Traveling to Indonesia

[MPinJP]

My spouse and I just booked a Liveaboard in Raja Ampat for the end of 2025. Does anyone have experience getting there from the US? Specifically from the East coast? All I know is we need to ultimately get to Sorong to catch the boat.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Myanna

 

[also_anon_dc]

Hello from DC! I have a trip there planned for December 2024. These are my travel plans:


- Turkish Airlines flight IAD>IST>CGK
- Transfer to domestic terminal, wait in domestic lounge for a few hours
- Garuda Airlines flight to Sorong around 1am

If your layover in CGK is long there are on-site hotels you could book while you wait for your domestic flight. There are tips here on Scubaboard to book your domestic airfare in Indonesia on your own. I used a dive travel agent (Bluewater Dive Travel).

 

[Hydo]

We made that trip early last year. As also_anon-dc says, you need to get to Jakarta (CGK). We used Quatar Airways. It's a long flight and we opted for a 10 hour layover in Doha (they have a hotel inside security at Doha airport). It's not too expensive and it's wonderful to shower and lay down for a sleep after the transatlantic flight. That way we didn't have to book a hotel at CGK. The flights from CGK to Sorong all leave around midnight and arrive early morning in Sorong, so a CGK hotel was less attractive to us.

We used Lion Air to get to Sorong, but Garuda also flies that route with very similar schedules. We stayed at the Vega hotel in Sorong for one night so that we had some wiggle room to make sure we wouldn't miss our liveaboard. The Vega was nice enough to allow early check-in (~10 am!) so we could crash. The food in the hotel wasn't gourmet, but was tasty and filling.

 

[MPinJP]

Thanks both for your quick replies. All good suggestions. I wasn’t sure whether to fly east or west. @Hydo, I assume there were no issues with Qatar Airways, or you would have said. So sounds like overall, you left three days ahead of your Liveaboard departure.

 

[Hydo]

Qatar is great. New aircraft and good food. And yes we left 3 days early. FYI the hotel in Doha we stayed at was the Oryx (the one next to the giant bear in the Doha terminal). They also have an Oryx Garden hotel (if I remember correctly).

 

[also_anon_dc]

I would be surprised if you can even fly west to Indo from Boston unless you intentionally want to have a stopover in LA or Seattle. All airlines from DC fly East.

I haven't flown Turkish to CGK before but went last year to Bali. There is a similar hotel in IST for long layovers called Yotel that I highly recommend. If business class is in your budget Turkish's business class will be much cheaper than other airlines and is quite comfortable.

 

[matts1w]

I make the trip from Jakarta to either Indianapolis or Fort Myers at least once a year. Honestly, it does not matter which way you go, east or west. I pick flights based on price and connections. Right now there are two options with the best prices and times:

1. You can go "west" from the East Coast of the US. United/American/ANA/Japan Airlines will take you over the Arctic to Tokyo and then on to Jakarta. Just watch that your connection in Tokoyo does not require an airport change.

2. Qatar Air will take you east to Doha and on to Jakarta.

I actually prefer the Tokoyo route as the NYC/Japan fight is only 12ish hours as compared to 15ish from Doha to NYC. For me, anything over 13 hours is super brutal. There are also very simple "sleeping rooms" in the Tokoyo airport that are CHEAP. They are nothing more than a single bed and a small shower, but only cost like $30 USD for five hours. Also, if you look hard enough, you can find great prices on premium economy seats for the long flights. That extra money for the bigger seats is worth every penny.

Qatar Air and the Doha airport are really nice, but I have to disagree about the ONYX airport hotel being affordable. I think last Xmas, we paid a bit over $300 USD for six hours. Ouch. Food and booze in Doha are crazy expensive, too. Qatar Air does not do premium economy, but every now and then they drop amazing prices on their business class. If you find one of those deals, go for it.

Another option:
A friend booked premium economy seats for this summer on Singapore Air for the Singapore to JFK endurance fest: 18+ hours!!! ...and the same price point as the options above. No way would I do that, but for some, it might be worth exploring.

I hope this helps.

 

[MPinJP]

Thank you!
I see there’s a direct flight from Boston to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific which is 15 hours, and similar direct to Tokyo on Japan Airlines. The shorter second flight to Jakarta is kind of appealing. Hoping to save enough for business class for the long haul leg.

 

[Joneill]

My spouse and I just booked a Liveaboard in Raja Ampat for the end of 2025. Does anyone have experience getting there from the US? Specifically from the East coast? All I know is we need to ultimately get to Sorong to catch the boat.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Myanna

I did it over Christmas 2022 and am going again next January. I did Singapore Airlines Newark- Singapore-Jakarta (an overnight in Singapore at the Crowne Plaza - $375 for a double, so $$$ but very nice). I did business and it was an awesome experience (but not cheap) so doing the same for next year.

From Jakarta, I did Garuda to Sorong (14 hr layover in Jakarta so got a room for the day at the Anara Airport hotel attached to Terminal 3 for ~$120). I’ve heard bad things about Lion Air reliability and they leave from a different terminal than you arrive in which is a hassle - I’d strongly suggest using Garuda to/from Sorong.

I got to Sorong 2 days early as a buffer for any potential flight/baggage issues and stayed at the Swissbel hotel (~$95 a night including free breakfast and airport puckup).

I’d also check out Emirates through Dubai to Jakarta, Qatar through Doha to Jakarta and Etihad through Abu Dhabi to Jakarta.

@scubaNYC16 also just told me about very good deals on business class with ANA through Tokyo to Jakarta - definitely worth checking out!

 

[rmorgan]

I recently booked business tickets to Singapore (Boston-Tokyo-Singapore) through American with JAL codeshare. The cost was approximately half of the Qatar codeshare, and slightly less time. We flew Qatar last fall and it was certainly good, but not twice as good.