Indonesia - Clearance Agents
It is advisable (but not mandatory) to use an agent to facilitate the clearance process. It is possible to “DIY” – Do It Yourself – including applying for both the eVOA (Visa on Arrival) and the C1 60 Day Visa (previously the B211a Visa).
Most agents use WhatsApp to communicate with their clients.
For a list of agents, see Related Businesses.
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
Next Section: Formalities: Immigration
Related to following destinations: Indonesia
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Your entry page for Indonesia is a little out of date. Hardly a foreign yachtsman stays at Benoa after formalities. Most foreign boats are in Derangan around the corner which like Benoa is filthy and offers very limited services. There is a newish Maina in Banyuwangi just two miles accross the water in East Java. hat is mots interesting is there is a young New Zealand shipwright wo offers storage and service in and out of the water. His name is Warrick Yeoman and while he is very busy he is sure to help not just with services but advice. His mobile is +62 812 6623 0000
Special Announcement for Yachtee
Hi, Yachtee Members!
We are happy to announce that the official authority of the Indonesian CIQP (Customs, Immigration, Quarantine, and Port) in Biak Numfor Regency have launched Joint Data Program in terms of yacht entry clearance.
This program brings various benefits to the Yachtee entering Biak Numfor – Indonesia, one of them is the implementation of “Joint Inspection” during the entry clearance process.
The main advantages of the “Joint Inspection” process during the entry clearance stage is that it will greatly benefit Yachtee as it will speed up dan simplify the arrival clearance process for Yachts.
With the Joint Inspection in place, we believe that your sailing experience will be smoother and more enjoyable. We are committed to continuously enhancing our services for the comfort and safety.
Let’s celebrate this advancement in the world of yachting together!
Regards,
Biak Customs
There was an update on 1 April 2024. It seems that online application and extensions will be the best way (if not the only way) to apply for visas.
If you use Sorong as a port of entry to Indonesia … beware!
Make sure you check in and check out with the harbour master quickly and get your green book from health quarantine …..
We chose Sorong as a port of entry back in July 2023 … everything went smoothly … health, immigration, customs all really friendly at their offices .. no agent required ..… customs and immigration came out to the boat … the harbour master said ‘welcome! Come back and see us when you leave Sorong’
We left the boat at Helena marina for five months while we were in the UK and went back to the harbour master to complete clearance today (12.2.24). They charged us for every day the boat has been in Sorong despite Ayu (from Wick’s office) advocating on our behalf for 40 minutes … we had a bill of IDR 3.5 million. Wick and Ayu had never heard of anyone receiving this charge before. With hindsight we should have completed our first port of entry check in by checking out with the harbour master for Raja Ampat in July and then sailing around as we wished as we would then have been free to explore the country. There is no need now to check in to every port but you have to get clearance from your point of entry. Highly recommend Wick and Ayu … they have gone out of their way to help us.
Some current (2023) problems for cruisers in Indonesia – bureaucracy and crime:
Bureaucracy:
Clearing in and out is involved and confusing, primarily due to bureaucratic bungling and misinformation, which pretty much necessitates hiring an experienced agent familiar with the pitfalls. Getting the correct visa, some of which cannot be extended, is a challenge, primarily due to incorrect information on the official immigration department visa application website, molina.imigrasi.go.id. Cruisers are required to get a cruising permit which requires listing every intended port of call in advance of arrival, another difficulty in a huge archipelago with which most cruisers are unfamiliar and where cruising routes are heavily influenced by changing winds and currents during different seasons. There is much misinformation, official and anecdotal, about the need to clear in and out of every domestic port visited. Similarly, there is much confusion surrounding the “green book” which is supposed to be obtained from the quarantine office when initially clearing into the country and presented to every public health officer in every port visited, another archaic and pointless annoyance.
Read full details at this report: https://www.noonsite.com/report/indonesia-confusing-clearance-procedures/
Crime (Raja Ampat region):
Sorong, regional capital of the Raja Ampat on the north coast of New Guinea, has a bad reputation, well deserved. I was boarded by thieves at 0200 hours 21 December 2023 while anchored out in the harbor. I was previously boarded by three men while at anchor on the west side of Kasiui Island, southeast of Misool Island on 15 November.
Read full details on these 2 incidents: https://www.noonsite.com/report/eastern-indonesia-raja-ampat-sorong-boarded-and-robbed/
Douglas McLean
s/v Gillean
We have just cleared out of Bitung, Indonesia. Andre can be reached on WhatsApp +62 85340774325. Andre assisted us with all aspects of checking out of Indonesia, his English is very good, his service was exceptional. We also did some sightseeing with Andre which was great fun. We would highly recommend using his services.
We recently cleared into Indonesia, also using Matt Eger, absolute dream clearances as per Suzanne’s post below. He made us feel very welcome, Matt did all the leg work for us, the Officials were all great to deal with.
Matt arranged a good car, lovely driver and Matt accompanied us to wherever we wanted to go to obtain our Sim cards, fuel, look at the supermarket, nothing was too much trouble at all.
Matt comes highly recommended by us also.
Matt is trying very hard to repair Kupang’s bad reputation and he is doing a sterling job of it. He deserves the cruising communities support. Please communicate through Whatsapp as per the number in Suzanne’s post.
We cleared into Indonesia at Kupang with assistance from local agent
Matt Teger
whatsapp +62 852-5324-3999
mattteger@yahoo.com
We sent our visas and vessel declaration to him before departing Darwin,
advised him when we departed Darwin and made contact on our arrival. We used our Starlink service to make contact.
As we arrived late in the afternoon Matt organised a time for quarantine to inspect on board the next day.
We were required to pick up the quarantine officers from the beach in our tender and bring them back to the boat.
After clearing quarantine, we picked up customs officials from the beach in the tender at a time arranged by Matthew. They inspected our boat and documents and we returned them to the shore.
Matthew took our paperwork to immigration so we didn’t have to go there.
Matthew took us to Customs and quarantine for signing clearance documents and picked up our green book which is the equivalent of approx AU$35
When we had all of our documents processed he took us to the harbour master for final clearance in and out of Kupang.
Matthew made the whole process easy as most of the officials here speak very little English.
He is a sailor and a marine mechanic and helped us with getting clean cheap deisel, oil and filters and came with us to get to the Telkomsel office to get SIMs cards. He can also assist with boat repairs and spare parts.
Matthew is very friendly, punctual and responsive and really made our arrival in Kupang smooth and easy. His fee was really good value for the ease and time spent on what could otherwise have been a very long and confusing process.
Although we already had our Visa and vessel declaration before contact with Matthew, he is also able to assist with that process in a timely and efficient way.
We checked in at Bali. And in Nongsa Point out. Should be avoided. They charged us 600 US and 1,000,000 rupees in Nongsa. Allegedly, the papers were not filled out correctly in Bali. A Swiss couple 1300 Swiss francs. Black money, of course. The marina then charged another 1,500,000 rupees for the help. To clear into Singapore, you only need a passport and an online entry form. So better not to go to Nongsa Point. Greetings Heinz
Any suggestions for anchorages and boutique style hotels in West Flores?
