Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 162

between Sumatra and Java, Java and
Bali, and Bali and Lombok, for
example. In more visited areas you'll
find tourist boat services, and combined
long-distance bus and boat options.
However, with the advent of cheap
domestic flights, ferry services are
becoming less frequent and poorer value
as they compete with the airlines.
Pelni ( W pelni.com) currently operates
around 25 passenger liners , most of
which run on weekly or monthly circuits
and link Java with ports on all the main
island groups between Sumatra and
Papua (map pp.166-167). he best place
for up-to-date information on routes is
the local Pelni o ce (listed under
“Moving on” for each town in this
guide), which should have complete
timetables of all the ferries serving their
ports. Comprehensive timetables for
Pelni's coverage across the whole country
can be picked up from their head o ce
in Jakarta. he vessels are well
maintained, and as safe and punctual as
any transport in Indonesia can be. Tickets
are available from Pelni o ces two or
three days before departure, but it's best
to pay an agent to reserve these for you as
early as possible. You can only buy tickets
for services that depart locally.
Accommodation on board is usually
divided into two or four classes. All are
good value and include meals; cabins also
have large lockers to store your luggage.
First class consists of a private cabin with
a double bed, washroom, TV and a/c
- generally US$60-100 a day depending
on the route, with prices and facilities
working downwards from there. If all
classes are full, then the only option is to
sleep in the corridors, stairwells or on
deck (buy a rattan mat, and get to the
port early to stake out your spot on the
floor). Lock luggage and chain it to
something immovable. Fourth-class food
is edible at best, so stock up in advance.
here are also three ASDP fast ferries ,
two of which connect Surabaya on Java
with Bali and Nusa Tenggara, and one
of which sails north from Surabaya to
Kalimantan. While not cheap, the service
is good, and ferries take less than a third
of the time of Pelni vessels.

AIRPORT DEPARTURE TAX
The airport departure tax varies from
airport to airport, but can be up to
Rp150,000 for international flights, and
Rp10,000-40,000 for domestic flights.

headroom; it's worth forking out for a
luxury bus, if available, which costs
roughly twice as much but will have
reclining seats. You'll get regular meal
stops at roadhouses along the way. On
shorter routes, you'll use minibuses,
widely known by their Balinese tag,
bemo . Other names for local transport
include taksi ( bemo in Kalimantan),
pete-petes (in Sulawesi), and travel
(share taxis in Flores as well as northern
Sumatra, often consisting of shiny
SUVs). Once on their way, they're faster
than buses and cheaper; fares are handed
over on board, and rarely advertised. You
may also have to pay for any space your
luggage occupies. It's almost impossible
to give the frequency with which bemos
and public buses run; if no frequency is
given in the text, they are frequent,
roughly hourly. Journey times given are
the minimum you can reasonably expect.
In resort areas such as Bali, a more
pleasant option is tourist shuttle buses
- though far more expensive than local
services, these will take you between
points as quickly as possible. he
longest-established firm on Bali and
Lombok is Perama ( W peramatour.com),
who have o ces in most major tourist
destinations and produce a useful leaflet
outlining their routes.
In Java, trains , run by PT Kereta API,
are often preferred over buses for being
more comfortable and reliable.
Additionally, train stations are generally
far more centrally situated than the
typically far-flung bus terminals. You're
also less likely to get ripped off at the
train ticket window ( loket ).

4

BOATS AND FERRIES
While air travel is becoming more
popular it is still possible to travel
between islands by boat. Public ferries
run regularly on the shorter crossings
between neighbouring islands, such as