sure they will see you right. Bargain hard.

I'm not sue that they usually let you travel on the boat with the bike, also the passenger ferry from Medan to Penang no longer runs.

You will need to either fly or there is a ferry from Dumai to Port Klang

That was Pelni? To Makassar or to Bitung? Cause the 900.000 is Economy. so I guess no room.

Surabaya to Makasar
 

No not Pelni they are very expensive just through the ferry company not sure of there name but found throughout Indonesia. They have an office right hand side 2 blocks before the port entrance. Just ask everyone there knows.

I am trying the Cakra shipping company for Port Klang now Thanks mate
Rick

OK, forget everything I wrote about Pelni, they are a bunch of *insert heavy swearword of choice*.

The prices they quoted me in the Headquarters in Jakarta are wrong.

To put a bike on the boat to Bitung in Surabaya it's 1.000.000 Rp. Also it's not possible to buy the ticket for the bike from the pelni office, but you need to go through their cargo agents.

2 Things they told me the morning the ship was about to leave and I just sprinted through the whole of Java in 3,5 days, which on a russian 125 2-stroke that's pretty fast. So I told them to kiss my ass, also cause they were as unfriendly as they could be by first of denying that the boat exists, then denying it leaves today and then denying that it offers a RoRo service.

So after all, juts don't use Pelni, duoline ( www.dluonline.co.id ), the link beddhist posted before, have an office just south of the Harbor, so I guess it's the same Rick took (or not?) and the boat was clean, the food was eatable and the economy class was cheap and almost empty so I got my own DVD-Program going. Price was 505.000 RP for me+bike+Harbour-fees and also included 3 meals a day.

Recent 4x4 shipping
 

Mr Lim was far cheaper for a bike than anyone else for a 4x4 I do not know but avoid using a container as there is heaps of hidden costs involved in the shipping yards you will need freight handlers both ways. And that is expensive. How did you get to Malaysia via China?
Rick

I am right now in makassar, sulawesi, trying to figure out a way to get to Flores without backtracking to Java, but so far all I could come up with is a dodgy cargo boat that would allow me as a passenger, but can't tell me either date nor time when they will be here.

So I was just wondering/ hoping if anyone here has any tips/contacts to try out.

thanks a lot.
tim

Hi Tim,

We did the trip in reverse in April 2009 then there was a ferry that went from Labuanbajo (Flores) - Bira (Sulawesi) weekly

Ann

ferries - but what about ?
 

great info about the ferries / boat situation. - thanks

but quick question . . . . . .

can you take a 4x4 on board ?

drive on or lift on ?

any ideas on costs would be helpful too ?

thanks
Phil.

The ferrys take bikes cars buses trucks and animals, sorry I cannot remember the costs but it was cheap.

Ann

Hi Ann,

thanks a lot or the fast answer. Just this morning my indonesian friends from Makassar found the same info.

Boat leaves on Sundays (as of Feb. 2011) for everyone needing to know. I will try to get a phone number of sorts and prices when I take it in around 2 weeks.

cheers
Tim

That's excellent news. When we passed through Flores in 2007 we were told the ferry to Makassar only went once/month. Please keep us updated.

Good luck.

Hi Tim,

When you get to Bira it is worth staying there for a few days, we stayed at Salassa Guest House Eriq and his wife both speak English, the place is basic but cheap but we as made to feel very welcome.

Ann

So here we go:

Ferry from Bira:

leaves Sundays at midnight. They allow you to board after around 9pm. Not before that. Tickets are bought right in front of the boat, no advance ticket possible. Boat takes around 29 hours.

I paid 280.000 Rp. for me+bike. Officially no rooms are available, but you can get one from the crew, though they ask for 300.000 for that. The boats stopped 2 times on the way, one time in southern Selayar Island one more time on Jampea Island. Boat arrives at 4.30 am in Labuanbajo. The boat is rather small, so if you got a weak stomach you'll have a not-so-great trip...

