BootsnAll Travel Community

do i have enough time to get to the banda islands and back on a 30 day visa? should i just try to head there first from bali? suggestions? easiet way to get there?

(may 11-june 8)

There are daily flights from Bali to Ambon via either Sulawesi or Kalimantan. You leave at 9am and arrive in Ambon at around 3.30pm. From Ambon you have to catch the once a week flight to the Banda's. If you time it right it's totally possible.

Don't know what you're looking for but the Banda's are beautiful, quiet and unique (old Dutch architecture, great diving etc.)

Bali itself has a lot to offer, which would be most accessible. The islands to the east (Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores etc. are also quiet and beautiful and easy to get to, either by bus / boat, or plane (Bali - Lombok is a 30 minute flight).

Lion Air and Mandala fly from Bali to Ambon.

were looking to do some diving there...
do u know what day of the week the flight to the bandas is? is there a way to book it before we get there?

Flight to BANDA NAIRA ISLAND is only by MERPATI AIRLINES once a week EVERY MONDAY.
AMBON-BANDA at 07.00 am.

Merpati Flight Ambon-Banda on Mondays?
I just had a look at their less than user-friendly website (if you move your mouse over the online booking bit it disappears so you can't actually book anything) I can't see any Ambon-Banda route in the schedule. I bet that flight is always fully booked even if it does still exist!
http://www.merpati.co.id/index1.htm
What about Pelni? I checked the timetable link in another post I saw on this forum but they don't actually have any schedules after December 2006 on there either. Perhaps Pelni only give times and dates once the ferries have DONE the trip without sinking? Argggh!!! Has anyone got any decent up to date info?

BTW I'm new here, not going till October but I found getting to the Togeans during Ramadan last year quite logistically challenging as well .... thought I'd better do a bit more research in advance this time! Can anyone suggest the most cost/time effective way of getting to the Bandas from Bangkok which is where I'll be leaving from? Thanks in advance!

Here's an email I just got from a friend who owned a diving operation close to there.

'Last I heard its still the Monday 7 am flight once a week from Ambon to Banda. Cost..................120,000 rp. This is not a typo- it is the real price. 18 seats on a little Merpati plane. Book the flight with the Merpati office in Ambon. Maximum weight officially is 10 kg per person. The other option is the Pelni boat which leaves every Saturday from Ambon to Banda ( 6 hours- 1st class ticket costs 180,000 rp) Its worth it!!!!!!'

Excellent, thanks so much for the info! Saw there were more bomb explosions in Ambon recently Reuters
so will need to keep an eye on that too maybe. Someone told me there was a Pelni ferry from Makassar in Sulawesi too ...takes three days I think but as yet I have no details at all about the schedule for that. Anyway, thanks again for taking the trouble to post that email from your friend.

Oy, no matter what you do, do NOT overestimate your endurance for Pelni boats. I think 8 hours would be my limit for ekonomi class - would probably jump off the boat well before three days passed.

Are Pelni boats as bad as 24 hours on the The Puspita which I took to get to the Togeans last year? No food, no drink, rudimentary sleeping arrangements, toilets a bit iffy and a lot of thick black smoke.... we were delayed about ten hours because the engine caught fire. But we didn't sink, which was good because there were no life jackets on board. However the megaphone system for prayers worked just fine ...it was Ramadan.

As mentioned on Baliblog before, ACE Hardware in Kuta sells American made lifejackets for around $20. Personally I'd buy one if planning extensive trips on Indonesian ferries.

quote:

Originally posted by wandering nomade:
Are Pelni boats as bad as 24 hours on the The Puspita which I took to get to the Togeans last year? No food, no drink, rudimentary sleeping arrangements, toilets a bit iffy and a lot of thick black smoke.... we were delayed about ten hours because the engine caught fire. But we didn't sink, which was good because there were no life jackets on board. However the megaphone system for prayers worked just fine ...it was Ramadan.

Yep--more or less. The ships are actually very good, so no black smoke, but otherwise...

Not recommended for the single female (like myself)!

<Not recommended for the single female (like myself)!>

Hmmm....why not? Physical discomfort? Or the usual problem of getting unwanted attention from randy young Indonesian men? They do get a tad annoying after a while but I've never really needed to be firm and give em a good kick in the groin yet!

quote:

Hmmm....why not? Physical discomfort? Or the usual problem of getting unwanted attention from randy young Indonesian men? They do get a tad annoying after a while but I've never really needed to be firm and give em a good kick in the groin yet!

Me neither, but the big throngs can be a bit annoying (and there was an implied sense of threat).

I wouldn't do Pelni solo again. You're made of sterner stuff!