Karimun
Table of Contents: Travel to Karimun, visa requirements / Visa / From Singapore / From Malaysia / From the other Riau Islands / From the Sumatra mainland / From other parts of Indonesia / Get around By mikrolet By bicycle / Karimun attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Shopping, Karimun souvenirs / Good restaurants and cheap meals / Karimun nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Hotels, youth hostels, lodging / Get out / Contact / Telephone numbers / Postal services More from Riau Islands: Batam, Bintan, Karimun, Kundur More from Sumatra: Aceh, Kerinci Seblat National Park, North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, South Sumatra More from Indonesia: Bali, Java, Kalimantan, Komodo National Park, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara, South East Sulawesi, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Western New Guinea More from Southeast Asia: Borneo, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, One month of Southeast Asian diving and culture, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Singapore, Spratly Islands, Thailand, Vietnam More from Asia: Caucasus, Central Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Southeast Asia |
Karimun [1] is a small island in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. It is also the name of a group of islands and regency (kabupaten) to which it belongs.
Karimun is located just off the east coast of Sumatra, guarding the southern entrance of the busy Straits of Malacca. It lies west of Batam and to the southwest of Singapore and is the furthest west of the Riau Islands.
Its proximity to Singapore has made the islands quite affluent and busy. Its main town, Tanjung Balai is a bustling port town with a lot of commerce, boosted by tourists from Singapore and Malaysia. There is unfortunately a downside to the bordertown boom. Like Batam and Bintan, Karimun is a favourite haunt for males from Singapore and Malaysia looking for cheap sex, often with underaged girls.
Travel to Karimun, visa requirements
Visa
For details on visa requirements for visiting Karimun, please see the Indonesia page. Karimun's Tanjung Balai port is designated as a visa-free and visa-on-arrival entry point.
Karimun does not have an operational airport, so travellers' only option is to get in by boat. Karimun has good ferry connections with Singapore and Kukup in the southwestern tip of Johor, Malaysia as well as the other Riau Islands and the Sumatra "mainland".
From Singapore
Penguin (Tel: +62-777-324300 in Tanjung Balai; +65-62714866 in HarbourFront) and Indofalcon (Tel: +65-62783167 in Harbourfront) ferry companies operate ferries between Tanjung Balai and Singapore's HarbourFront Centre. Between them, they run four trips on weekdays (From HarbourFront: 0750, 1120, 1420 and 1825. From Tanjung Balai: 0715, 1015, 1400 and 1700), increasing to six trips on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (From HarbourFront: 0750, 0950, 1225, 1420, 1625 and 1825. From Tanjung Balai: 0715, 0945, 1130, 1315, 1530 and 1700). From Singapore, tickets cost S$43 return before Indonesian port taxes or Rp110,000 one-way before port taxes from Tanjung Balai. Journey time is about one and a half hours.
Please note that the two companies' code-sharing agreement allows you to board any ferry at Tanjung Balai for the return leg to Singapore only if you hold a return ticket that was purchased in Singapore. If you buy your ticket in Tanjung Balai, you can only board the ferry of the company from which you buy the ticket.
From Malaysia
Several companies operate frequent ferries between Tanjung Balai and Kukup in the southwestern part of Johor.
- Fast Ferry Ventures (Tel: +60-7-6960988 in Kukup) depart 'Kukup at 0830, 1000 and 1530 daily except Friday when there is no 1000 departure. From Tanjung Balai, ferries depart at 1145, 1330 and 1630 except for Fridays when there is no 1145 departure. Tickets cost RM50/70 one-way/return (excluding RM10 port tax/boarding fee). Journey time is about one hour.
- MV Ocean Indoma ferries leave Kukup at 1145 and 1700. From Tanjung Balai, ferries leave at 0930 and 1430.
- New ferry service which links the Tanjung Balai and Batu Pahat,the biggest town in Johor State after Johor Bahru,will be established soon.This service is operated by ESNERGY ENTERPRISE SDN. BHD. ( http://WWW.BPFT.NET)
From the other Riau Islands
Numerous companies offer ferry services to/from Bintan, Batam and the other Riau Islands.
- From Batam: Regular ferries link Tanjung Balai with Sekupang domestic ferry terminal on Batam. Many of these ferries originate from or are heading to the Sumatra mainland or Kundur Island. Tickets cost Rp. 60.000 one-way (excluding Rp. 1.000 port tax & Rp. 1.000 insurance)
- From Bintan: Ferry company Arena operate regular ferries between Tanjung Balai and Tanjung Pinang, the main town on Bintan. The ferries also stop at Sekupang on Batam enroute.
- From Kundur Island: The Miko Natalia 3 links Tanjung Balai with Tanjung Batu, the main town on Kundur Island several times daily. Tickets cost Rp. 46,000 one-way before port taxes. Journey time is over one hour, longer if stops are made at islands along the way. The ferry continues its journey to Sekupang on Batam.
From the Sumatra mainland
Regular ferries link Sumatra port cities like Dumai, Pekanbaru, Selat Panjang (all in Riau province), and Kuaka Tungkal in Jambi with Tanjung Balai. Most of these ferries continue to Tanjung Pinang, the main town in Bintan, stopping at Sekupang on Batam enroute.
