Kai (Kei) Islands - General Info
Description:
The Kei Islands in Eastern Indonesia are part of the Maluku province and are renowned for their beautiful beaches. The three main islands are Kai Dullah, Kei Kecil and Kai Besar.
The main ferry and clearance port of Tual is on the eastern side of the main island of Kai Kecil where it is linked to Kai Dullah and creates the capital city. Both islands are low-lying and flat with beautiful beaches and lie to the west of the mountainous island of Kai Besar.
This is an easy place to get basic repairs done and the local people are reported to be very friendly.
Position:
05° 38’S, 132° 44’E (Tual)
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Related to following destinations: Eastern Indonesia - Kai Islands, Indonesia, Kai (Kei) Islands
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TUAL
Tukan – we found him unreliable and a bit of a hustler, compared to others we have met in Indoneisa. He left with our fuel cans (& money) to be returned within an hour. After many chasing calls he returned 7 hours later, we suspect the fuel was slightly short.
We have been asked by our agent’s local contact to advise yachties to be careful of Tukan.
The local buses pass the entrance to the dock, marked Langgur are easy to take to Gota supermarket & the big market, so there is no need to have a driver.
We landed at the Customs quay & it is very awkward scrambling up the broken concrete steps.
hi does anyone have any updated info on Tual as an arrival in Indo Port and visas for Aussie crew staying in Indo 45 days? Is is true that visa’s for crew are around $450 US? this seems steep compared to visa on arrival at $50 US. Any info would be fantastic
The B211A visa would cover you for the 45 days – as the first period is for 60 days with two 60 day extensions possible. The cost is 2,000,000Rp (2 million rupiah) per person. However, according to Indonesia immigration and agents that we have been in contact with you need an agent/sponsor for this and their fees can be quite high. Other cruisers have reported some agents charging exorbitant fees to organise visas. There is a 30 day Visa on Arrival with a 30 day extensions that only costs US $35 but this is unfortunately for you, only available in Batam, Jakarta and Bali. The best advice would be to get in touch with a reputable agent. The most up to date information is available on the Noonsite-Indonesia-Formalities pages.
For all your needs in Tual town & surrounds including clearance, car, fuel, tours, call Pak Tukan. Very friendly helpful & honest, he smoothed our check out process . Our only regret was not spending longer in the area to explore some of the beautiful places on offer. Tukan has lived in the Kei islands his whole life & came recommended to us by Johny Ambon. Through Covid times we had no issues. He has given permission for his contact details to be posted here: +62 821-9923-9147
Posted by FlyingFishSail on main Indonesia page:
I loved my visit to Tual. For a week in August during the Indonesian Independence celebration Flying Fish was the only sailboat in the harbor. It is a port town and therefore busy and dirty, but the people are incredibly friendly and generous. There is a Muslim/Christian population mix that could teach the world a positive lesson about tolerance and good will toward one another.
I was welcomed by Jhon Pasumain who greeted me in a small skiff and directed me to an anchorage 50 meters from the Coast Guard Dock. Jhon drove me to each office for clearance which was completed in an amazing three hours. His English is excellent. In addition, he organized a phone card and rupiah at an ATM. Jhon provided me with 150 liters of CLEAN diesel, and introduced me
to Capt. Lahan Bacho of the Indonesian Coast Guard, who welcomed me to Tual
like a brother.
Jhon Pasumain is an excellent fixer in Tual but he gets very busy and needs to be reminded to stay focused. His fee is well worth his efforts. He can be reached at: WhatsApp 0822 48713457 or on Facebook at: Pasumain Jhon.
Clearance entrance in Indonesia from PNG.
Good anchorage in 10m.
Local people are very nice, always smiling and always want to take selfie with us.
Very safe place, you can walk in the street by night.
We deal with John, a very good guy, honest and friendly. We clear with him (it took one day), buy a simcard for internet, visit the island with him and he help us to provide fresh water and diesel.
His contact : John +62 822 48 71 34 57 – fb : pasumain jhon – pasumaijoni@gmail.com
SVBlowinBubbles says:
Sep 09, 2018 11:35 PM
September 2018- checked into Tual with ease. All officials friendly and no fees were charged. The Yachters website had been offline for more than 2 weeks. Even Customs could not connect. They allowed us to use their internet and helped us fill out forms. We were told we are now good until check out, no need to see anyone in other ports. Provisioning in Tual and langur was decent. Tied dingy to the customs boat dock where they watched it and kept it safe.
Only issue was with John (Jonas) who works on the coast guard boat as a cook I think? He tried to add a 2 to the bill for our laundry we had done by someone else. We had agreed to pay 12000 per kg for 7 kg so 84000 total. John gave us a bill with $284000 written on it! We never used him to arrange the laundry, someone else took it and brought it back so he should to even been involved. We highly recommend Tukan to take you for grocery or site seeing, charges 10000 per hour and speaks a little English.
Tukan cel 082199239147. He charges 8000/ ltr gasoline, and 10000/ ltr for diesel. By contrast, John wanted 10000 and 15000 respectively. To avoid problems that many have had with John tell him you have arranged with someone else when he first asks. There is another man George whose many recommended as well his number is in the Soggy Paws Files.
Posted by Sonrisa on main Indonesia page:
We came from PNG to Tual in the Kei Islands to check into Indonesia without the full visa. We had done the online form, but according to the Immigration agent there, you can only get the 30-day NON-renewable visa there not the 60 days that it sounds like you can get at some of the other official ports. Beautiful place to be, head around the west side of the island for some beautiful with sand beaches and coral for snorkelling.
Hello,
We like to confirm that Tual is really a good place to clear in. We have done it without local agent and everybody was friendly and efficient.CAIT and social visa we had organised before. No corruption, no cost except minimal charge for health, not even closed offices over the weekends (and no weekend fee).
Start with the Health Officer, the quarantine office is right behind the harbour master near where you can tie up the Dinghy. Customs is up a little hill, you may want to take a motorbike taxi, but it is not far, you can walk as well. They did all the paperwork without any hassle.
They do however temporarily import your yacht, but this did not cause any issue. We did not have to pay a bond for this and also did not experienced any issue when clearing out 3 months later from Nongsa Point. Immigration is next to customs, again very friendly. The town is a lively, friendly, not touristic place were travelling by minibus or Ojek (motorbike taxi) is best.
We anchored in 15 Meters safely and enjoyed a week in Tual. Approach it from north. If you need an anchorage before or after sailing to Tual, north of Pulau Woha (west from Tual, est. 30 miles) is a peaceful anchorage. Do not go to Pulau Woha by night, because of FADs.
Enjoy your stay in Tual!
SY Frieda
Clearing in Though Tual
We cleared in through Tual after arriving from Thursday Island, Australia. We had a mechanical issue so just tied next to a ship on the wharf. Nobody was at all concerned – in fact they were extremely helpful. The immigration and Customs guys could not have been better.
The chief stood up in the office and announced that his staff would fill out all the forms for us and this service would cost us ‘ nothing’. He was true to his word. Very friendly and efficient – as good as it gets. Plenty of interesting things to see and do in Tual. Nice friendly place. Low key.
Easy to get basic repairs done. Lytha at PT Kartasa Jaya had obtained our CAIT and it was all fine. Nice safe anchorage off the main port in 8 meters of water. No major passing traffic and short tender trip into town. Tie up at the wharf just inland behind the Coast Guard Patrol boat. A short wharf to tie up on and then through the gate past a small mosque. Tual gets my vote