The Down Under Rally have a free webinar on Monday March 13th from 2-3pm AEST (GMT +10) covering route options and formalities when sailing from Australia to Indonesia. The webinar will be recorded for those who cannot join the live event. To register go to [https://www.downunderrally.com/sailing-to-indonesia]
Hello everybody
if anybody needs help to do the clearance in Biak Papua (Eastern Indonesia) you can contact Igo (email : igoumar43, phone number : +6282140321672) , he can help you out to get all the clearance document done, and can provide transportation to go all arround Biak to get supply, diesel, and etc .
Thank You
Hello, we’re planning to sail from North Queensland Australia to Indonesia in May/June 2023. Can anyone recommend a port of entry and trusted agent. Thankyou!
Hi Suzanne, I am looking to do the trip up the QLD coast and across to indonesia around the same time, how did you go with looking for an agent.
Hi Suzanne
Are you planning to head through the Torres Strait and clear out of Australia in Darwin or go around Papua New Guinea to Papua? If you are checking out of Darwin, then the nearest ports of entry are Kupang, Saumlaki or Tual. There is a list of agents on the Indonesia/Formalities/Clearance Agents. You can also check in at Lombok, Bali or Ambon depending on how far you want to sail first without stopping for provisions or fuel. Ports of entry in Papua Province are Biak or Sorong. There are a number of recent reports from cruisers about their clearance experiences into and out of Indonesia – you may like to check these out as well.
Entry into Indonesia in Biak – Reported to Noonsite by Massimo Vecchietti
Good morning
Me and 3 other friends of mine with their boats (Patchouli II, Zahir, A Viagem and Sancta Anna) entered in Indonesia at BIAK in the first days of October.
Our agent was Raimond Lesmana who had provided us with the necessary documents, but we had great difficulty in completing the clearance procedures; the time needed was 4 days !!!
We must really thank Mr. IGO (+62 82140321672 also Wattsapp) who, in addition to having actively helped us with the various offices, also assisted us for everything else during the 4 days of stay at anchor in BIAK, also by procuring Pertamina DEXLITE fuel, which is not easy to obtain.
It is essential to have a local agent, to extricate yourself from the Indonesian bureaucracy and it is not enough to have one, even if efficient, far away.
Mr Igo, contacted in time, can also take care of VISAs at low cost !!
Massimo Vecchietti
SY Patchouli II
Hello,
Does somebody know the price of a 60 days visa ?
We heard that it should cost 400 US dollars when arriving by yacht. It seems to be very expensive ?
Thanks
Hello,
I bought my visa (B211A) for 60 days online for 250 USD. The homepage: Bali.com.
Try to avoid to clear in Bali. Despite the already paid visa I had to pay for the clearance 5,500k IDR. For the next port clearance in Indonesia my agent Ruth gave me an invoice over 1.7 mil IDR.
SV Calleya
Hi Sandro,
What port of entry Did you take? Was it an smooth process? We are checking agents at the moment and the prices are crazy specially when u travel with family
We have just returned from Sorong Indonesia.
Watch out for ‘agents’. Apply online or read up on LetsMoveIndonesia, I would suggest.
We paid huge amounts of fees to an agent and afterwards found out how we were done in.
Hello,
Does somebody know if it is possible to enter Indonesia in Sabang harbour (which is a official port of entry) in the north of Sumatra due to the new covid rules because we can’t get an answer yet.
Thanks a lot.
SV FIUU
Yves POTIER
Hello Yves, we’ve been in touch with a trusted agent in Indonesia to ask about Sabang – he confirms that yes it is open, however the situation is confused at this time. As we say in Biosecurity, your agent will assist with ports of entry once a visa has been secured. Here’s the agents recommendations:
“Anyone wanting to visit Indonesia by boat – please ask their agent about the current situation at the port they wish to enter. The agent will coordinate with the entry point and if it’s possible to enter at that chosen port, then continue with the process of Visa and Vessel Declaration.”
I hope that helps.
Hello Sue,
Hope you have good time in Indonesia.
The agent Ray told us that a 60 visa cost 400 USD. It seems very expensive ! Could you confirm that ?
Yves, all the information we have to date about visas and associated costs can be found in Indonesia Immigration – https://www.noonsite.com/place/indonesia/formalities#immigration-section. Yes, visas are expensive right now as the new 60/180 day visas are not implemented yet. Instead, yacht crew have to get a business stream visa which is much more pricey. Ask your agent when the new visas are expected to become available.
Sue, thanks for your answer. We continue to prepare our clearance- in via Sabang. We will make a complete report on this site if we succed.
Yves
We arrived at Nongsa Point Marina, Batam Is Indonesia, two days ago to a very warm welcome from Marina Manager Prakash Reddy and his staff, who saw Stardancer safely into our berth.
Email: prakash@nongsaptmarina.com
Raymond Lesmana is our agent. We had to fill out a raft of forms for him re sailing plans etc etc. He was here to greet us too.
Email: raymondlesmana@ymail.com.
Stardancer sailed from Phuket on the night of 16th January and arrived here on 25th January, without entering Malaysia.
We have B211A visas.
Before we left Phuket we had to get PCR test 72 hours prior to departure and send the result, together with the following papers to Nongsa Pt Marina: copies of visas, boat registration, insurance, port clearance, stamped crew list. And Vessel Declaration form that our Agent had done for us, (which one can easily do online). We also sent copies of our passports.
Instructions were to call Ch 72 on VHF 1nm before arriving in front of the marina.
The nurse for PCR test arrived on our 2nd day. We sat on a diesel can on the pontoon?. Unlike Thailand, they do not board your vessel.
Indonesia is well known for its abundant paperwork, and we are still filling out forms, for Maritime Health, Sanitation etc. There will probably be more when Customs arrive. We were expecting them today, but its Prayer day Friday so perhaps they will com tomorrow.
Rates for one month berth (even if you decide to leave sooner) for our 47.2 ‘ length monohull are: Idr 7,050k
Inward clearance : Idr 1,500
Next clearance: Idr 1,000
Health Book, Sanitation etc : Idr 1,000 (Cash)
PCR tests (2 per person) @ Idr 300k per person (Idr 600 each person) plus Idr 500k per boat. (Cash)
SV Stardancer
Batam Island
Indonesia
Be aware that while ports of entry are currently open in Indonesia, the situation is in a constant state of flux with rules changing all the time. International arrival ports do temporarily close from time to time if Covid cases increase in that particular area. This may mean you won’t be allowed to clear in at your chosen entry point and may have to sail elsewhere. Be prepared to be flexible if coming to Indonesia.
Reported by Marco Hollebeek:
The Barelang bridge number 1 in Batam Indonesia has a 34 meter clearance. Its a series of 6 bridges that shut of the whole south area of Batam, only the first one connected to the main island Batam is
that high. At least I went through with 23 meter mast and plenty of space above.
