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.
The largest ferry network between all the inhabited islands of Indonesia belongs to the state-owned company PELNI, which operates modern and spacious European-built vessels. Another leader in the country's passenger sea transport 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
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Passenger ferry tickets in Indonesia can be purchased at ticket offices at departure ports, carrier offices, post offices (Pos Indonesia) and travel agencies throughout the country. 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.
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Numerous Indonesian islands are connected by state-owned ferry services. Large and even huge ferries carry trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles and many passengers with numerous belongings and livestock. The ferries are very diverse: from vintage ships, painted and repainted many times, to modern Japanese ones with air conditioning, sensor doors, and automatic toilets. How are different ferries arranged inside?
"Children's" ferry Dewana Dharma(built in 1982, lifting capacity 232 tons)
Dewana Dharma is one of two ferries that operate daily between Sumbawa and Flores. What makes this ferry different from others is its children's playground and cheerful coloring.
You can sit in the sun on a colored sun lounger
Or on a colored chair 
You can play with a lifebuoy 
Or play chess on the roof of a truck 
It takes a long time to sail on it - 7 hours. After two hours, children get tired of riding on carousels and swings, and by the fifth hour, adult Indonesians are already sleeping peacefully on the carousels. 
And there are trucks below, from them, standing on the technical platform, you can carry bananas
Paired with Dewana Dharma on the same line is Cakalang ( Indonesian: tuna) - built in 2006, load capacity not published.
More ferries
A small ferry from 1969 with a “bus cabin” on the captain’s bridge. Satya Dharma at Poto Tano port. Loading capacity - 150 tons. 
Passenger ship DIngkis (1993) 
Three more ferries at Labuan Lombok port 
Sindu Dwitama— built in 1997, 305 tons.
We have sailed quite a lot on different Indonesian ferries, so when we got on this one we were very surprised. Instead of a rusty, good-quality ship, we found ourselves on a sparklingly clean one, with carpeted floors, a soft air-conditioned interior and painted over hieroglyphs from a past Japanese (or maybe Chinese) life.
The ferry was introduced on the Bali-Lombok line in September 2009, joining the other 18 ferries that operate 24-hour services between the ports of Padangbai and Lembar. Already in November 2009, a ferry with cargo and passengers ran aground off the coast of Lombok. A ship sent to refloat him joined him. Passengers were removed from the boats, and both ferries sat aground until the next high tide.
The ferry is more modern than all the others. For example, he has two pneumatic guns that shoot corks from a line, which then pulls the mooring lines ashore. Indonesian sailors, not accustomed to progress, do not use cannons and throw the cork with their hands.
A modern captain's bridge is equipped with a computer, two stands (what if the captain turns out to be short) and a mattress 
In the salon, instead of benches there are armchairs, sofas and tables 
Latrine of the 21st century. On the wall on a piece of paper: “Save water!” Above the door handle in yellow letters: “The door is touch sensitive, do not pull the handle.”
Without trade, a ferry is not a ferry. Sellers of necessary things are everywhere
I don’t know what this salon is for, but Indonesians sleep here.
We prefer to ride on the upper deck. There is, of course, no air conditioning, but you can see dolphins chasing flying fish. 
Entering the technical room of the ferry is very simple: scrub the door and go in. Here are the anchor and mooring drums, a mooring air gun (on the left on the bulwark), a long boarding ladder, boarding hooks, fire extinguishers, a government telephone and other small items. In addition, from here it is convenient to carry bananas on top of the body of a truck parked inside (I was unlucky, I got caught by a bus).
If you pull this handle, the exit ramp will open and trucks with bananas and coconuts will become prey for dolphins. To prevent this from happening, the trucks are tied with cables to the walls of the ferry while still on the shore, and passengers are strictly prohibited from entering the technical department. But if you stand at this parapet, you will be doused with cool spray from under the stem. And it's great to see dolphins from here.
Large ferry Salindo Mutiara I(1977, lifting capacity 459 tons)
This ferry runs side by side with the previous one: between Bali and Lombok.
There is a lot of seating on the upper deck and it is even cool in the evening 
The captain's bridge is not that modern and there is no mattress. 
Inflatable rescue rafts are always located on the upper deck. Now you know where to run and what to pull if something happens 
What can be seen from the ferry
Indonesia - the name of the country uses the Greek word “nesos”, meaning “islands”. It consists of five large islands - Borneo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Sumatra and Java. But the most famous and popular of the many Indonesian islands is small Bali. But here’s the thing: once here, any tourist begins to think about how else he can visit neighboring Java.
