Indonesia was our first international destination, and as such, a big learning curve. I correlated all the information we gathered during our five months in Indonesia and have since added to it after spending another month cruising Indonesia. New visa requirements have come into place, but not surprisingly, there is a lot of confusion, and some cruisers are still getting asked for a CAIT which you no longer need. Of course, this post only includes the places we went to and the experiences we had, but we did gather a lot of information I believe will be helpful to those cruising to Indonesia for their first time. It’s all you really need to know… go explore and have fun. You will be glad you did!
Cruising Indonesia was wonderful. Peaceful at times and chaotic at others. Indonesia’s archipelago of over 17000 islands has it all. Large, hectic cities, tiny villages, booming tourist spots and uninhabited islands. It is a wonderfully diverse, exciting and friendly place. When stopping at the islands, expect to be visited by the people of the village or by a fisherman selling his catch – we traded a mobile phone for a mackerel once, but most of the time, we paid in rupiah for the fish, octopus or squid that we bought. We cruised Indonesia in its wet season and saw very few other cruising yachts. We also had very little wind and had to motor most of the time; luckily, fuel is cheap in Indonesia.
Note: Don’t rely 100% on your GPS! We saw some uncharted rocks, and our charts were out by 1/2 a mile at times. There have been several times when our GPS shows us anchored on land. It was at its worst around the Komodo Islands and the east side of Borneo.
Currency
IDR – Indonesian Rupiah written here as Rp
Indonesian Visa
The requirements for visas and entering Indonesia have recently changed. This is the current information I have gathered.
- 1 month – visa-free (for 169 countries)
- 1 month visa on arrival, with the option to extend for 1 month – USD 35.00
- 6 month visa – visit an embassy before arriving in Indonesia. Apply for 6 months, and you will receive two months visa with the option to extend monthly for four months. You need a sponsor letter for the social visa.
- Click here to see what countries get free visas.
- There are 18 ports to check into and out of Indonesia.
- An application form should be filled in online and printed before arriving in Indonesia. Click here to fill in application form.
- NO CAIT NEEDED.
- NO NEED FOR AN AGENT
- A vessel declaration form, filled in online, replaces the PIB or Temporary Import Permit. Basically, it says you will not sell the boat in Indonesia etc. With this form, you can leave your boat in Indonesia for 3 years. The vessel declaration will become null and void when you leave Indonesia, and you will need to apply again on the next visit.
- It is also required that the Indonesian courtesy flag must be larger than the boat’s state flag.
- Arrival on a Friday afternoon should be avoided. As a predominantly Muslim country, it is not unusual for most people to finish working by midday on a Friday.
- Clearing into and out of Indonesia is free (apart from your choice of visa).
- For more information about checking in or out of Indonesia, click here.
- This website has lots of general information about Indonesian visas and immigration
- For a more in-depth look at Indonesian entry & exit formalities have a look at this link.
In Sabang early 2016, we were required to put up our quarantine flag and wait to be boarded by quarantine and then immigration, then we had to go to shore to see the harbour master and then to immigration to pick up our passports.
Don’t forget to take the time to ensure you have your paperwork organised
- Have photocopies of your passport, crew list, and boat registration.
- Have a crew list with the vessel’s name, flag, captain and crew names and passport details.
- HAVE A BOAT STAMP.
- To clear in, you need to visit Quarantine, Customs, Immigration and harbour Master (Port Authority)… don’t cut corners, or it will come back and bite you on the arse!
- Dress neatly and respectfully when visiting the offices.
- Don’t leave extending your Visa until the last moment.
- Overstaying your Visa cost about USD 30.00 per day
Our experience clearing in and out in 2014 – 2015
Clearing out of Australia – was easy and painless. We cleared out in Darwin and the customs officials were very helpful with everything, including information about tax refunds. Once we cleared, we had three days to get organised and go.
Clearing into Indonesia – Don’t be blasé about clearance into Indonesian. Make sure you cross your t’s and dot your i’s. As I mentioned earlier, it was our first international trip and a steep learning curve. Finding information about Indonesian visas etc. is not easy – www.noonsite.com is an excellent place to start. Before I found out about noonsite I had a hell of a time trying to find the information I needed. Emailing the Indonesian Consulate didn’t help. In the end, with the help of noonsite, we had the name of an agent and put it all in her hands. AN AGENT AND CAIT ARE NO LONGER NEEDED.
We cleared in at Maumere on the island of Flores. The customs officers were really friendly and helpful – they even gave us a lift to the immigration, which is miles away. After filling in the customs paperwork, we went out to Thorfinn with a couple of customs officers. They asked about drugs/medication, weapons and alcohol. They, of course, hinted towards an offer or “gift” of a bottle of alcohol. Luckily, the bottle the customs officer saw in our stockpile, was a bottle of sticky bubbles “I don’t have that one”, he said! Dwayne was a little upset I had given away his sticky sweet wine!