This is very valuable information because it saves you a huge D tour and it opens up the whole beautiful south of Batam for sailors with good free, safe, away from crowds anchorages.
Its the first thing you run in to when checking out the area but no information to be found, also not
in the marine charts and publications as far as i could see.
Official government information I couldn’t find, but the coast guard informed me about it after asking.
Marco Hollebeek
Hi Noonside, I am considering buying an Indonesian sailing ship (sun odyssey) which is currently sailing under the Indonesian flag (tax has already been paid). I would like to continue my journey around Indonesia before sailing on to the Philippines in 2022.
Do you see any challenges in this purchase, is there anything I need to be aware of?
Are there any places I can search for information for such trade?
Thank you
Br. Torben Nissen Ernst
Coronavirus: Piracy incidents double across Asia during pandemic.
Article below talks about Singapore straits which is the area mostly between Singapore and Bintan/Batam (Indonesia). Quite sure piracy does not originate from the SG side so wondering if cruisers have any incidents to report
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53426890
Greeting from Sorong Indonesia,
Have been here for the last 3 months and the whole experience was great, even during the Covid-19 situation. There is a few big supermarkets for provisions, easy to organise fuel and easy shore access through bintang Marina which is a safe place to leave the tender and a short walk to saga supermarket.
During our time here we where assisted by Warwick Alliston and his contacts with any problem we had. Wick specificaly helped me with organising a covid test and to see the Mayor of sorong in order to fly. I could not be more thankful to wick and the help he and his contacts gave us.
Overall a great experience.
Planning to leave our boat in Lombok or Bali marina and fly back to Australia for Business and to renew our visa . Hear mentioned that problems can occur at the airport customs with captains and crew leaving their boat . Appreciate any information from those with experience ? John
Hi John
Information received by Noonsite from contacts in Indonesia indicates that there should be no problems leaving and re-entering Indonesia. However, you may well be questioned by Customs and Immigration officials so make sure you have your ship’s papers, clearance papers, marina information – depending on where you are leaving your vessel – and any other information that may be necessary.
While in Kumai , Kalimantan this coming May we will need to extend our social visa Hoping we can do it in Pangkulan Bun Immigrasi. Has anyone had any experience extending here ? John
Hi John
Information received by Noonsite from contacts in Indonesia indicates that you can extend your Permit to Stay in Kumai. Hopefully there are cruisers out there who have first hand experience of this and can provide an update for you.
Our insurance company has decided to exclude all HONG KONG registered yachts, and we are struggling to source a replacement who can cover Indonesia, where we are now cruising – ant ideas please?
Richard
Hi, my partner and I are going beyond Bali after the Fremantle to Bali race in May 2020. We will sail our Bavaria 40 from Gilli across the top of Flores to the east side of Sulawesi and across to Raja Ampat before Ens Sept. does anyone have recommendations for islands to visit, provisioning, cooking gas, fuel etc please? Many thanks Donna
Hi Donna,
We have the same rough itinerary with the same timeframe. While not joining the F2B rally (we did try, but it all got too hard) we will be departing Freo around 8th May. Keep an eye out for us aboard Barbarossa 1. a 40′ Fountaine Pajot Lipari (catamaran).
Cheers
Frank & Marianne
THis is a Message from Nora Simrad, Norwegian flag, Alubat Cigale 14, 48 feet aluminium sailboat.
Checkin in Indonesia and experiences after a month in West Papua.
We have just checked in With Our sailingboat Nora Simrad 26. november 2019.
The boat sailed from Honiarar through PNG (Kavieng) and checked in at Jayapura.
Predeclaration document was sendt, and Works ok in theory, but none of the officials had acces to it from their pretty outdated Equipment, so all formalities had to be done manually.
It is then still a lot of paperwork, but everybody from quarantine, police, imigration, customs and harbourmaster were very polite and extremely helpful in every way.
And of course no question about Money.
Even if the procedure still takes time and the number of copies are huge, all in all a very good experience.
If Jayapura is Your first entry point, be aware they have not all authorities, so you have to check in by customs in Biak. Also here everybody was kind, helpful and eager to serve us, so after a few hours I had all papers ready.
We have now been in Jayapura, Biak, Raja Ampat and Sorong, and have nothing but good experiences. Kind, helpful People everywhere. Since we do not speak any Indonesian and English is not widely spoken, communication can be a problem. With smiles, gesticulations and google translate we were always able to achieve what we wanted.
We stopped at Padaido Islands (Wundi Island, Padaido divers) for some days of snorkelling, fantastic!!
Was in Cewanderish bay and since it is long distance with sailboat, we got locals to come 2 hours With a speed boat to pick us up, have 2 hours for looking for and swimming With whaleshark and then brought us 2 hours back. An amazing trip.
We then cruised Raja Ampat for a week and that is just amazing too, best diving and snorkelling any of us has had. We stayed 2 days in Pef Islands and had a fantastic experience With Maja and her staff at Raja4divers.
WE are now in Sorong were we have been helped by Wick. He now also offers a very sheltered harbour in a lagoon North of Sorong. We did not find it on Our Navionics chart, but it shows up at maps.me.
Again in Sorong all smiles and helpful People.
The only problems we have had so far is the harbour facilities in Biak, and lack of Wind with current against which meant a lot of motoring and slow progress.
Arne Buhs from Nora Simrad
Great info overall.
As a kid born-and-raised in Bali, i’d like to add couple small points to add / correct :
– Beef are available anywhere in Bali, not a problem at all as many balinese also eat beef.
– Pre-packaged meat are available pretty much in any provincial capital cities. Not so in smaller islands.
– Sulawesi is another major island on the archipelago, surprised it was not mentioned as there’s lots of cruising and diving sites around it
– ATMs: they only give out max 25 bills at a time, find ATMs that gives 100.000 (largest Rp bill) and you can get Rp 2,5 million at a time (+- US$ 180 at the moment). Many of them accept most foreign cards, debit or credit cards. VISA, Mastercards are generally easy, AMEX are not so easy.
– Volatage: only 220v are available from main.
– Water is almost never potable throughout Indonesia. Very few establishments has potable running water.
Cheers,
————————————————— Be Aware ———————————————-
Those Caught with Drugs, can be or most likely be executed.
New Indonesian Laws – Sexual relations outside of Married is punishable (be aware of this), while area’s like Bali are more relaxed, Jakarta is more strict regarding religious rules.
Hi Darren,
The “new” law is actually old news, extra-marital sex has always been legally punishable.
But it’s only in effect if someone files a complaint to the police.
The only new part is that that they wanted to put in place is that only parent(s), child(ren), or spouse of offer may file the complaint.
The idea is to renew the very old -very outdated- criminal law book. Many of the proposed changes are actually pretty good, but a few are still controversial. The parliament wanted to quickly agree and put it into effect as their time was running out in office. Otherwise the next people in office would legally have to restart the whole process from scratch.
But that doesn’t matter now, the president had called it off and delayed the whole thing till next term due to the massive protest rallies.