I paid for a small bike, a big one is 50.000 more. They didn't give me any contact data, but if you call up the guesthouses in either Bira or Labuanbajo, they all know the schedule.

I think we should put Larantukan - Kupang into the first post as well, just to make it easier and so no one else, yes I did, has to wait 4 days in Larantukan cause they manage to show up right after one of the boats.

So here:

From: Flores (Larantuka)
To: West Timor (Kupang)
Frequency: officially 2 times per week, Monday and Friday (12:00 noon)
Duration: officially 15 hours, mine was 30 minutes faster (something must be wrong :P)
Cost: 172000 IRP (Charged for medium bike, Big Bike: 200.000)
Date I Traveled: 25-03-2011


Show up early in the morning to buy the ticket (both opens at 8:00) and be ready to load at 9, the latest, better earlier Boat "opens" for loading around 8:15. Cause after 9:00 the people start loading and overloading everything with all kinds of stuff. Bananas where THE thing this time. If you come after you have no chance to get close to the wall to secure your bike, and on my trip 4 scooters crashed, one on a person sleeping. good luck

I agree that this needs a table and so I have spent a little time creating a Google spreadsheet:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...ZzWkE&hl=en_GB

I have entered the first 6. Does anyone want to do the rest? The form is here:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/view...bG9iYjZzWkE6MQ

Ferry to Australia
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning a trip from Europe trough Asia to Australia. Has someone got any info if it's possible to get into Australia from Timor, or some of the indonesian islands with ferry or boat ?

regards

Ákosh

Hi Akosh,

:welcome: to HUBB!

The info you seek is already in these pages. On your left look for the box entitled 'Forums'. Click 'Search HUBB' and enter something like 'Dili Shipping', without the quotes, of course.

You will find the info for the boat that goes about once a week.

Ship from Sumbawa or Flores to Sulawesi
 

Hi All

We are currently in Sumbawa and wanted to know if there were car ferry's to Sulawesi from either Sumbawa or Flores ?

Many thanks

Martin

For Sumbawa you are in a better position to find this out for yourself: roll up in the port and ask around.

For Flores the answer is 3 posts up... :rolleyes2:

From: Flores (Labuanbajo)
To: Sulawesi (Bira)
Frequency: Once a week, Thursdays
Duration: Been told 24hours, leaves at 2pm, boards 12 noon, Tickets available from 9am.
Cost: 1,800,00 IRP (4x4)
Date I Traveled: 14/07/2011

Thanks Mart,

I have entered your info into the database.

So, is there a a ferry from Sulawesi or not?

Ferry Sulawesi
 

:mchappy:Hi fellas I know there is from Makassar to Surabaya I did it return and the karaoke is loud and early 7.00am start. Another from Pagimana to Gorontalo that I tried an overnighter. I slept with one eye open but just a little paranoid I think ... people would not stop touching the bike.
Rick an Femmy

Rick and Femmy,

Could you please put details about these two connections into the database? Thanks.

You are great guys! Thx for that great Thread, a month ago when the idea came to our mind to cross from BKK to AU by land I thought we are the only ones :oops2: yep, there are a bunch of crazy folks arround, and everyone seems to be on a bike going arround that very same planet at the very same time at the same route. :thumbup1:

keep riding, keep sharing, stay safe!

see you arroud, we start in 79 days! :scooter: (why there is only a scooter as a smilie? yes there are people who did the RTW by scooter, but not many I guess)


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RTWbyBIKE

We thought our Indonesian Adventure was coming to an end…. having travelled 1000's of miles, been on enough ferries for a life time, through Sumatra, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, and Sulawesi.

We went to board the 27h ferry from Bira, Sulawesi to Flores, the second to last Island before leaving for Australia, to find the service had been cancelled for the next month, we the last last ferry leaving just a few days before. We had two choices, 1) wait in Sulawesi for one month 2) take another ferry all the way back to Java, and repeat our entire trip throughout Indonesia!