After the visit to Thorfinn, we were dropped off at immigration, where a very surly man sorted out our paperwork. He was upset because we didn’t have a ‘boat stamp’. Apparently, using a stamp makes them feel that you respect their official capacity more. From there, we went to the Quarantine office. Quarantine was straightforward; from there we should have gone to the Harbourmaster.
Extending Visa
We extended our visa in Surabaya. Go to – Kantor Imigrasi Tangung Perak Jl. Darmo Indah 21 Surabaya
Take all the relevant paperwork and a black ink pen (YES, Black, not blue.) Black pens are for sale there, and there is a photocopying service. The process will take 3 to 4 days.
Pirates
We didn’t have any problems with pirates… touch wood. But acts of piracy – stealing from a boat do occur.
- Pontianak is full of thieves and if it is not bolted down it will be gone (I know that is a grand sweeping statement but I’m still a bit peeved with the whole place!) We had our outboard stolen while we slept. I have since read about an unfortunate couple who lost their outboard motor as well as a lot of stuff from inside their boat… while they slept (at Pontianak)! After having our outboard motor stolen we moved the boat to the customs wharf. Unless you are going to Pontianak for a particular reason (we were flying to Malaysia for visa) don’t bother going.
- Kumai, Kalimantan, if you do the orang-utan river trip – which I strongly recommend you do, as it was fantastic – your tour guide should be able to organise a boat boy to sleep in your cockpit for you. We did have a boat boy but some of our outboard fuel still managed to go missing but nothing else.
Eating out in Indonesia
When cruising Indonesia it is almost not worth cooking for yourself when you are near a village, or town, that has a warung. It can be so cheap, but it will depend on where you choose to eat.
- Small carts and warungs are usually the cheapest. A warung (pronounced wa-roong) is basically a small eatery that will serve local food and usually not many choices (will specialise in one or two things). A meal can cost anything from IDR10000 (AUD1.00), and you would be hard-pressed to spend more than IDR60000 (AUD6.00). Bakso from the carts is usually delicious, as are the sates.
- A rumar makan (roo-mar ma-kan) translates literally to house food. This is a local restaurant. These places are usually a little more expensive and serve a more extensive food selection, but still so cheap.
- A resto is a restaurant that may or may not serve western food as well as Indonesian. They are usually more expensive and found in larger cities and touristy places.
- Masakan Padang – is a place that serves a variety of food. In most, you can point to the dishes you’d like to try, which they will serve you with rice. In others, you will sit at a table, and they will bring you many small dishes of food, including curries, fried chicken, eggs, vegetables etc. If they place food in front of you like this, be aware you only pay for what you eat. If you try everything like Dwayne and I did, it will cost you a lot.
- Bali and other touristy places have a huge range of warung, rumar makan and resto. Not always cheap in Indonesian terms.
For more information about eating in Indonesia, look at eating in Bali. It includes the price.
Not everything is cheaper in Indonesia
Some things are hard to find in Indonesia, and some things are as expensive, if not more expensive, than in Australia. Things I would recommend stocking up on include:
- Sunscreen is no cheaper than in Australia and relatively expensive in places like Bali.
- You cannot find normal (what we use in Aussie) vinegar, and if you did, it would not be cheap. If you use vinegar to clean the heads, I recommend stocking up on the cheap ‘no-name’ vinegar in Australia.
- Cheese and cream are hard to find. Expensive.
- Wine is hard to find. Expensive.
- Bacon, ham and pork are hard to find. 85% of Indonesians are Muslim hence no pork.
- Tampons are basically not available in Indonesia. I did find some in Bali, but they were few and far between and cost at least three times the cost in Australia.
Getting around Indonesia on land
When we could, we hired a scooter to be able to get around and see more of Indonesia on land. Riding a motorcycle or scooter is not for everyone. Indonesian road rules are very relaxed to non-existent. Don’t expect people to ride how you think that they should. You should always be aware of what everyone else on the road is doing. Don’t expect them to get out of your way. We bought helmets in Bali and have since used them many times. Well worth buying your own helmet if you think you’ll be hiring motorbikes, as the helmets you are given with the bikes are smelly and don’t fit correctly. (As my father-in-law would say, $10 head, $10 helmet!)
- Bali scooter hire RP50000 -RP70000 per day. BUT if you are hiring it for more than a few days, you should pay no more than Rp50000 per day.
- Apart from places such as Bali, it was difficult to find a scooter to hire. Labuan Bajo, we found a bike, and Batam, and in several other smaller islands, we borrowed/hired a bike from friendly locals (Kumai and Bawean)
- Taxies are cheap – but make sure the taxi has a meter, and it is turned on.
