Get Around Indonesia By Boat

Since Indonesia consist of thousands of islands, another famous transportation mean to get around Indonesia by boat will be the ferries. Many people use the ferry service for the inter-island travel. The largest ferry company in Indonesia is known as PELNI which gives services to every major and inhabited island in all around Indonesia. The journey taken by the ferry will of course be the longer one. It will sometimes take 2 weeks sea journey from end to end. PELNI operates the large European-built ferries that may serve thousands of passengers. Taking ferries during the peak seasons can be very uncomfortable, because it is commonly overcrowded and over capacity. You can imagine how uncomfortable it might be for being in the boat actually built for 3000, but then is boarded with 7000 people.

Cabin accommodation classes, all including meals and private lockers, are:
• 1st class, around US$40/day: two beds per cabin, private washroom, TV, aircon
• 2nd class, around US$30/day: four beds per cabin, private washroom, aircon
• 3rd class, around US$20/day: six beds per cabin, aircon, shared washrooms
• 4th class, around US$15/day: bed in a dormitory

The “real” way to travel, though, is ekonomi class (around US$10/day), which is a noisy, smoky, cramped free-for-all scrum; buy a rattan mat and get in early to stake out your spot — it’s common for people to start rushing in as soon as the ferry arrives. Pickpocketing and theft are a real concern though.

In addition to PELNI’s slow boats, ASDP runs fast ferries (Kapal Ferry Cepat, rather amusingly abbreviated KFC) on a number of popular routes. Both PELNI and ASDP tickets can be booked via travel agents.

Last but not least, there are also countless services running short island-to-island hops, including Merak-Bakauheni (hourly) from Java to Sumatra, Ketapang-Gilimanuk (every 15 min) between Java and Bali and Padangbai-Lembar (near-hourly) between Bali and Lombok.

When you decide to take a ferry, you need to scout out any information of the on board safety devices. Due to the poor boat maintenance and common overloading passengers, sinking ferries run by small companies are commonly happened. Therefore, larger ferry company will be the cleverest decision. It will be wise if you are calling off or postponing the trip if you find out that the weather will not be nice. The foods provided on board are considered not too nice, so it will be better if you equip yourself with some meals along the journey. The extra meals are even highly suggested, because there are times when the journey turns out to be stretched from the schedule.

You may get hassled by people onboard trying to extract extra money under some dubious excuse. Feel free to ignore them, although on the upside, it may be possible to bribe your way to a better class of accommodation.

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Related Articles:

• Get Arond Indonesia By Plane
• Get Around Indonesia By Bus
• Get Around Indonesia By Train
• Get Around Indonesia By Car
• Get Around Indonesia By Becak
• Get Around Indonesia By Ojek

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• Airlines in Indonesia
• Brief History of Indonesia
• Consulates in Bali
• Embassies in Jakarta
• Existance of Orang Utan
• Get around Indonesia
• How to get to Indonesia
• Indonesia Books
• Indonesia Culture
• Indonesia Holidays
• Indonesia Miniature Park (TMII)
• Indonesia National Monument (Monas)
• Indonesia Safari Park
• Indonesia Travel Tips
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• International Airport in Jakarta
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