What possibilities exist for this? You can travel from Bali to Java by ferry or plane. By plane, of course, it is convenient and interesting - it flies right over the mouth of an extinct volcano, not far from which you can see the picturesque smoking smoke of its smaller brother... I can imagine what kind of photographs you can take!
Roundtrip
I won’t speak for everyone, my friends, but here’s the thing: if I’m sure of anything, it’s this:
- the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection,
- that the sum of numbers remains unchanged, no matter how the terms and positions are changed
- that the time spent covering the distance from point A to point B, under equal conditions, will be exactly the same as if you go from B to point A.
That was until I decided to look on the Lion Airlines website for how much you can buy tickets from Denpasar Bali to Yogyakarta in Java. What I saw made me think. Take a look too:
My first thought was that old man Einstein was right! Here it is, confirmation of the theory of the great physicist about the distortions of space around the Earth.
But no, this time it didn’t come true. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but what we are seeing has absolutely no connection with the subtle effects of our planet's influence on the surrounding space-time, nor with paranormal phenomena, nor even with simply going crazy. But the whole point is simply that Java and Bali have different times, and Javanese is exactly 1 hour behind Balinese.
Indonesia Ferries
But we didn’t have to choose; the organizer of our trip, Doctor V, planned to move from Bali to Java by Indonesian ferry.
There is a well-developed and intensive ferry service between Indonesia's densely populated islands. The most popular crossings connect Java and Sumatra, Bali and the island of Java.
But between neighboring countries it leaves much to be desired: from Indonesia you cannot get to the Philippines by ferry, and from Malaysia you cannot get directly to Java. But that's not the worst thing. Indonesia buys old, sometimes decommissioned ships, unsuitable for operation, from various countries and uses them as ferries. At the same time, they are often loaded to the maximum and even overloaded.
It is therefore not surprising that ferry boats in Indonesia are prone to accidents and most boating accidents involve multiple fatalities. There are countless messages of this kind: “Ferry crash, 300 people killed,” “Ferry sank, death toll reached 15 people,” “There were 250 people on the sunken ferry,” “Fire on an Indonesian ferry claimed at least 17 lives.”
Of course, not all Indonesian ferries are completely painted, repainted floating ruins. They are very different, there are also ultra-modern ones with air conditioning and touch doors.
Road without end
After snacking on the breakfast offered by the hotel - coffee and an omelet or pasta, we said goodbye to Lake Bratan and went to meet the new island of Indonesia. Once you leave Bali, take a ferry 4.5 kilometers to the island of Java, you will immediately find yourself in a completely different world, with a different way of life, a different culture and religion.
But it’s still a long way to get there: it’s a four-hour journey to the crossing, then a ferry and only then – hello, Java! Om Swastiastu, beautiful island of Bali! We just met you and didn’t know much about you. This takes time. But we want to continue our acquaintance with you. We dream of coming here more than once, to the paradise island, where gods and demons live together with good Balinese people.
Well, on the road! I was frightened by the narrow one-lane mountain serpentine road and the matter was further aggravated by the suicidal driving style of local motorists. In order to minimize the inevitable worries and shocks, I decided to act proactively and sleep them off, which I did with all possible zeal. At this time, Sanya continued to build bridges and establish friendship between the great Russian and Thai peoples.
Tired of the uncomfortable bus seat, he put the laptop on the chair, connected a card reader with photos to it, and sat down on the floor... At first our comrades simply glanced sideways at the photographs. Then there were pictures in which the sun glowed like a bright star against the background of the temple. Then they started squealing with delight and filming them with their phones directly from the screen.
Hearing this, the others sitting further away became interested. Soon the whole bus was making a pilgrimage and viewing. Everyone clicked their tongues in approval and patted Sanya on the shoulder, and somehow it so happened that at that moment that piece of ice that stood as a barrier between us and prevented normal communication suddenly melted.
Yes, we are farangs, alas, we are not Thais. Aware of this unfortunate fact, our Thai friends nevertheless decided to admit that we were the kind of farang who could be accepted into decent Thai company. I woke up and fell asleep, and Sanya and the Thais kept talking and talking and laughing.
Watermelons and degrees of friendship
We immediately liked the restaurant where the driver took us. It was very picturesquely located on the shore. But there were no places - it was a holiday! We went further. The second one looked like a simple eatery. But the hungry Thais rushed there as if they had not had poppy dew in their mouths for a day.