- Another option is to hire a driver. We didn’t do this, but from what I have found out, around 4 – 5 hours cost about Rp350000 (AUD35.00).
- In Surabaya, public transport consisted of becaks and minivans. Nobody speaks good English. It was easier and very cheap to get a cab.
Phone & internet
Internet connection is very poor in Indonesia. Free wifi (only in touristy areas) – we found it in Bali, Gili, Labuan Bajo and shopping malls in Surabaya. Sim cards – phone and internet are cheap.
Update: On our last visit to Indonesia in 2022, we found that the situation had changed. Internet connection appeared to be more reliable. However, we needed to buy a new phone as the sim cards would not work with our phones (Appo & iPhone). We purchased a Samsung for about AUD 200.00. The internet data is now divided between a local area (group of islands) and general Indonesia. So as you move through the islands, you will need to buy local data in each area.
Laundry
We have a small washing machine onboard that we use most of the time. However, in Bali, it was easier to get laundry done onshore. At Kuta and Serangan, we found laundry as cheap as Rp10000 per kilo (AUD1.00), but you will need to shop around for that price.
Serangan – Anugrah Jaya Laundry – Jln. Tukad Semanik No. 6 Serangan (RP10000/kilo)
Nongsa Point Marina – had free washing machines and driers.
Bartering, trading & gifts
If you think you will want to trade for fish from fishermen or give gifts to people in villages, the following are the things we found they asked for the most. Handy to have some onboard.
- Old working mobile phones
- Reading glasses
- Sunglasses (we bought a heap of them in Bali at 4 for Rp100000 AUS $2.50 each)
- Mask/snorkel
- Fins or flippers.
Gifts for island schools
- Children story books (written in English) help with their English lessons
- English – Bahasa dictionaries (the teacher is sometimes still learning English as they are teaching, the dictionaries are invaluable to them)
Island Supplies – fuel, hardware, groceries, fruit & vegetables
Some of the islands had small shops or local people selling their fresh produce – many did not. Very few had beer.
Getting fuel in Indonesia is not easy. We suggest getting fuel whenever you can. As it stands in April 2015, it is not possible to fill jerry cans at the petrol stations so you basically have to ask around until you find someone who has a permit (or knows someone) and can get your cans filled for you. Sometimes people will come to your boat to ask if you need fuel and water. We paid between RP9000 and Rp16000 per litre of diesel (solar). Petrol is called bensin.
Water – we have a water maker, so we did not need to organise water. Did see clean drinking water for sale in places such as Maumere.
Dress appropriately when visiting an island village. Most people (85% of the Indonesian population) are Muslim. Cover shoulders and knees.
The following are the main places we visited (click on the blue links for more info):
- Pulau Leti – we didn’t go ashore but had a snorkel; the water was excellent.
- Kisar – where we anchored, there is a small shop near the wharf.
- Wetar – (Village of Kalisana) – friendly village. People came out in their canoes and encouraged us to visit their village. Protestant church. Minister took us to see the school. Someone climbed a coconut tree to get us a refreshing coconut to drink.
- Pulau Kawula (village of Balurin) a couple of small shops, a warung, beer, locals selling fresh fruit and veg, and we gut diesel and a phone card. We moored alongside the wharf and spent the night there. Very friendly people. We had kids visit us (all day) and took us for a walk around the village.
- Flores – (anchored Tk Hading) – Didn’t go ashore, but the snorkelling was beautiful.
- Maumere – We cleared customs into Indonesia here. It is a large town with plenty of shops, hardware, warungs etc. To organise fuel, anchor off the Seaworld Resort.
- Labuan Bajo – tourist town. Wet markets – fish, fruit and veg. Bars, restaurants, warungs, diving tours, komodo dragon tours, resorts. Can hire scooters. Has airport.
- Komodo Islands – It cost about Rp270000 for the Komodo trek to see dragons (for two of us). Awesome creatures.
- Pulau Satanda – Has a lake in the middle of the island. Rp50000 (each) to visit it. We had a dip in the lake – water warm.
- Gili Islands – Really liked it here. We spent our time on Gili Air. Very relaxing. Walking, snorkelling, paddleboards, restaurants, bars, massage and trips to the other islands. Has a small shop with fruit and veg and limited sundries.
- Bali – most supplies available. We stocked up on meat, fruit, veg and beer. Click here for info on Benoa Marina, bali.
- Serangan Bali – Moorings at Serangan cost depend on the length and type of the boat. The price for a monohull using small or medium mooring starts from Rp 130,000/mooring/day, whereas big moorings start from Rp 180,000/mooring/day (the price of both moorings includes the village tax and shower). To grab a mooring, contact Ruth at Isle Marine Services on +628123847850 or info@islemarine.com. Serangan has warungs, laundry, scooter hire and surf beach.