There are some places that are rather strict on sex & marriage that indonesians has to show proof of marriage if a couple wants to rent a room. But usually not for foreigners.
Aceh, the north-west end of Sumatra, Indonesian western end, is a special region -and only region- which mandates women to wear the hijab.
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.
Noonsite seems to have old information on formalities in Indonesia. From reading it, I was concerned about not having an agent or being part of a rally. It was as easy as any other country I have been in.
I got a 60 day visa in Port Morseby. It could not have been easier. I printed out the ships declaration from the https://yachters.beacukai.go.id/ website. Took them a passport photo, and they issued a visa in 48 hours. No sponsor or difficulties were encountered.
Similarly, I checked in at Saumlaki. Very easy. Took a few hours, but was not complicated at all. No agent needed. Note that Ester is not at the hotel, and no one at the hotel speaks English, so you will need to find your way to the Health and Quarantine office. All the other officials came to the health office to complete their part.
And no changes to my crew list were needed when I went to immigration to do that. Just present a new crew list when you check out.
Our experience on the 20th of June 2019with RAYMOND LA FONTAINE at DEL RAY MARINA, GILI GEDE, Lombok.
We had booked a reservation at the end of April for a berth in this marina for 40 nights from beginning of July till mid August to fly back home to Netherlands and USA. As we are recently faced with a lot of expensive repairs and maintenance to do in the near future, we were looking for a cheaper option and cancelled our reservation in the beginning of June. Another reason for the cancellation was reading the negative comments of sailors about the “owner”(RAYMOND LA FONTAINE) and the foul language he used in the discussion with a yachtie which was published on Sail SE Asia FB but which was removed by the administrator. While we were cruising in the SW part of Lombok we decided to have a look at the DEL RAY MARINA and give it the benefit of a doubt. When we arrived we anchored and had some drinks at their bar. The Marina and premises look very nice but still under construction. The shelter in the bay is very good. As we wanted to have some information about mooring availability and other charges we spoke with RAYMOND who was in the bar and he told us to go to the office the next morning. So we did. The new guy at the office who replaced Campbell who recently resigned was friendly but could not really help us. While we were in the office, RAYMOND called and told us that there were no moorings available. We left the office for a walk around the island. When we were walking a half hour RAYMOND sent us the next message saying that: “if you have no intention to stay at the marina please move to Bali and don’t use our assets for free”.
A little later he called us and told us that he would cut the rope of our dinghy straight away. I asked him not to do that and a discussion followed. He had remarks about our lifestyle but he doesn’t know us at all. He was very aggitated, rude, loud and used very foul language on the phone. He was out of control. We walked back and when we passed the bar he shouted to us and asked if we wanted to talk with him. I told him that I do not communicate in that manner as he did on the phone. He was aggravated and started yelling profanities and called me a F* Dutch. He yelled ”get the F* off my land”. So we did.
This is our sad and unbelievable experience with RAYMOND LA FONTAINE, owner of MARINA DEL RAY which we want to share with other yachtie’s.
Please note that this posting is strictly for your information and that I will not respond on any comments or reactions regarding this post on the SE Asia FB.
If you need further information regarding the incident please send me a message with FB messenger.
Regards.
I believe this to be inaccurate and bordering on slanderous. Ever conversation has two points of view. My understanding is you messed these people around to breaking point over a period of hours. Looking down on the local population and thinking you are superior. This not the way forward Shame on you and your biased outburst damaging people who have spent years trying to put some structure to sailing in Indonesia !
This is just a factual account of our experience and a warning for other sailors. Like you, we were warned also by other people.
Success!!
That is YOUR account of events but I see little point in perusing this discussion. There are always two sides to a discussion !
Our Yacht Squadron was built to provide Captains and their crews a badly needed facility in Indonesia in which to leave their yachts unattended. The infrastructure has been built to a world class standard and our staff are well trained to cater for almost everyone’s needs but we are unable to provide a free service!
There are only a limited number of safe locations in Indonesia.
Due to the nature of cruising being weather dependent, we Endeavor to hold all reservations and guarantee a berth, we won’t allow the queue to be jumped and disappoint our paying customers.
There is also sometimes a misconception that because we operate in a developing country, our operating costs are much less, this leads to disappointment and in a very few cases leads to unfair derogatory behavior towards our staff which the management cant and won’t tolerate. We welcome everyone with a smile and a willingness to help always, thank you.
Dear Noonsite members. My name is Takeshi Tanaka new to noonsite. I actively enjoy sailing on my 27ft sail boat (Cookie) in Yokohama Japan.
I am wondering if anyone on this sight can help me to assess the security (piracy in particular) risk in my planned cruising on my friend’s 50ft sail boat through Celebes Sea and Sulu Sea.
Here is our plan,
Leaving Yokohama Japan on Dec 29 this year. sail down to Palau, then to Sorong thru Heren isl. Turn to west to RajaAmpat, pass north of Obi isl and cross Moluccas Pass to Manado. Then sail thru Celebes Sea to Zamboanga, pass Sulu Sea to Cebu, Puerutogalera,a, su-bikku、Kaohsiunng,Taiwan、Ishigaki Shima Japan, Atami Shizuoka Japan. Approx 4500NM for three months.
Sulu and Celebes seas are known as risky area for the cruising sail boats.
Any information regarding the latest piracy risk will be appreciated.
Also your open suggestion regarding our cruising course will be very helpful.
Thank you for your help.
Takeshi Tanaka S.V. Cookie
Sorry Subic instead of su-bikku
Takeshi
Spoiler alert for Bali Marina in Benoa Harbour, Bali, Indonesia:
The Marina is in serious disrepair and can be quite hazardous depending upon the berth assigned & weather conditions; your vessel will sit in putrid garbage; the marina management requires that you go through them for fuel and water; the marina management will not allow any work to be done on the vessel unless you go through them & they will assign or approve your contractor; the marina management will require that you pay for a month in advance, and say that if you don’t stay a month, they will “refund” your money; BEWARE, as if you ask them how and when they will refund your money, they do not have an answer. Note: it is our opinion that you will not get your money refunded. Recommend that if all you want is to clear Customs, use another location in Benoa Harbour, or have an agreement with the marina management clarified in advance.
Hi Jacqui and Walter
havent been around much but am now in Darwin and heading to Tanimbar next week
SAFE TRAVELS
KARL
BEAUJOLAIS I
We went to a mooring at Serangan Yacht Service instead of Benoa. They where very nice, helped us with fuel and sponsor letter for extended visa. The same distance to city, and a driver who took us for a day tour and provisioning at a very fair price.