We decided to get the 36h ferry to Java on Monday and do it all again!

Some updated ferry info below:

From: Gorontalo
To: Wakai
Frequency: Twice a week, Tuesday and Friday evenings 8pm,
Duration: 13hours,
Cost: 964,000IRP (4x4)
Date I Travelled: 02/08/2011

From: Wakai
To: Ampana
Frequency: Twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday mornings 9am,
Duration: 6hours,
Cost: 400,000 IRP (4x4)
Dates I Travelled: 06/08/2011

Timing for the opposite direction:
Ampana – Wakai: Sunday & Thursday 10 am
Wakai to Gorontalo: Sunday & Thursday 5pm


From: Sulawesi (Makassar)
To: Java (Surabaya)
Frequency: Monday & Friday
Duration: 36hours, Monday boards 6am leaves at 8am, Friday boards 5leaves at 7am,
Cost: 2,675,000 IRP (4x4)
Date I Travelled: 15/08/2011

Thanks for the updates Mart. However, I'm confused: in the post above Bira is on Java, but further up it's on Sulawesi...

Would you please enter these into the database? https://spreadsheets.google.com/view...bG9iYjZzWkE6MQ

Sorry, typo, just edited it.

Hey Mart,

also bit confused: you added the Sulawesi - Flores Pelni in the spreadsheet but actually it is not running right now? Is this right? (If yes it should be highlighted in the table though...)

However, thanks a lot for this info, I planned to use this route in one month... now rethinking... Did you check possible flights?

Greets, Niccosch

Hi Niccosch,

The ferry which operates between Sulawesi (Bira) and Flores should recommence during September. The Ship temporarily went into dry dock for annual repairs.

We did not travel on PELNI ships so we have no info on these, but check their website it seems to be up to date.

Re flights we are travelling with a 4x4 so we did not look into these,

I hope it's not a Pelni boat, as they don't take vehicles. Why do you think it's not running?

From: Flores – Larantuka
To: Timor – Kupang
Frequency: Twice a week, Monday & Friday, Ticket office opens at 8am, the port is south of the town (Indo Ferry), at the entrance is a small booth where you have put your vehicle on a boarding list before buying the ticket, from the office.
Duration: 16hours,
Cost: 1,170,000IRP (4x4)
Date I Travelled: 26/08/2011

There is a summary table of our ferry crossings on our website under shipping and guides, that you can copy of paste, into word or excel etc. Shipping & Guides | Nicole - Martins Overland Adventure

Beddhist, it may be easier for you copy our table from our website rather than us reposting the same info via an excel form. (all ferries were taken during Aug 2011)

Other Info see:

PT. Dharma Lautan Utama (PT DLU) – http://dluonline.co.id/index.php#
PT. Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (PELNI) – Website Resmi PT. Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Persero)
PT. ASDP INDONESIA FERRY (ASDP) - PT. ASDP INDONESIA FERRY

Hi Mart,

sorry to barge in the convo here but as I'll be driving the same car from Melbourne to Brussels, I was looking for info on either Darwin to KL or Darwin to Indo, drive across Indo then ship to KL.

From your website, with the shipping guide there, am I correct : 25AUD for a car between the two main Indonesian islands ?? Far out that cheap !

Roughly, how much was it when you shipped from KL to Indo, then from Indo to Aus ?

I've requested a quote online to a few shipping companies from Darwin to KL but hey, if I can add Indonesia to my trip, for sure I'm keen !

Thanks for the replies, be safe.

Boags.

Ship to Dili
 

Have you considered shipping to Dili instead? We shipped two bikes from Darwin to there a couple of months ago with Perkins Shipping with no issues. If you go to their website you will be able to see their schedule.

Ah yeah then from Dili to Surabaya for instance ?

