Category: Travel

Best of Banyuwangi

The more we travel, the more I prefer the places I had never heard of before visiting. For example, our stay after Bali was this coastal town in east Java. Compared to the overtourism of Bali, Banyuwangi was fresh and inviting. We spent several nights berthed at Boom Marina and enjoyed the best of Banyuwangi.

About Banyuwangi

Banyuwangi is a town on the east coast of Java which serves as the gateway from Bali, with regular ferries traversing the channel. The ferry from Gilimanuk, Bali to Banyuwangi takes under an hour and runs frequently. The town has a population of over 120,000, small for Java, the most populous island in the world with the most populous city, Jakarta. While close to Bali, it took us a day and a half motoring on Go since we came from the southeast of the island and there was no wind in our favor.

boats, Boom Marina Banyuwangi
Go and other boats at Boom Marina
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One Night in Jakarta

The world’s biggest city, Jakarta, Indonesia is home to over 41 million people. When we had a layover there on both ends of our Vietnam trip from Lombok, we really wanted to explore. While we didn’t have much time, we did get to see a little and incite our desire to see more. Here’s how we spent our one night in Jakarta.

About Jakarta

We obviously would have liked a longer layover than one night in Jakarta, because there’s a lot to do.

Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital, and is located in the northwest of the island of Java, west of Bali. It was founded as a city in the 1600s and was occupied in turns by the Portuguese, Sudanese, the Dutch, British, and Japanese before Indonesian independence in 1945.

Jakarta is smaller than New York City, covering 664 square kilometers. But with so many people, it’s overwhelming, and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Trips from the airport to downtown, a distance of 20 kilometers, average 90 minutes, but can often take more than 2 hours due to traffic. They are working on mass transit, and there is a train from the airport that is an option.

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Impressions of Bali

Since we arrived in Indonesia in November, we’ve fallen in love with this country. From the friendly islands of eastern Indonesia we moved on to the center. In between visa runs, we visited Bali a few times, staying on land and on our boat. Although our short stays are not enough to provide a definitive guide to the island, we developed impressions of Bali.

About Bali

Bali is one of the world’s most renowned vacation spots and has been called “Heaven on Earth.” We respectfully disagree. We found this paradise spoiled by overcrowding, traffic, and pollution. When we were there, it wasn’t even busy with tourists, as tourism has been down lately.

Much like Moorea versus Tahiti in French Polynesia, we prefer Lombok over Bali. Lombok is quieter and more relaxed. I know we’ve been spoiled, and after years of traveling we prefer uncrowded places. But our impressions of Bali also include some lovely places and experiences.

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