Apr 26, 2019 11:21 PM
Wakatobi National Park/ Sulawesi. We visited the Bajo (sea gipsy) village Sampela in Kaledupa and spent a few weeks in the area. There we met Kundang, a very likeable and helpfull man. He speakes very good english (worked as dive guide before) and provided us with a lot of information about Bajo live and facts and possibilities in the surrounding. Kontakt Kundang +62 853-4161-7863
Robert SY Emma Peel
Dear Arvid,
Find your crew and clear out from Bali before your time is ending…then cruising slowly east from your prefer route. You can stop along the way to get some supply and fuel… Don’t worry about other thing including authorities that will check on you…I have done single handed on Adam 40 from Labuan Bajo – Dili – Labuan Bajo… My prefer route will be South of Lombok,Sumbawa,Flores down to Dili – East Timor.Happy to assist you more.
Johny Ambon /johnypirate@gmail.com
Hi Pierre,
If you go to the Immigration Section and look for the heading, ‘Arriving and/or Leaving by Air’, you will see some advice regarding this (particularly with regards to Bali).
You can find this page here: https://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Indonesia/?rc=Formalities
It might be helpful to engage the services of an agent, and there are several listed on the Formalities page, including one in Bali.
Hi Arvid, Thanks for your comment.
I recommend that you join this Facebook group as well as posting on the routing forum on Noonsite:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SailSEAsiaGroup/
You might struggle to sail from Bali to Timor Leste and back again in one week. You will be going with the trade winds one way, but sailing into them on the return leg to Bali.
The most popular route is to go along the north coast of Lombok/Sumbawa then to Labuan Bajo (Flores) and then to Kupang along the south of Flores.
The winds seem to be swapping from SE to NW monsoon at the moment, so another route would be along the south coast of Lombok and Sumbawa and then sailing between Sumba and Flores into Kupang.
Best regards for your crossing,
April
Hi, That 3yrs stay in Indonesia is ending soon 🙁 Has anyone here done so and sailed from Bali to East Timor and back to Bali? Planning to do so in one week and wondering if anyone has any tips and ideas of the best route to take and realistic time schedule considering the season change very soon, sailing 3 people on a 33 ft sloop. Any info, tips and update highly appreciated.
Arvid
Sv. Tenacity
Hello everyone,
I am actually in Bali with my sailing boat. I will leave the boat in Indonesia for a couple of months in order to fly back to France, then I will come back to Indonesia. I see that immigration wants you to have a return ticket or other proof of onward travel before the end of your visa.
But in my case, I will leave the country with the sailing boat. Does anyone have any advice on how to justify this to the immigration at the airport? Is the vessel declaration form is enough to justify it? Has anybody has done it before? Thank you very much for your explanation.
Pierre
SY Sedna
Had the same problem. For most of August, the yachters site was down. Even hired rally agents and the customs office here in Tual could not get online. Should be working soon now they say.
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/ LR gasoline, and 10000/ LR 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.
I had the same problem when trying to register last year and after searching Noonsite, found a reference to using Google Chrome. I was using Safari on a MAC. After switching browsers, everything worked smoothly.
Having used Chrome, I thought our information had been registered into the system. However, when we got to Subang, Pulau Weh (at the western end of Indonesia), we were not in the system. Not a problem.
The very helpful girls at Bea Cukai (Customs) in Subang simply helped us fill in the information again into their system on the spot – we made sure we had copies of all our documentation.
We checked out of Indonesia at Kupang and found all Indonesian officers – Customs/Immigration/Quarantine and the Harbourmaster to be very friendly and helpful.
It may pay to take screenshots of the system as you are inputting the information so that if the system does seem to accept your information – but is not “there” when you get to your Port of Entry, then at least you can show them that you have tried to use the system.
Hi John, had the same problem. Please use this https://yachters.beacukai.go.id/ link. then it depends on the browser and system I think. I used 6! addresses till I got in. hints: if you cannot see the verify I’m not a robot then don’t submit, it won’t work. I got in with the link above on an android tablet with Chrome.
Good luck
Ellen (in Darwin)
I am trying to register to do the online registration for our boat Baringo but I am unable to get a verification email back. I have tried 3 email addresses so far.
I called the Indonesia consul in Darwin and they have no suggestions other than to try with more email addresses! Is there any other way I get onto the registration web page or any suggestions at all? Is there a number I can call in Jakarta? We are planning to be in Indonesia in October (presently in Cairns). Very frustrating!
John
s/v Baringo
Posted on behalf of fritz:
Jun 26, 2018, 07:00 AM
If you-you want to apply for an Indonesia Visa in Dili [East Timor], you have to do this before going to the consulate by following this website: https://www.imigrasi-kbri-dili.com/
May 2018 update on 60-day Social Visa at Indonesian Consulate in Penang, Malaysia: You must have a sponsor letter with your application. Also, provide your boat registration and a copy of recent bank financial info. Visa cost 205 MYR. We found a visa agent in Bali who provided us with the sponsor letters for less than $19.00 US each.
Recommend http://www.visaforbali.com, email info1visaforbali@gmail.com with 1-day service. Unsure if we will be able to renew the visa in Anambas as the sponsor whose ID was provided lives in Sulawesi. Note: our photos have been on a white background on the 5 visa applications we have submitted.
Update on Lombok, Indonesia by Yannick, s.v. TY-YANN
Medana Bay Marina on the north coast of Lombok provides moorings, dock with water, showers and restaurant. The bay is open to the north so anchorage is not recommended during the NW monsoon (mid-December to March) but it is very pleasant otherwise. A slipway with a 38T trailer is scheduled for the end of May 2018. This will be the first haul-out for sailboats in South Central Indonesia.
http://www.medanabaymarina.com
Close to the southwest shore of Lombok, Marina Del Ray and Secret Island Resort in Gili Gede island have moorings in a very protected bay as long as you stay out of the main current stream. A pier dock has been completed (March 2018) in Marina Del Ray and berthing is scheduled for June 2018 as well as a yacht club. Gili Gede is remote, there is no tap water and food provisioning is a bit complicated but is a valuable choice to leave the boat unattended in the water all year long.
http://www.lombokmarinadelray.com
A map with waypoints for sailing around Lombok and a map for provisioning in Mataram are available at http://atlasformariners.blogspot.com
A quick update on getting visa extensions in Indonesia (for the 6 months social visa aka 211/60)
We have been in Indonesia since July 2017 and after clearing into Biak (Papua) we have done 4 visa extensions. When you clear in, you are good for 2 months until you need your first extension. The first extension is when they take your fingerprints, eyes can and photo. And of course there are lots of forms to fill in.
And then for the next three extensions you will need to fill in all those forms again. They ask you to apply for the extension one week before expiry of the previous one. Many people will tell you that you need an agent and that’s simply not true. You do need an Indonesian sponsor but you don’t need an agent. There are a lot of forms to fill in but it is perfectly do-able. We used Raymond Lesmana as our Indonesian sponsor and paid him the one-off fee of RP1,000,000 (USD75).
You need a sponsor letter when you apply for the VISA (which you need to do at an Indonesian Consulate before you enter the country) and then again you will need a new letter every time you apply for an extension. They will try and tell you that in some places (Makassar, Labuan Bajo, Mataram) you need a local agent or an original posted letter. NOT TRUE. We just completed our fourth and last extension in Mataram, Lombok.