From other parts of Indonesia
A Pelni boat KM Kelud leaves Tanjung Balai every Wednesday at 8am for Jakarta, taking 31 hours. The same boat leaves Tanjung Balai every Saturday at 7pm for Belawan, the port for Medan, taking 17 hours.
Get around
By mikrolet
The cheapest way to travel in Karimun is by mikrolet. These small minibuses running a fairly standard route and picking up and dropping off passengers anywhere along the way. You can get almost anywhere in Tanjung Balai for Rp. 2.000. Expect Rp. 2.500 if you travel from Tanjung Balai to Meral.
By bicycle
This would be one of the ideal way to explore Karimun. However, yet to find one bicycle renter in the town. However, most of the ferry companies will take your bicycle for a SG$5 fee, so if you are coming from Singapore, just bring one over.
Karimun attractions and sightseeing
- Baitul Karim Mosque, Tanjung Balai.
- Vihara Cetiya Vidya Sagara 朱王庙, Jalan Jenderal A. Yani, Meral. This chinese temple was built in 1926.
- Vihara Sasana Diepa 妈祖宫, Jalan Jenderal A. Yani, Meral.
- Pantai Palawan, a beautiful beach. There is a nice small restaurant under the palm trees, overlooking the sea. On Sundays and holidays, it is a popular destination for the locals.
City tours
Stroll around Tanjung Balai, which is the main town of Karimun Island, and it is one of the busiest town among the Riau Islands. You can walk around and explore this town on your own or you can take the mikrolet for Rp. 2.000.
To enjoy the rural lifestyle on a tropical Indonesian island, you need to get away from the main town of Tanjung Balai and go to some local kampung areas in Meral or Pasir Panjang.
Chinese temple visit to Vihara Cetiya Vidya Sagara and Vihara Sasana Diepa in Meral. Take your time to look at the temple drawing such as "General Xue and Lady Fan" and "Lady Warriors of the Yang Family".
Tanjung Balai is good for visiting during all Season.....
Visit "Air Terjun" (waterfall in Indonesian) which is not far away from Pantai Palawan. You can bath in the man-made pools built to capture the water flowing from the mountain. It's definitely refreshing to bath there.
Shopping, Karimun souvenirs
Karimun's main department store is Indo A. Yani Swalayan & Dept. Store in Tanjung Balai town. Swalayan means supermarket in Bahasa Indonesia. This 3 storey department store offers foods, clothing, housewares, stationary and basic necessity.
You can obtain 250g Karimun Utama coffee (Kopi Karimun Utama) for Rp. 7.150, local produced deep fried fish crackers (Bona Kerupuk Atom 50) costs Rp. 7.000 per packet.
Good restaurants and cheap meals
Bakso, meatball soup is just as popular as nasi goreng. It is sold from street side stalls, or push carts that make their rounds through the neighborhoods. Bakso is sold from late afternoon and throughout the night.
Several chinese restaurants can be found along Jalan Trikora Laut (opposite Holiday Karimun Hotel). This is probably the centralise area for Teochew-style Bak Kut Teh. Noodles are also available.
The long stretch of open-air food and drink vendors that convenes outside the ferry terminal after 5pm is a great place to try out authentic, cheap Indonesian food.
Karimun nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.
Try Lasegar, an Indonesian refreshing soft drink for Rp. 3.500 per can. One can of Carlsberg beer costs Rp. 5.500. Try Sosro, an Indonesian refreshing tea.
Hotels, youth hostels, lodging
- Gabion Hotel: Jalan Nusantara No. 45, Tanjung Balai. Close to the ferry terminal but hotel offers complimentary terminal pickup and drop off. Tel: +62-777-326222, 326250, 31874. Prices from S$22 or Rp. 120,000 inclusive of breakfast.
- Paragon Hotel: Jalan Trikora No. 38D, Tanjung Balai (about 200m from the ferry terminal in the heart of Tanjung Balai, straddling one block between Jalan Trikora and Jalan Nusantara). Tel: +62-777-31488. Said to be the best hotel in Tanjung Balai. Between S$25 and S$40.
- Padi Mas Hotel: Jalan Pertambangan, Tanjung Balai (About 1-2Km from the ferry terminal).
- Holiday Karimun Hotel: Jalan Trikora Laut No. 1 Tanjung Balai (very near to the ferry terminal). Tel: +62-777-21065. Between Rp. 120.000 and Rp. 140.000.
- Hotel Maximillian: A new hotel opened, it is 7 storeys high, offers a karaoke lounge and much more.
Get out
Tanjung Balai is a major jumping-off point for visitors planning to travel to Sumatra or Java.
Contact
Telephone numbers
The country code for Indonesia is 62. The area code for Tanjung Balai is 777.
Postal services
Post office (known as kantor pos in Bahasa Indonesia) in Tanjung Balai is open daily except Sundays and public holidays. Sending a postcard costs Rp. 5.000.
More from Riau Islands: Batam, Bintan, Karimun, Kundur More from Sumatra: Aceh, Kerinci Seblat National Park, North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, South Sumatra More from Indonesia: Bali, Java, Kalimantan, Komodo National Park, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara, South East Sulawesi, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Western New Guinea More from Southeast Asia: Borneo, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, One month of Southeast Asian diving and culture, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Singapore, Spratly Islands, Thailand, Vietnam More from Asia: Caucasus, Central Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Southeast Asia |
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