Derawan Islands: Seas, Sunrise, and Turtles
8:30 PM
Regardless of the long hours it took to reach Derawan, Derawan did not disappoint me at all. Derawan is gorgeous, and for divers, it is a must-go destination. Note that the best time to visit Derawan is between May until early August, other than that, the weather becomes unpredictable and not nice. As an added bonus, if you were single, maybe you can find your sweetheart here. Derawan does have its magic, and it really happened to me :P
Derawan Islands are located in East Kalimantan. They are comprised of numerous smaller islands, amongst them are Kakaban, Sangalaki, Maratua, and Gusung. Most local tours will take you to all of those islands, it is a common itinerary when travelling to Derawan. These islands are really small and you can easily circle each of them on foot; all you could see was sea, it really felt like getting stranded on a remote island in the middle of nowhere!
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| Maratua Island |
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| Gusung Island- must see! |
If you had lots of time to choose where to go and enjoyed bargaining prices with boatmen, it would be fun to arrange the travel by yourself. However, if you had no time nor patience to do such things, don’t be shy to book a tour! For instance, I picked this local tour, www.derawantours.com, and their contact person named Jeme is very helpful. He takes his job seriously, do not hesitate to contact him if you ever felt uncomfortable with something in the middle of the tour. As for the price, it was so-so, other tours had similar prices. I decided to go with this tour because they are one of the pioneers of tours in Derawan. He knows what he is doing!
How To Reach Derawan
My trip started with a plane ride with Lion Air (yes, that gossip-worthy Lion Air, but it was the most economical choice and you get what you pay) from Soekarno Hatta Int. Airport, Jakarta to Sepinggan Int. Airport, Balikpapan. After that, I rode on a smaller plane to Kalimarau Airport, Berau. The journey continued to Berau’s Harbour by car through an up and down road (literally) for almost two and a half hours. Then, rode on a boat for half an hour to Derawan. In my journey, during this boat ride, I was not really lucky. In the middle of the sea, a storm came! I didn’t know how but Thank God we survived.
This “perilous” journey must be done if you wanted to go to Derawan, as there are no straight flights. Sepinggan Int. Airport in Balikpapan is the nearest airport, then you can continue your journey either though Berau (like I did) or Tarakan. If you were a seasick person, it is better to choose Berau because although going through Tarakan eliminates the bumpy car ride, it requires two extra hours of boat ride. I don’t get seasick easily, but my companions were, so there’s that to think about. Plus, more boat ride equals to more chances of passing through a storm. Here’s a diagram further illustrate the difference between going through Berau or Tarakan.
Through Berau:
Through Tarakan:
- Jakarta > Balikpapan (plane)
- Balikpapan > Berau (small plane)
- Berau Airport > Berau Harbour (bumpy car ride, two and a half hours)
- Berau Harbour > Derawan (boat ride, 30 minutes)
Through Tarakan:
- Jakarta > Balikpapan (plane)
- Balikpapan > Tarakan (small plane)
- Tarakan Airport > Tarakan Harbour (car ride, 30 minutes)
- Tarakan Harbour > Derawan (boat rie,
The trip from Jakarta to Derawan will certainly take almost one day. When you reach Derawan, it is likely that you will be too tired to do any activities. But when you see the beach, you would not be able to resist taking a walk around the island and feeling the sea breeze!
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| Seriously, who can resist this view? |
Accommodation
There are a lot of motels/ inns in Derawan. I can not say it is a hotel because almost all of them are just a room with a double bed and a small bathroom, but the definite plus point is most of them are build on the sea! It is very interesting and I enjoy it a lot. At night, you can just sit on the deck, look up to the sky, and see the most amazing painting in the sky: the stars (you can probably tell that I’m a city girl, a sky full of stars makes me go “wwooooooahhhh!”). As for food, there are not many choices and there are no fancy stuffs, most of them are local seafood restaurants serving grilled fish and prawns.
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| Mirroliz Cottage |
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| Mirroliz Cottage's facade |
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| Bedroom at Mirroliz |
Things to Do and See
One of Derawan’s most famous spots is Kakaban Island, an atoll island with an ecosystem unique only to Kakaban and Palau Island in Micronesia, Pacific Ocean. True to its name, there is a lake in the middle of the island, it is inhabited by a species of stingless jellyfish. Stingless means… you can touch them! Most tours will take you to the lake before the sea, as seawater disturbs the lake’s ecosystem and hurts the jellyfishes’ habitat. Please also note that it is better not to put on any sunscreen (SPF) when swimming in the lake. To reach the lake from the boat dock, you have to walk up and down a lot of stairs, be careful and watch your steps because the stairs are made of wood and most of them have become fragile.
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| Kakaban Island's Harbour |
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| Kakaban Island |
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| Kakaban Lake |
Derawan is also famous with their green turtle conservation. On my first night there, I went to see turtles laying their eggs. However, you must note that the possibility of seeing that process is somewhat by chance, it depends on the month and various factors (too much noise or light at the beach will cause the turtle to swim back to the sea). I also went to Sangalaki Island, where there is a baby turtle conservation. So, after the turtles lay their eggs, people at the conservation will keep and protect those eggs until they hatch, then the baby turtles will be released back to the sea.
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| Turtle mama laying her eggs! |
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| Baby turtles |
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| Isn't she cute? |
Last but not least, I went snorkelling around Kakaban Island, I think it is the most beautiful snorkelling site in Derawan. There is also spot for seeing manta ray fish (wasn’t lucky enough to see one). If you had time, try to explore Maratua Island, there is a small cave pond of fresh water with cave tunnel inside which is interesting, but you need a guide to reach here. Lodgings at Maratua Island are generally more resort-like compared to ones at Derawan Island.
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| Maratua Island |
Final words: Derawan was really an incredible journey and hey, single ladies and gentlemen might find someone here! Don’t forget to hunt sunrise and sunset! :D
M.
M.
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