And we hesitated - the place caused fears. How is it: the best coffee on the road - take a sip...
Here we are, but I didn’t want to stretch my legs, so Sanya, instead of lunch, bought three watermelons - one for us, and two to treat the horde of Thais. Which further strengthened the friendship and increased the warmth of the relationship. I don’t really like watermelons, so I limited myself to one piece, and Sanya ate half of it with a spoon.
Surprisingly, we didn’t see many fruits on the tropical island; in comparison with Thailand, Bali clearly loses. Theoretically, there is an extraordinary variety of them, but to buy them at any time, anywhere... Maybe it was the off-season for them - after all, we were in the summer. Or maybe our nomadic life has become a hindrance. If we were in one place, then we could go to the markets to find an abundance of fruit. But they weren’t full.
Bali Ferries and Selat Bali Narrows
Selat Bali - Bali Strait - connects the waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. At its narrowest point it is 2.4 km, and its maximum depths do not exceed 60 meters.
Between the western tip of Bali - Gilimanuk Harbor and the eastern point of Java - the port of Ketapang, there are tirelessly plying ferries that burn diesel fuel during the day and at night. The government's long-term plans include building a bridge across the strait that will connect both islands.
And now we are entering the territory of the ferry crossing from Bali to Java. She is huge. We get in line. Having experience of sailing on ferries plying from Trat in Thailand, we understand this for a long time. A bunch of buses, huge trucks, cars, mopeds... Oh, it’s good if we leave by morning. Sanya became depressed and sat down with the driver to find out how long we should wait in line. “Five minutes,” the driver answered. Silent scene...
It turns out that everything is different in Bali. A huge number of ferries sail here. One leaves, and another immediately takes his place.
The driver turned out to be right, within ten minutes we were on a ferry towards Java. The ocean was calm. And against the background of this silence and smooth surface, the elastic jets of the current stood out especially. They crossed our path and curved, sometimes in a semicircle, sometimes turning into spirals. We didn’t take our eyes off it – beautiful and creepy at the same time...
Why do a hundred thousand live in this world?
And then I remembered...
It is believed that the salty basis of ocean waters was laid by the products of paleovolcanic eruptions in the Archean era, because volcanoes are not only rivers of lava, but also gas mixtures of complex compositions. The products of the eruption condensed and poured down as acid rain. There they reacted with rocks that in the future would become the seabed. As a result of the reactions, salty solutions of the primordial ocean were created.
Then, for hundreds of millions of years, rivers along their path washed salts out of rocks and volcanic rocks and carried them into the ocean. But that's not all. There is another constant and reliable supplier of mineral impurities - these are giant faults at the bottom of the world's oceans, through which they come in large quantities from oozing basalt from the very depths of the earth.
However, whether a tiny puddle in the yard or the great world ocean, both are equally subject to the law of the water cycle in nature. Water evaporates, steam rains down onto the ground and falls into rivers, which on their way continue to sharpen stones, dissolve and absorb everything possible and give the resulting pinches of salts to the ocean.
It’s logical to assume that its salinity should increase from year to year? But scientists say that the concentration of salt in the depths of the sea has remained constant and has been approximately 3.5 percent for a good one and a half billion years. Oops …. So where does the excess salt go from the water???
First steps on the island of Java
The crossing takes about an hour, all this time we stood on the upper deck of the ferry, looking at the water. Finally the port appeared. Another ten minutes of waiting until the berth becomes available for us. And so we, having left the Bali ferry, settled into two minivans and are already driving around the island of Java!
Many kilometers of mountain serpentines and the fantastic beauty of the Ijen volcano await us ahead.
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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
Regarding 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.
You can find less expensive boat tickets from Singapore. 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'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
(c) Ferries will give you a rough crossing to the point that you will get sick
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 of ferry crossings per 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 an obvious one, but is it really practical (to get to typical tourist destinations quickly enough to fit into, say, a 10-day holiday) and do they have similar safety risks to local carriers?
Gerrit
I've heard scary stories about airplanes in Indonesia too. The truth is that in a country with less (enforceable) regulations/lower public transport safety standards, 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 there is a very terrible story, and in South Korea it is extremely controversial. 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). With the exception of the Sukhoi Superjet crash (which was a demonstration flight of the new Russian aircraft at an airshow and not a commercial flight), the last jet failure occurred 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, off-the-beaten-path, bad-weather speedboats that 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.
