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Indonesia is a country of around 17 000 islands spread across a vast area, larger than the continent of Australia itself. Travelling across Indonesia from East to West without flying is therefore no small endeavour.

Most tourists on holiday for a few weeks in Indonesia either focus on Bali, and maybe Java, or take at least one or two domestic flights to get around. But with time up our sleeves and a commitment to surface travel, we resorted to ferries and trains for long distances, and bus or cars for shorter ones. 

From the very first leg of our Indonesian journey, our choice of surface travel brought rich social experiences and led us to wonderful places we would not have explored otherwise. 

This post describes what to expect on Indonesian ferries, trains and buses and provides useful tips on how to plan your journey.

Visa

We applied for 30-day e-visas online using the official government website. It cost IDR 500,000 per person and can be renewed online for a further 30 days.

I our visas were processed in 48 hours, we then printed out the visa we received by email and gave this to Indonesian Immigration upon our arrival at one of Indonesia’s official entry ports.

Indonesia requests proof of onward travel to be shown by those arriving on an e-visa. We couldn’t find solid information on whether immigration officials really checked this so to be on the safe side I booked tickets for the Batam Fast Ferry to Singapore, knowing that we would be refunded about 70% of the cost if we didn’t end up taking this route. We did show these tickets to immigration upon arrival.

Travel

Travelling Indonesia using PELNI Ferries

The motto of Indonesia’s public ferry company (PELNI) is “We connect, We unify”. Pelni connects the remotest islands of the archipelago to their provincial capital and further, to the rest of Indonesia. In doing so, it brings together people of many different ethnicities and religions, joyfully and noisily sharing the ride to faraway places. Plein is especially important in the huge province of Malakku where we arrived from Australia, with boats the only reliable means of getting from one island to another.

Let us be upfront: we wouldn’t recommend travelling on the Pelni to people who need a high level of comfort, privacy or cleanliness (unless maybe in Class 1 and 2). But for those who don’t mind roughing it slightly for the sake of a great social experience, then we highly recommend the adventure of travelling by Pelni.

Figuring out your itinerary: one ship at the time

We arrived in the remote town of Saumlaki on Yamdena island, and once we’d decided we wanted to continue by ferry, we had to figure out our options. Pelni ferries function either in a circuit or an out and back route. In the more remote areas there is generally only one ship making a given circuit, so it’s forth checking in advance as ships might pass a port only every few days or even every week or so. Between major cities, there are several ships travelling different routes, so there can be more than one connection a day between major cities. 

This map, although dated, gives a good general idea of routes, and then the Pelni website is your best resource to find out timetables. But you have to know where you can start from and where you get to with one given ship, as the website won’t give you a full itinerary with connections using several ships. 

For example, we travelled from Saumlaki to Ambon via Banda Neira on the KM Pangrango, then Ambon to Makassar on the KM Ngappulu, then Makassar to Surabaya on KM Leuser. The website won’t show you this route using these ferries, it will only show the KM Leuser which connects Saumlaki to Surabaya approximately once a month in a big circuit, so for us it was better to take several shorter trips on different boats rather than waiting for the KM Leuser. we had to look for each separate leg on the website, alternatively, go to a Pelni ticket office. We found ticket office staff friendly and helpful and generally they spoke english even in remote areas. You will need to go to an office anyway to book tickets.

Buying tickets – at the PELNI office only

At the time of writing, it is impossible for foreigners to buy tickets online or on any reseller website, you have to go to the Pelni office and present your passport to buy tickets. You can often pay by card, saving cash which is needed for basically anything else in Indonesia. Going in person also allows you to ask for the highest deck possible within your chosen class – we recommend going as high as you can. 

We always travelled economy and generally were able to travel on deck 4 or 5, which are less stuffy as they are further away from engines and kitchens. You also have the option to travel Class 1, 2 or even executive. This generally means you get a cabin (private or with only a couple of bunks), probably cleaner toilets and showers and possibly nicer meals – though we haven’t done it so can’t speak for it. It is at least double the price.

