HOW TO GET TO RAJA AMPAT
ISLANDS
Get There
The easiest way to get to Raja Ampat is to fly to Sorong via
Jakarta or Singapore. Domestic travelers can also fly via Makassar
or Manado.
From Jakarta or Bali: Merpati, Express Air, Batavia Air and
Lion/Wings operate daily flights from Jakarta to Sorong (with
stopovers in Ujung Pandang/Makassar and/or Manado)
From Singapore: Silkair operates regular flights from
Singapore to Manado. From Manado to Sorong regular flights are
offered by Lion Air and Merpati. It is easiest to check with a local
Indonesian Travel agent or directly with the airline for the lastest
domestic flights available.
If you are flying from Jakarta, you can take a six hour flight to
Sorong with a stopover in Manado. Alternatively, you can join a
diving tour in Bali and fly from there. You will find Sorong just
like any other city where you can get almost everything, although
prices are higher due to its remote location.
Usually only divers come to Raja Ampat, so you will not find many
other tourists around. Joining a tour is the most common practice
when visiting Raja Ampat. You do not have to be a professional diver
to join a tour, as tour operators sell tours ranging for both for
divers and non-divers.
Flying from Jakarta/ Bali to Sorong, with connecting flights in
Makassar or Manado are offered by:
1. Merpati
2. Express Air
4. Lion Air
All foreigners visiting Indonesia are required to have a visa. The
cost and validity of the visa depends on your nationality.
Generally, visas on arrival are issued for 30 days and are not
extendable. You can also apply for a 60-day visa in advance from
your home country. These are also not extendable. These visas
generally take at least 5 working days to process and may have
specific requirements, so apply well in advance.
To get to Raja Ampat, you need to fly to the Indonesian airport of
Sorong. It's located over on the far east of Indonesia, at the
northern end of Papua island, which is politically divided between
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Virtually all Raja Ampat liveaboards
depart from or arrive at Sorong.
To get to Sorong, the five main routes are
1) Singapore - Manado - Sorong
2) Bali - Ujung Pandang (Makassar) - Sorong
3) Jakarta - Ujung Pandang (Makassar) - Sorong
4) Kuala Lumpur - Manado - Sorong
5) Kuala Lumpur - Ujung Pandang (Makassar) - Sorong
For visitors to Raja Ampat who don't live in Asia, transiting
through Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Hong Kong is probably best as
they have the most up to date facilities - see Kuala Lumpur Airport
Hotel, Hong Kong Airport Hotels and Singapore Airport Hotels: A
Quick Guide for transit info if you need to stop over.
At the time of writing, these are the current airlines flying each
leg - please only take this as a rough guide to help you start your
research for planning flights. If anyone has experience of flying
these routes and has advice to offer, please leave a comment -
thanks!
Tip: Use Skyscanner to see what flights are available on
these routes and compare prices between carriers where available.
Please note that most domestic Indonesian carriers do not allow
online booking - see note below.
1) Singapore to Manado is serviced by Silk Air.
Manado to Sorong is serviced by Lion Air.
2) Bali to Ujung Pandang is serviced by AirAsia and Garuda.
Ujung Pandang (Makassar) to Sorong is serviced by Lion Air
3) Jakarta to Ujung Pandang (Makassar) is serviced by Garuda,
Merpati and Lion Air.
Ujung Pandang (Makassar) to Sorong is serviced by Lion Air
4) Kuala Lumpur to Manado is serviced by Silk Air.
Air Asia terminated their Kuala Lumpur to Manado route in February
2010.
Manado to Sorong is serviced by Lion Air.
5) Kuala Lumpur to Ujung Pandang (Makassar) is serviced by AirAsia.
Ujung Pandang (Makassar) to Sorong is serviced by Lion Air
Tip:
Don't forget that Manado is the nearest airport to Lembeh Strait
and Bunaken, so if you want to dive there as well it makes a great
stop off point.
Really Important Tip:
Note that Ujung Pandang was previously called Makassar and the names
still appear interchangably on flight tickets and departure notice
boards in airports and in use by airline crew over the cabin
intercom. Spare yourself the stress of wondering if you got on the
wrong flight, in the middle of the night, during a thunderstorm, as
me and my dive buddy did, by remembering this ;-)
Booking Flights On Domestic Indonesian Carriers
You will need to use domestic Indonesian airlines to get to
Sorong. The main airlines are Garuda, Lion Air, Wings Air and
Merpati. It is very difficult to buy tickets for domestic Indonesian
flights online, as these airlines do not accept credit cards issued
outside Indonesia. Their websites are also for the main part quite
primitive so perhaps it's not wise to rely on them to secure your
booking. You can also use third party agents based in Indonesia to
book these flights for you but, from personal experience, I've found
them to be pretty useless at responding in a timely fashion.
Your liveaboard company should be able to book all your domestic
flights for you as a matter of course. They will probably charge you
a nominal fee e.g. 10 per cent to do this. Because they are based in
Indonesia, they should be able to secure cheap fares for you on
domestic Indonesian carriers. Their liveaboard representative will
usually meet you at your port of entry into Indonesia so as to give
you the domestic tickets and help you check onto the flight.
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RAJA AMPAT DIVE
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