May 14th, 2018. I woke up at 4 am, quickly brushed my teeth then briefly packed up. I was so excited that day because i and my grademates were going to take a two days one night trip. We're planing to go somewhere tropical, not too far from Jakarta, yet have comparable exotic beach experiences with Bali and Lombok. Guessed it? you're absolutlely right. We're heading towards the islands of thousands-Kepulauan Seribu.
Kepulauan Seribu is administratively part of Jakarta. On the port you might see jakarta government yachts with 'kepulauan seribu' written on the sides. It has good reputations among tourists but most of them are still domestics.
You could go to the islands by ferry or speedboat from port Marina Ancol. Speedboats are good, but you should try the ferry as it's cheaper and offers the traditional feeling. The best time to go there is in summer (April-October) as the waves are much calmer at summer times.
We set off by bus at 5.00 from Kharisma Bangsa to the port. On the way, traffic is heavily crowded so our bus went on really slow. Congestions always made me pretty freaked out, but fortunately it ended not so long enough. We still managed to arrive at the port on time (slightly later). We already rent a speedboat, so schedule was more flexible (the ferry is scheduled and it only goes back and forth once a day). The speedboat then took us cruising steadily through the sea.
After a one hour ride, we finally arrived upon 'Pulau Harapan' (mean:island of hopes) where our homestay is located. Pulau harapan is one of the islands used as a civil settlement so it is moderately crowded. It's not big, yet beautiful and whole-length, even there are schools from primary to senior high! Strolling down the port, a colorful of small boats can be seen. Through the small streets I saw some local shops selling foods and supplies, kids playing football, and some motorbikes gently passing. There are also a lot of homestays, although only a little offered ocean view.
Actually, many options are available for staying the night in kepulauan seribu. If you want to save cash while also trully experience nature, you can set a camp on one of the more quiet islands which has only one inhabitant (the custodian) for a good Rp25k per person per night. Else, you can go to one of the homestays offered in many islands ranging from budget ones to the one that costs Rp3 million per night. Mad enough, but you get the WHOLE island, said our guide.
Our homestay 'Baronang Homestay' (baronang is a name of fish) is decent, and it is located at the beach so we could view the sea from there. The view is quite good, but sadly it wasn't heading west so we have to walk to the port first to witness sunset. The homestay also had a nice spot for portraits (bottom right)!
We had to do the tour as effective as possible, so we grabbed our equipments and headed back to the port directly after lunch. Our next thing to do was snorkeling at Pulau Genteng. The only way to move between islands was by boat so our travel agent has rented two boats for us. I hopped into one of them. The sound of the engine went along our journey.
This was my first experience of snorkeling, so it took time for me to master the equipments (water sometimes came down the snorkeling tube to my mouth). Below, i saw magnificent coral reefs accompanied by a lot of fishes swimming along. I also saw exotic creatures like crabs, and a rockfish (be careful!). Sadly I don't have an action cam, so all those moments underwater can't be captured.
Continued in part 2
Kepulauan Seribu is administratively part of Jakarta. On the port you might see jakarta government yachts with 'kepulauan seribu' written on the sides. It has good reputations among tourists but most of them are still domestics.
You could go to the islands by ferry or speedboat from port Marina Ancol. Speedboats are good, but you should try the ferry as it's cheaper and offers the traditional feeling. The best time to go there is in summer (April-October) as the waves are much calmer at summer times.
We set off by bus at 5.00 from Kharisma Bangsa to the port. On the way, traffic is heavily crowded so our bus went on really slow. Congestions always made me pretty freaked out, but fortunately it ended not so long enough. We still managed to arrive at the port on time (slightly later). We already rent a speedboat, so schedule was more flexible (the ferry is scheduled and it only goes back and forth once a day). The speedboat then took us cruising steadily through the sea.
After a one hour ride, we finally arrived upon 'Pulau Harapan' (mean:island of hopes) where our homestay is located. Pulau harapan is one of the islands used as a civil settlement so it is moderately crowded. It's not big, yet beautiful and whole-length, even there are schools from primary to senior high! Strolling down the port, a colorful of small boats can be seen. Through the small streets I saw some local shops selling foods and supplies, kids playing football, and some motorbikes gently passing. There are also a lot of homestays, although only a little offered ocean view.
Actually, many options are available for staying the night in kepulauan seribu. If you want to save cash while also trully experience nature, you can set a camp on one of the more quiet islands which has only one inhabitant (the custodian) for a good Rp25k per person per night. Else, you can go to one of the homestays offered in many islands ranging from budget ones to the one that costs Rp3 million per night. Mad enough, but you get the WHOLE island, said our guide.
Our homestay 'Baronang Homestay' (baronang is a name of fish) is decent, and it is located at the beach so we could view the sea from there. The view is quite good, but sadly it wasn't heading west so we have to walk to the port first to witness sunset. The homestay also had a nice spot for portraits (bottom right)!
Continued in part 2