Everyone told us we had to use a local agent instead (even Raymond thought so) but we found that hard to believe as Indonesia is trying to get rid of corruption and the process should be the same everywhere. So we asked Raymond to email us the sponsor letters, printed them, put the required post office stamps on and then took them to immigration in Mataram, Lombok. We had no issues at all getting our extension.
We even got our visa same day. So don’t believe the rumours and don’t pay extra for agents you don’t need! Immigration will usually process your extension in three days but if you ask nicely and explain that you are in a hurry to leave because of the weather forecast they can process it same day or next day.
One final thing; you don’t need to be in a port of entry for an extension. There are many immigration offices all over Indonesia. We did one extension in Wanci, Wangi Wangi, in Wakatobi. Our sponsor thought we couldn’t do it there but we decided to try anyway and they were the most helpful immigration office ever. They even filled in all the forms for us.
Audrie and Seathan
S/V Rehua
Hi seathan
please can you give how it’s possible to contact Raymond Lesmana ?
thanks a lot for your answer
best regards
josephine
Hi Josephine,
Email: raymond@sailoindonesia.com or raymondlesmana@ymail.com
regards,
Sue
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.
Ahoy. Regards visa extensions for social visas at Sibolga. They will only accept local sponsors and refused Raymond Lesmurda’s sponsor letter. We used Mr Beng Beng, for $100 each time for two extensions. No problems.
We are sailing up the West coast of Sumatra to check out at Sabang in the next few days.
I was boarded at gunpoint by 2 officials in Lagundri bay on Nias. They demanded a port clearance and valid visas. They left after 2 hours, but my Samsung phone went missing with them! Beware!
Keith from surf machine.
I am new to this group and want to say hi to everybody here.
My Name is Peto Alam, I lived in North Sulawesi (Gorontalo) Indonesia.
I joined this group based on many recommendations from yachts that visited our place in Gorontalo.
I would like to share any information regarding yachting around Indonesia, especially in the Northern Sulawesi Sea. Since there is not much information going around I think, I hope I can help anyone who needs it.
I have a YACHT INDONESIA GUIDE BOOK on my blog:
https://saronde.com/2017/10/07/yacht-indonesia-guide-book/
The information originally came from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism. But somehow this info can’t be found on the internet, so I try to rewrite it again on my blog, to be accessible for everyone.
Posted on behalf of Liz Datson – Update on beautiful Pulau Bawha (southern end of Anambas Islands)
The resort is now up and running.
Anchoring in the lagoon is prohibited. You must use a mooring buoy, for which there is a fee. $5 US per foot per night.
This mooring fee entitles you to access the resort, the restaurant’s bars etc.
The resort was most welcoming, but it’s a costly mooring. The meals etc. were excellent and on a par with Australian prices. (Cost in IDR.)
We were invited to join the house guests at dinner or we could opt for a private table. We didn’t try the alcohol, but tea, coffee, water and soft drinks appeared to be free as part of mooring fee.
They can take credit cards – “as long as the wind is blowing the right way” – apparently a temperamental signal.
No wifi available in public areas, it is restricted to individual accommodation.
There is security 24/7 at the end of the jetty, who apparently monitor ch 16. Security arrived within minutes of us taking up the mooring buoy, to indicate it was ok but there was a fee. They disappeared and came back with a chap from the resort who came on board with paperwork (boat details) and to tell us what the fee was and that we were welcome to come ashore to the bars and restaurants.
Next day we were pointed in the right direction to the walking tracks which take you through to the North end of the island and eventually we found our way through to the cliff above the lagoon to take the obligatory stunning photo!
Oh, and thanks again to the Howarths and Sue’s for their anchorage information around the Anambas – invaluable resources for a very beautiful destination.
Liz
K’Gari
Wow that is expensive we stayed there for 2 weeks at no charge a few years ago before the place was finished. Sounds like they don’t want yachts spoiling the view !
Posted on behalf of Catamaran JAVA:
A few new experiences in Indonesia I’d like to pass on:
1) Visa Extensions/Renewals
Kupang Immigration, not good for Visa renewals. They are OK for checking into the country, but if you just want to do your monthly Social Visa renewal, this is not the place since they require you to use a LOCAL Agent. We had used Ruth in Bali (info@islemarine.com) to get our Social Visa while in Davao, Philippines. She’s a very reasonably-priced, popular Agent. Kupang would not accept her, so we asked around and found Isak who was supposedly the most honest local Agent. He charged us 1 million Rp each and took care of it, but this is 10 times what Ruth charges.
Also could not get a receipt from Immigration, I think because Isak gave some money to the “Boss” behind closed doors. I never saw him give any money over the Immigration counter. This duplicity is reported to be a problem in Lombok also.
In Labuan Bajo, it only took 5 days for Visa Extensions with no “funny business”.
Denpasar (Bali) takes 10 days for the same process and you have to make three trips to their office, which will cost you in Taxi fares the same amount as two Visa Extensions.
2) Visiting the orangutans from Kumai, Kalimantan.
This was a great experience, but we didn’t want to take a two-decker Klotok up the river in the Park for 2-3 days, even though it’s touted to be like an “African Queen” experience. This is far from the truth since the jungle is not that dense and there are probably 40-50 Klotoks on the river at any time.
So we opted to do a one day trip up and back in a speedboat which worked out for the best as the river was blocked to the last destination, Leakey Camp, by a “floating island” of vegetation (which happens quite often) and we had to turn around. The 30+ Klotoks we passed just kept on chugging upriver to the blockage, thus making their own blockade!
We rented our boat with driver from Adi (0822 4222 1430) who will most likely visit your vessel offering his services. Very nice guy was a good guide, good English and we just had to provide our own lunch.
Hope this helps some of my fellow Indonesian cruisers.
Evan del Faro, Catamaran JAVA – August 2017
Doom Island, Sorong, Papua.
A heads up on buying fuel from locals on Doom Island, insist up front that they purchase fuel from the Pertamina Dock just across the water in Sorong, recent deliveries to yachts have come from ships in the harbour, the fuel from these vessels can only be described as crude oil at best, a sample jar I saw yesterday was black sludge.
The current subsidised price at the Pertamina (08/09/17)is 5100rps a litre, expect a 60% mark up for delivery.
Gas bottles are obtainable but you will need a DIY decanting mechanism to transfer if you have US-style valves.
Seathan
svRehua
The Indonesian Online Yacht Electronic Registration System is still not working properly. It has taken me half a day to finally submit our Yacht application via Mozilla Firefox. On both Microsoft Edge and Chrome, it just sat there after the Register button was clicked, but never registered.
It seems that when the form is in one long page it does not work. When there is an arrow to the next page at the bottom of the page and it actually moves to the next page it seems to work. Going back in the form to enter data on a previous page could also possibly throw it off.
Good luck! Hopefully, they get around to fixing this.
Reported by Matt TenEick of SV Perry – 8 July 2017:
Just a quick note to alert folks of an issue with the Indonesian Online Yacht Electronic Registration System that’s been frustrating to us and a number of others we’ve talked to. Some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer will not work with the system and will not allow you to create an entry for your vessel.