Our Pelni tickets in economy class cost us between 11 AUD (7 EUR) per person for the shortest 18 hour trip to 50 AUD (30 EUR) per person for the longest 60 hour trip. 

What is it really like on the Pelni ferry? Is it for you?

Our prior reading and research left us a bit anxious of what it would be like to travel on the Pelni. We had read accounts of cockroaches infested ships, crowds racing to secure un reservable, filth, etc. I also was wondering how modern or robust the ships would be, not keen to go down in the Banda Sea after surviving the Arafura Sea sail.

So here are 5 reasons why we loved travelling on the Pelni:

• A great social experience

The main reason we loved travelling on the Pelni was for the fact it allows you to immerse yourself and meet locals in a way that “tourist” travel or modes of transport don’t allow. Out of the 5 ferries we took, we were the only foreigners on board for 4 of them, with only one other fellow foreigner on the fifth one. And with many hours of sailing, it leaves plenty of time for mingling, observing families and groups of friends, listening (or joining!) karaoke, meeting people, chatting and learning from them.

We observed a grandma making sambal (very hot sauce) in her traditional ulekan (mortar and pestle) for every single meal, and offering us some. We listened to local music (often played out loud or for karaoke). We heard the ever so joyful Indonesians laugh their heart out. We saw a contingent of imams going to a conference, preaching to young men to try to get them to be more assiduous in their religious practice. We got so many warm smiles and attempts to communicate, even with limited or no shared language. Those who could speak some English often came to us and we had several great conversations. We were a true curiosity to other passengers, often quite surprised to see us there, and so we took probably more selfies aboard the Pelni than in our entire life before. On the Pelni, we experienced the warmth, friendliness, and joie de vie of the Indonesian people.

• Good facilities and service

Economy decks are like massive open dormitories with rows of beds or bunk beds. You get a vinyl covered mattress (and a plug to charge your phone in the bigger ships). No linen or pillows so bring your own if you need. It also means you are room-mates with at least 100 other passengers, families, groups of friends travelling together, so you have to be comfortable with that (bring earplugs and eye masks).

There are toilets and showers. You get a basic meal included with the ticket price three times a day: white rice, vegies and chicken or fish, plus water bottle and some sweet treat. Not very environmentally friendly or gourmet, but sufficient to keep hunger at bay. If you don’t fancy that most ships have a small supermarket selling other stuff including instant noodles or packaged meals. All of this comes heavily packaged and the amount of plastic is hard to bear – but that is saddly the same everywhere in Asia – and most of the world. 

• Pelni ferries felt safe: 

The ships are german-made, big and robust ships. The biggest are comparable to the ones I took several times from Nice to Corsica, or to the Spirit of Tasmania. Now, they’re 20 years old and constantly carry thousands of people, so they are not in the flashest condition and are a bit dirty, but overall they are reassuring vessels. We learnt that Indonesians are quite risk averse when it comes to setting sail: our ferry was once 7 hours late, waiting at the previous port for the waves to calm down instead of braving the weather – that reassured me. And indeed all our passages were very smooth.

Once on board we always felt safe as we did everywhere in Indonesia. We felt fine leaving our bags on our beds to go for a wander around, though always taking our cash and passports. There is also a nurse on board to attend to ill passengers.

• Overall a very organised and civilised process

There were crowds, but the boarding process was easy enough, becoming increasingly organised as we moved west to bigger ports. Tickets and mattresses are numbered so there is no first come first served kind of mayhem and no risk of not having a bed to sleep on. Crew and passengers were happy to help us find our allocated beds, to try and translate the announcements for us, and most importantly, to guide us to the kitchens at meal times!

Crews on board are plenty and very willing to help. If you have lots of heavy baggage we saw porters at each port (you have to pay them). Overall the process was always smooth, by the time we boarded our second Pelni we could navigate the process very easily. Some cities like Jakarta, Makassar and Surabaya even had airport like boarding processes and facilities. Only once did we experience a bit of madness when porters rushed in the boat madly to go grab baggages when the crowd was already massed up ready to disembark.