- Madura (near ferry terminal) – we anchored here. Madura has a couple of mini-marts and warungs nearby. Ferry to Surabaya Rp5000 (AUS $0.50) Someone approached our boat about diesel.
- Surabaya, Java – the second-largest city in Indo. Extended our visa here. Large shopping malls. Cinema – movies very cheap. Get around by taxi. We stocked up on food, fruit, veg and beer.
- Pulau bawean – warungs, hardware, fruit and veg. Not sure about beer. We borrowed Ary’s scooter and went around the island. It is a gorgeous island, so green and full of rice paddies. Other little islands nearby, nice beaches and snorkelling.
- Pulau Noko – a tiny cay near Bawean. Nice snorkelling.
- Kumai, Kalimatan – warung, hardware, paint, wet markets (fish, fruit and veg) and mini-mart. No beer, but if you ask someone might find it for you but it will cost a fortune. Orangutan tours. We did a two-night tour and it was amazing, cost AUS $500 for the two of us. Included all food, water, tours, accommodation (bed, mozzie net etc on the boat). Fantastic!
- Punkalan Bun, Kalimantan – 20 mins inland from Kumai. Large town. Hardware, supermarkets and department stores. Warung, resto etc. No beer, but I think there is a couple of hotels that might sell it. We borrowed a scooter from Mr Yono (who organised our orangutan tour) to ride to Punkalan Bun. Can get a taxi.
- Pulau Karimata – small shop in a village. Sold beer! No fresh fruit and veg when we were there. Conservation area with excellent snorkelling at some of the other islands nearby.
- Pulau Busang – nice Snorkelling
- Pulau Bulu – fantastic snorkelling
- Pontianak, Kalimantan – large town, all supplies available. Pontianak is on the equator, and they have a monument you can visit (we didn’t get to it because they asked us to leave!) It has an international airport – we flew to Kuching at the top of Borneo for a visa run.
- Pulau Benan – warung, shop with some fresh produce and hardware stuff. Homestay accommodation. Snorkelling and diving tours. Nice place for a stop. A few places to eat, very friendly.
- Batam, Nongsa Point Marina – bar, pool, restaurant, washing machines, can do clearing in or out of Indonesia.
- Batu Besar – 10mins away from Nongsa Point on a scooter, there are many warungs, rumah makan, beauty salons, markets, fruit, veg, beer and supermarket. The cheapest beer we found in Indo
- Nongsa Point Ferry terminal – duty-free spirits and wine. Ferry to Singapore.
- Batam City – large shopping malls, cinema – cheap movies.
- Sabang – cleared in and out of Indonesia in early 2016 for the Sabang Marine Festival.
- Pulau Weh – many shops, markets, hardware, banks, ATMs, dive shops, and fantastic snorkelling and diving.
- Pulau Rubiah – tourist snorkelling spot. Mooring buoys are available. Snorkelling and diving. A couple of small restaurants on the island.
- Pulau Seulako – excellent snorkelling & diving.
- Pulau Rondo – small navy base watching Indonesia’s northernmost point. Some good snorkelling and diving.
- Banda Aceh, Sumatra – large town. Many shops, markets, and things to see and do.
- Pulau Deudab – snorkelling – really good coral, visibility very poor.
- Pulau Keureuset – snorkelling – some nice corals close to shore, viability poor.
- Pulau Breeueh – snorkelling – visibility is ok & there are some really lovely plate and staghorn coral.
To see more of the islands we stopped at, and for more information about the places we visited, click here.
We also have information on our Google Maps, including some basic stuff about the anchorages. Google map – My Map – Thorfinn
Learning some basic Indonesian will be handy as most local islanders know very little English.
Good morning – Salamat Pagi
Good afternoon – Salamat Sore
Good evening – Salamat Malam
Goodbye (to those leaving) – Salamat Jalan
Goodbye (to those staying) – Salamat Tinggal
Welcome – Salamat detang
Thank you – Terima Kasih
Please (help) – Tolong
Please (please be seated) – Silakan (Silakan Duduk)
My name is – Nama Saya
What is your name? – Siapa namanya?
Husband – Suami
Wife – Istri
Child – Anak
Children – Anak-anak
Buy – Beli
How much? – Berapa harganya
Fish – Ikan
Squid – Cumi (choo-mee)
Prawn/shrimp – Udang
Chicken – Ayam
Meat – Daging
Fruit – Buah
Water – Air
I need – Saya perlu (Per-loo)
I want – Saya mau
May I have – Boleh saya minta
What is that? – Apa itu?
What is this? – Apa ini?
Where is? – Di Mana?
Where is an eatery? – Di mana warung?
Listen for:
Ke mana? – Where are you going?
Dari mana? – Where are you from?
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