After filling in all the info and pressing the “save” button the system just sits there. It never reports an error, but your info will not be saved and you will not see the data the next time you log in. The solution to this is to use Google Chrome (perhaps some browsers will work too). After switching browsers, everything worked smoothly.
Also, with regard to some of the comments about the need for a sponsor letter to obtain a 6-month social visa, we emailed the Indonesian consulate in Vanimo PNG and were told in no uncertain terms that we still needed a sponsor letter for them to issue a social visa. This may be contrary to the actual law, but it seems to still be the process they are using at that particular consulate.
Reply from Rachel Robertson.
Interesting to see the post by Amulet, I was only there last week. I was asked to show the Sponsor letter, which I always have, and the form does say red background.
Guess though, she was lucky on the day, as we all know, the rules in Indo can change daily, and depending on who you deal with.
Always an adventure! Love it. ?
Rachel Robertson
Seaspray Marine Services
Langkawi
Feedback from Rachel Robertson regarding Social Visa at Penang Consulate is out of date. Info from SV Asylum is spot on. We got visas in both May 2016 and May 2017 and no sponsor needed. Leave that space blank on the application. As we gave our yacht as an address in Indonesia, we included a copy of boat documentation with the application as well as a copy of the bank account.
Passport photos did not need red background. Dress appropriately as my husband wore surfer shorts (below knee) but a guard gave him a sarong to wear. I wore 3/4 pants. No comment about our flipflops. Price RM205 each, up from 2016, and painless process.
Free VOAs are not extendable unless you have applied and paid for a 30-day visa.
Nancy Paterson
SV Amulet
Feedback from Rachel Robertson:
Indonesia really has done away with the Cruising Permits!
We have been there in 2016 and cleared in and out of Sabang, Pulau We. An easy process, all the officials in a small area, and easy walking distance. They are so welcoming of the yachts and even will throw the captain on the back of a motorbike and ride them around to help with the clearances.
This year we plan to check in at Sibolga, I will let you know if it is as painless.
A sponsor letter will still need to be attained if you want to get a Social Visa (a visa that gives you 60 days on arrival and is renewable every month). This visa must be attained before you arrive in Indonesia. In Malaysia, we use PENANG consulate, it takes 24 hours.
You need to take your sponsor letter, Sponsor KTP card image, Passport photos (with a RED background) and travel details to the consulate. The fee at the moment is around $50USD per person at the consulate. Sponsor letters can be attained from an agent, or Rally organizer, or any Indonesian Citizen willing to take responsibility for you while you are there.
There is still also the option of a VOA (visa on arrival) which is for 1 month, but it is extendable only once, so a total of 2 months. Then you must leave Indonesia.
Regarding the new visa regulations, we just applied for the 2-month social visa (extendable after in monthly increments up to 6 months) in Penang at the Indonesian Consulate. The process was totally painless, and the staff were very helpful. We went on a Wednesday morning just after 0900, and the place was not busy at all.
We were given applications to fill out, and a number in the queue. We were seen within 15 minutes, paid our RM205 each, and were told to return the following day after 1400. We returned at 1530 on Thursday, and immediately collected our passports.
Requirements were:
Passport
Copy of Passport Photo page
Passport-size photo
Copy of bank account showing funds to be able to leave Indonesia (we stated that we were travelling on our boat, and they did not require an onward flight ticket).
The application provided was in Bahasa and English. The counter clerk was helpful if we had questions about the form.
Kudos to the staff at the Consulate for a smooth process.
Jim & Katie
s/v Asylum
Posted on behalf of EMcE on 29th October 2016
Here I would like to publish my experience in Indonesia. We obtained our 60-day visas in Davao (Philippines )) and planned a cruise south to Australia. When our little boy suffered seasickness we decided to check in at Bitung.
The Immigration officials we dealt with were the most obliging, friendly, welcoming officials I have ever experienced throughout the parts of the world I have been to. Full marks Indonesia. You have a beautiful country, largely unspoiled and friendly welcoming people. My sadness is my need to leave before seeing more.
Don’t know if Australian LPG bottles are the same. Newer American LPG bottles have a safety press fitting inside the tank fill. We hired someone to gravity fill our bottle 9 kg, and it would only fill 6kg with old fitting on his hose.
In Tanjung Pandan on Belitung, you can have US-style LPG tanks filled.
Contact Harun at +62 8117178895 or harun.cahyadi@gmail.com. Harun is a very interesting and nice man and will be happy to help you with sourcing parts or any other assistance.
If you are anchored at Kelayang on the NW corner of the island, Efan who runs a restaurant and yacht services on the beach at the foot of the pier (Phone +62 81278344854 or +62 81977781455) can arrange transport for your LPG tanks to Tanjung Pandan which is about a 35-minute drive. Efan also rents cars and motorbikes and can get a diesel.
I believe the tank fittings for US tanks are the same as Australian. But I haven’t filled my tanks in Australia so I can’t say for sure. I know I could fill my US tanks in NZ.
Bruce
s/v Migration
We are going to join the Sail2Indonesia Rally this year and have heard about some problems with getting LPG bottles filled as the Indonesians do not have the same fittings as we do in Australia. If anyone can offer me advice, send me a pic of said fitting or supply me with the specifications of said fitting I have someone who can make an adapter for me
Opportunity to help in Komodo.
Komodo is a beautiful island to visit — uncrowded, fine snorkelling, and of course the awesome Komodo dragons in the national park. There is also a village near the park, and the delightful people there could use your help if you have some electrical expertise.
They have a small solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination system that was built for them a few years ago, so they wouldn’t have to walk 7 kilometres to get fresh water.
But the system no longer works, and the folks who built it are nowhere to be found. When the system is turned on, its circuit breakers immediately trip off. If you are bound for this area and think you can help, contact me for more details — zholland43@gmail.com.
Transiting through Indonesia – stopping to refuel.
Posted on behalf of Robert Geier / SY China Dolphin
While in transit from Darwin to Malaysia I needed to refuel but did not have a visa or CAIT for Indonesia, so was not sure what kind of reception I would get when I stopped in Bali looking for a diesel.
There is was an Indonesian Marine Police boat stationed in Benoa Harbour, and after explaining my problem to them they were extremely helpful in letting me tie up alongside, calling their fuel supplier who turned up with a barge about an hour later and charged a very low rate for diesel, and drove me to an ATM to get cash for payment.
I am not sure if all cruisers will get this kind of help when stopping in Bali to refuel without visa or CAIT, or if I just got lucky, but worth trying if anyone else is in a similar situation.
Hi Daniel, Jimmy does talk about routes to and from Indonesia in chapter 18 of WCR. His “World Cruising Destinations” goes into more detail about the cruising season there. In a nutshell; yachts usually cruise the islands from east to west and if this is planned to coincide with the SE monsoon (May to September) this will benefit from favourable winds.