Ferries
 

From Dili head to Kupang, then take the ferry to Ende (Flores) about 18hrs. From Ende drive to Lauban Bajo, then Ferry to Sape (Sumbawa). Drive to Porto Tano and catch ferry to Labuan Lombok. Drive across to Lembar and ferry to Padang Bai (Bali). We are currently in Bali but have taken this route over the past month. Look at the first page and you will get an idea of what people have done coming the opposite direction.

Sweet as !

Thanks bro. If ur in OZ over the next six months, let me know :)

Hey

As Big Empty suggested, Dili is probably the easiest route, you can ship with Perkins,


Darwin Head Office
Frances Bay Drive,
Darwin, NT 0800
P: (08) 8982 2000
F: (08) 8941 0412

A 20ft container is $600, plus port charges etc.

The ferry crossings through Indonesia are easy, if you have time pop over to Sulawesi, we both really enjoyed it over there....

From Sumatra to KL, you can use either, ABELLogistics Management sugianto@geubrina.com Based in Indo or Aseantex Marine Services, www.aseantex.com.my

We contacted Mr Lim, but he gave us the run around, so we decided to use Aseanntex.

Martin

I suggest you take the ferry not to Ende, but to Larantuka, to make this trip to hell and back a little shorter.

Ferries
 

@ Boags:

No worries mate, won't be back in Oz anytime soon, on a RTW for the next few years :) If you want to read about our experiences take a look at our blog: Handful Of Throttle

Good luck! Indonesia is great and the people as well.

Travelling WEST from Kupang (West Timor)
 

Information below is valid as at Sept/Oct 2011:

FERRY TIMINGS & COSTS

Kupang (West Timor) -to- Larantuka (Eastern Flores)
Departs Kupang at 15:00 - 15:30['ish] every Sunday and Thursday
Voyage time: 15.5 hours

Get to the kiosk at Bolok Ferry Terminal, Kupang, from around 11:30-Midday to reserve your vehicle space.

Rp 248,500 - includes motorcycle, one 'Kelas 1' + one Economy Class passenger tickets; Rp 10,000 to upgrade the Economy Class passenger ticket to 'Kelas 1'.

-----------

Labuan Bajo (Western Flores) -to- Sape (Eastern Sambawa)
Departs Labuan Bajo at 08:00 - 08:30['ish] daily
Voyage time: 8 hours

Get to the Ferry Terminal in L-Bago at least an hour before departure to reserve bike space, etc.

Rp 170,000 - includes motorcycle, 1 Standard Class + 1 Economy Class passenger tickets. Rp 15,000 each to upgrade the passenger tickets to 'Kelas 1'.

The nob ticket clerk insisted on seeing the bike's rego and carnet. Shame he didn't speak or was able to read hardly a word of English though. Gave it all a puzzled stare .. but I guess it made him feel a little bit more important!

-----------

Poto Tano (West Sumbawa) -to- Labuan Kayangan (East Lombok).

Daily round-the-clock departures from Poto Tano, approx every 45-60 mins.
Voyage time: 1.5 hours

Get to the Ferry Terminal in Poto Tano - and buy your ticket at the ticket booth, then ride staight onto the ferry deck. No need to show any paperwork to the ticket clerk. Couldn't be easier.

Rp 81,000 - includes motorcycle cost, plus 2 x passenger fares.

-----------

Lembar (West Lombok) -to- Padangbai, Bali

Daily round-the-clock departures from Lembar, approx every 45-60 mins
Voyage time: 4 hours

Get to the Ferry Terminal in Lembar - and just like in Poto Tano, you buy your ticket at the ticket booth. No need to show any paperwork to the ticket clerk. We then had to queue-up along with the scores of scooters and wait a short while (20 mins) before we could actually embark the ferry.

Rp 232,000 - includes BIG bike* motorcycle cost, plus 2 x passenger fares.

* I've only got a 650cc dual sport (Honda Transalp), which is still nevertheless BIG by Indo standards.