• Not spotless, but not filthy

There are cleaning crews on duty on the ferry cleaning bathrooms and toilets and corridors. To be honest the toilets are not super functional or clean but they do the job. There are even showers but we generally went without showering until the next stop. Mattresses are clean and we recommend using your sleeping sheet for more comfort. There were (small but quite a few) cockroaches on the first ship we took (KM Pangrango), but not to the point that we were alarmed. On all the other ships we took, we may have seen one or two small cockroaches, nothing to be concerned about. With thousands of passengers aboard continuously, do not expect a spotless ship or even a super clean one, but it is definitely OK and we were not disgusted by anything except some Indonesians throwing plastic bottles or cigarette butts overboard.

So what’s the catch?

• They are rarely on schedule – we had anywhere between 2 and 7 hours delays, but you can know in advance by checking the website or asking at the office. 
• Cleanliness is medium but not amazing as described above – so whether you enjoy the ride or not depends on your own tolerance levels.
• As often in Asia, there is no concept of quietness or silence in public transport the way we tend to have it in Europe. Everyone is on their phone watching videos or playing shooting games out loud, no one has earphones. There does tend to be a quieter time at night, but not zen quiet.
• Passages are long, so you have to have (or take!) the time.

Enjoying the ride

Here are a few essentials to enjoy the ride:

• Have earplugs and sleeping pills to facilitate having a good night of sleep
• Have your own sleeping sheet
• Bring some extra food for a bit of variety from the Pelni meals: we packed bananas, oranges and coconut biscuits

In a packed travel adventure, travelling on the Pelni was a welcome break and opportunity to slow down and relax. We read a lot, contemplated the sea, wrote in our journals, slept very well, chatted. We always felt happy to arrive, but equally happy to get on board. 

Travelling by train in Indonesia

We travelled by train across the island of Java. Of the other islands, only Sumatra has three local and not inter-connected train networks but we didn’t use them. Travelling by train was a great way to immerse ourselves in the landscape of Java; the expanses of rice paddies and small villages at the foothills of giant volcanoes.

Trains on Java are operated by the national company “KAI” and are very good. They run on time and are air conditioned. They do bookout so we recommend booking early.

There are several classes of trains. We tried economy and executive:

• Economy: obviously cheaper, air-conditioned clean and relatively comfortable. Three people generally share a bench that is just large enough to fit 3. The seat back is straight upright so after a few hours we found it quite uncomfortable. For a long journey or if you want more comfort, consider upgrading.
• Executive: was more expensive but more comfortable as each person gets their own seat.

Ultimately it depends on your budget and desired level of comfort but even in economy it remains a good experience!

In terms of planning:

• The Man in Seat 61 is always an excellent resource on train travels
• We used Google Maps to find out trains and time
• We booked on using the Trip.com website or app
• You can also go to the train station and get great help from the ticket counter.

The ferry from Indonesia to Singapore or Malaysia

To leave Indonesia without flying, you have two main options:

• From Batam to Singapore – which is a small Indonesian island just in front of Singapore. You can get there using PELNI ferries and from there take the Batam Fast Ferryacross which runs very frequently, tickets can be booked online. (We didn’t do that but a friend did and it seemed easy and smooth.)
• From Sumatra, either from Tanjung Balai or Dumai to Malacca or Port Dickson in Malaysia, with Indomal Fast Ferry. We did that, leaving from Dumai to Malacca. They usually follow the same schedule week in week out but there might be slight variations due to tides. You can contact them via whatsapp and they are very useful and reactive to help organise your trip. You can book online or make an email reservation without paying and pay (by card) when you check in. This is convenient as it allows to reserve a spot without having to pay in advance so it allows you some flexibility if you change your plans, or your bus doesn’t get you to Dumai in time… Check in was fast and easy, we had to pay a port fee, then passed immigration (Tim had to show his proof of visa extension), then we were on our way.

Beware that roads are in pretty bad conditions in Sumatra and so long story short we almost didn’t make it in time for the ferry. If you can, we recommend staying in Dumai the night before to avoid the stress of maybe missing the ferry because of the worst traffic jam you can ever imagine on the Trans-Sumatran Highway.

For more details on our travels in Indonesia, our observations and reflections, head over to our Journal Page.