Yachts arriving from the north should encounter more favourable winds during the NW monsoon (December to April), but this is not necessarily the ideal time as the weather is rainy and squally (plus is the cyclone season in the Timor and Arafura Seas). Jimmy recommends planning a voyage for the transitional period – head south during the spring (March to April) and north in the autumn (September to October).
Suggest you also read the cruiser reports adjacent as this will give you a good idea of timings.
You might also want to post your question on the weather and routing forum – link to it from top left of noonsite below the Pantaenius logo.
Finally – try taking a look at various cruiser blogs – there are heaps listed on the cruisers websites page (under the general tab above) – go to the SE Asia section and check them out.
Hello guys!
Does anyone know where to find information about when to sail in Indonesia? Is it ok to leave the Pacific late November (just before the cyclone season kicks in) and straight up to Indonesia towards Thailand? I have the “BIBLE” (world cruising routes) onboard but I fond no information about this area!
//Daniel
Posted on behalf of SY Yindee Plus:
We arranged our CAIT for Indonesia with Lytha in Jakarta (“PT. Kartasa Jaya”: email cait@indo.net.id). It was superbly efficient and we received the documents by email within the 30 days she stated. The original CAIT was posted to us by courier and should have arrived ‘next day’ but took two, so pretty good.
Posted on behalf of Rebecca Childress:
Update on our experience using our Indonesia Social Visa (Visit Visa) from Timor Leste
We were surprisingly stamped in for 60 days when we checked in to Kupang, even though our visa said 30 days on entry, and then renewable up to 6 months. Unfortunately, when we went to renew the visa after 45 days, we were told that it was our fault that we were 15 days overdue, and there would be quite a large fine (almost $1000 USD!).
We were able to negotiate out of this fee, but by the time this was complete, we only had 3 days left on the 60 days. Not enough time to renew the visa again in Lombok, so we were forced to check out and leave Indonesia.
SO if you see 30 days printed on the visa, renew it 7 days before the 30 days is up to avoid any problems …even if the stamp says 60 days! Does any of this make sense? Of course not, but such is Indonesia paperwork.
Rebecca
Posted on behalf of SV Villa G:
I would like to report on a very fine area for cruising in eastern Indonesia. It is Triton Bay and the surrounding areas south of Kaimana Western Papua, Indonesia. Very few yachts have been noted in this area, but it has beautiful waters for diving, friendly people and virtually no tourism at this time. A few liveaboard dive boats come through, but little else.
This is a great place for people travelling between Raja Ampat and Australia. We spent 3 months in the Raja Ampat area and two months in the Triton Bay area. Both to be recommended.
For immigration and customs in the Triton Bay area, the closest port is Tual. Both agencies are very helpful. The nearest town to Triton Bay is Kaimana. It has the basics including food and fuel and flights to other areas of Indonesia.
We have prepared a section on our website. The relevant page can be found here: http://www.villa-g.com/22-crusing-notes/322-triton-bay-kaimana-tual.
Sabtu 7 February 2015.
Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) – Indonesia plans to ease the processes involved in the issuance of entry permits for foreign-owned yachts, to boost the yachting tourism sector. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said here on Saturday, “It is hoped that it will, soon, take only two hours to issue a permit.” He made the statement here while visiting Nongsa Point Marina in Batam, Riau Islands province, in Sumatra.
The government will adopt an online system of issuing permits known as the Clearance Approval for Indonesian Territory (CAIT Online), he stated, adding that it also plans to extend the stay permit for yachters from three months to six months.
Andy Scott
Cruising Guide Indonesia
We have to build a small Marina for motor boats and catamarans in Jepara near Semarang. Long term storage in Marina or on the day is available. 24-hour security, very good short and long term rental rates. For information please email to info@ crestridermarine.com
Coming into Indonesia from the southeast (Darwin) needs to be completed by the end of November. The Arufura sea between Darwin and Timor can be nasty as the cyclone season approaches. Once north of Timor, Flores etc the northwesterly winds will make the sailing a bit rough between late November until April, but at least safe from cyclones.
As you get north of the equator the winds become more favourable for heading on to Thailand as the northeast monsoon winds will be coming across the Malay peninsula.
Hi!
I am wondering about the seasons in Indonesia! Is it possible to sail in Indonesia during the cyclone season in South Pacific? Possible to sail directly from Fiji to Indonesia and continue up north towards Thailand during the cyclone season?
Pork and beef can be found everywhere in Indonesia, maybe not in deep country villages… Beef in Bali (Hindu) is either local or imported from Australia. Pork is generally available in super-market and conditioned in plastics bags to avoid contact by Muslim people.
Bali marina is a mess. I left in Bali for 5 years and I have seen this “marina” getting worst and worst by every month.
Don’t bother attempting to get anything freighted to Jayapura from overseas. Waste of money & time. I ordered a new anchor winch motor from Defender US and paid for priority international FEDEX to be delivered to the main post office here. Cost $170 then when it had not arrived found that FedEx agent in Jakarta had not informed me of the Customs charges. I paid these ($140) and sent a copy of receipt by email.
It took 3 days and numerous phone calls to so called customer service to get them to acknowledge receipt of payment. They promised package would be in JP the following day but no. The package is now in Sulawesi office but this morning told that it would take maybe one week to get here in JP. Now they say I have to pay MORE money to get it here and not sure when!!! Customer service refuses to put me through to management and manager does not answer multiple emails. The manager is “sick, at lunch, not here yet” and will call back but never does.
I have called Defender in the US but they say it is FedEx problem. I have emailed Fedex but no reply. DO NOT USE FEDEX FOR PACKAGES TO WEST PAPUA. Jayapura would rank as one of the worst places to be stuck in Indo – heavy traffic, smog and overpowering police & military presence.
“Gifts” or Bribes
We have now cruised in Indonesia twice for 3 months on each occasion and have never been asked for a gift or a bribe by any official or anyone.
We have offered money where a service has been carried out for us and have probably paid a bit too much for fuel where it has been brought and carried for us, hardly a bribe. We have given goods to locals where they were obviously poor such as an old dive mask and even a very old pair of binoculars on one occasion but equally, we have been given fish and coconuts with no expectation of payment.
It is not a bad idea to have some sweets handy for the kids and if you are feeling generous beer and cigarettes are what most of the fisherman want although I usually point out that they are Muslim …and they look a bit sheepish! We carry a variety of goods as giveaways, including fishing line and hooks, toothbrushes and soap, condensed milk, coffee in sachets, various canned goods etc and these are well received. We do however usually try to make it a “trade” even if the trade is only that we are allowed to take their photograph…which in any case they like.
However we have never been asked for any sort of financial inducement but have been entertained to dinners and even on two occasions were asked to family events…one a wedding breakfast and one a circumcision celebration! The more remote the venue the greater the welcome and you will be continually asked if you mind having your photo taken. The welcome can be a bit too much sometimes but most Indonesians can take a hint that it is time for you to sleep, eat or, we are told an effective excuse, is that it is time to pray.
Chris
SY Gryphon 2