-----------

Cheers

KEITH

.

Now that's information ! Thanks Keith, much appreciated.
I'll try to keep this post updated when I get there.

So seems fairly easy, all things considered.

Which way are you heading now ?

@ Boags: Nothing to it mate. This particular thread (from the start) was of huge benefit. The least I can do .. is to contribute my experience(s).

Heading now to (a) Java, Sumatra -to- Malaysia (maybe down to Sing); then Thailand, Cambodia, Laos .. Vietnam (not exactly sure about this VN excursion).

Only slight cause for concern is this: LINKY .. gulp! .. :confused1:

Then fly over the Himalayas to Nepal. Dunno whereafter that .. I'll play it by ear when I get there. Nothing fancy .. usual choice of routes back to Europe .. maybe some of Africa .. and finally, Europe, England (home).

WHAT a fantastic experience though Boags. Everyone should try it! .. :thumbup1:

Cheers

KEITH

.

Right, when I meant "easy" I was referring to the ferries though :)

I'd be interested to read info on the flights over Myanmar, though I'm in a 4WD not a bike, prices will be much different.

Well, keep safe mate.

Border crossing experience...
 

Hi Keith,

Looks like you are still travelling! I thought you would be back home by now.

How did you find the border crossing from East to West Timor? Did you sail straight through, or get lots of grief about not having an invitation or some other unlikely document? Did they ask for a carnet? (and if so, did they process it?)

The process seem to vary a lot from one border crossing to the next.

I have the impression that Timor is one of the easier border crossings into Indonesia. What did you think? It gets plenty of traffic so hopefully the customs guys have got a pretty efficient routine there.

cheers

Indonesia - Malaysia
 

Just thought we would do a quick post about our experience getting from Sumatra - Malaysia about a week ago.
We went from Dumai to Port Klang. For everyone out there who will be doing the same, we just have one word of advice - guard yourself with a good dose of patience because it will be tested to the max!
First of all, whatever people tell you there is no way any of the ferry companies will take you as they are strictly passenger only, so you do need to find an onion boat, this is the only way. Secondly, don't bother walking around the jetty asking people if they will take your boat, they are not helpful and most of them don't have the authority to make such a decision anyway. You really do need to find an agent who can help you, alternatively go to the customs house, we found them to be the most helpful. We were in Dumai for 1 whole week trying to find a boat! It might be easier in Medan, not sure, but then you will need to get yurself back to Dumai to catch the passenger ferry as no ferries run from Medan. For more, check out this blog entry:

http://http://handfulofthrottle.blog.../10/dumai.html

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. At least now we know that it can be done.

However, I think you have made life unnecessarily difficult for yourself. Many others have crossed Belawan - Butterworth without any problems and I doubt it would take either a lot of patience, nor a week to do. You don't need to take the passenger ferry. In fact, I strongly recommend flying with Air Asia, 7 days a week.

We did this in reverse and the only negative thing I can say is that the refrigerated ferry was the pits, plus we had to wait 2 days to catch it. (It doesn't run any more, no loss.)

G’day Colin. Sorry to have taken so long to reply.

Here’s how the border crossing at Mota'ain between Batugade (Timor-Leste) and Atambua (West Timor) Indonesia, works:-

On the Timor-Leste side:

• 1. First stop – go the frontier booth, fill-out a departure form and gently persuade the officer to accept it and stamp your passport, if you can wake him up.

• 2. Then backtrack slightly to get the Carnet stamped out of the country by TL Customs.

• 3. Have a brief interview with the frontier guards, which for us consisted of a gang of three outwardly friendly blokes who seemed a bit bored with their lot in life. A smile and an exchange of two or three jokes warmed things up and do the ‘let me pass through’ trick. They even enquired and wanted to know about our religion, which struck me as a bit unusual.

Second main stop – on to the Indonesian side of the border:

• 4. Get the Carnet stamped into Indonesia by Indo Customs. Very friendly chaps. This was a quick and easy process.

• 5. Complete an entry form and get your passport stamped in. We already had 60-day visas – arranged with the London Indonesian Embassy back in July – so the admission process was straightforward and a formality for us.

• 6. Go to another booth and get interviewed by the Indo Army. Not sure why?

• 7. Go to a smaller adjacent building; at the desk outside, get interviewed again, this time by the Indo Police. Not sure what this was all about either?

Then .. you're into Indonesia, free-and-easy.

The whole process, from start to finish, takes just over an hour – no doubt a bit longer, if you have to queue at any stage, which we didn’t.

To answer your specific questions Colin. Yes, crossing the main land border from Timor-Leste into West Timor is comparitively straightforward. The question of having an invitation or some other unlikely document did not arise. No additional costs, fees (or dare I say bribes) involved.

And to clear-up one last final point that not even the UK RAC Carnet Dept could definitively answer: Yes, you definitely do need a Carnet to get a vehicle painlessly IN and OUT of Timor-Leste. I have both stamps in my Carnet doc to prove it.

Trusting you and Suzie are both well.

All the best

K&E

East to West Timor
 

Hi I did it hmm now 18 months ago and found the crossing even easier than that no real interviews and just a big smiley G'Day mate and after the paperwork was done I was away on both sides. Carnet is a must for anywhere in SE Asia !!!! Even though they are not technically Members Thailand and Laos ask for it. Shortly I will find out about Cambodia and I am trying to do Vietnam to so will keep you all informed. Funny but I have found Indonesia the easiest place to ride, paperwork and Carnet wise than any of the other countries so far and certainly the cheapest fuel.
Rick
:funmeteryes:

Sorry to contradict you here, but the only countries in that region that require a carnet are Malaysia and Indonesia. (Further afield also Timor Leste.)

Although some customs officers have reportedly asked for and stamped carnets, this is of no consequence. For Thailand you MUST have a temp import permit or you will very likely run into problems when leaving. I have spent a year in Thailand, crossed in and out several times and have never been asked for a carnet.

Laos is a little different. Technically, you need a paper issued at the border, but I have entered and left twice without it. I wouldn't bother with it, esp. since it costs money and time and is only valid for 2 weeks.

You can enter Malaysia from Thailand without a carnet. We and others did. However, I strongly recommend insurance for both Malaysia and Thailand.

Hmm, we have strayed off-topic. :nono:

Back to the topic ;)

Just my update on the ferries Est to West, with a 4wd, thought it might help.

Timur to Flores
From : Kupang
To : Larantuka
Frequency : twice a week, check for weather updates. Mondays and Thursdays.
Price : 1.170.000rp
Note : be there the day before, sleep on the docks. Boat is overcrowded and having bought a ticket does not mean necessarily you will board.
Length : 16 to 20h

Flores to Sumbawa
From : Labuhan Bajo
To : Sape
Frequency : once a day, tickets sells at 7AM, board at 8AM.
Price : 847.000rp
Note : there is a 10.000rp fee to register the car, then 837.000rp for the actual ticket.
Length : 8h

Sumbawa to Lombok
From : Pototano (Poto Tano)
To : Labuhan Lombok
Frequency : every hour, 24/7.
Price : 378.000rp
Note : last ATM is in Alas, 25km from Pototano.

I will keep this one updated with the info as I go.

PS : there are toilets on each ship, but don't expect comfort. Food and bevvies are sold at high price. Be the first to board and get comfy as soon as you can, bring a mat if you need sleeping on the floor. Or in your car of you can. Music non stop, don't expect much sleep, but it's fun and the trukkies are pretty cool.

Hey Boags

Where are you now in Indonesia? We are in Java, will be in Yogyakarta in a week or so.

No doubt you will catch up to us if you coming from the east - we're on bicycles!
Cheers