RTW- Australia to Sumatra rout?
 

Hi guys and gals, my wife and I headed off on a RTW trip next year in a side car with our 2 kids, I know its a long way off but we have so much to do!,

our first leg will be from Australia which will land in Dili Timor, but looking at all the islands between Dili and Sumatra I am confused as to what would be the best rout?

hope you all can help!

James & Bec

Hi Guys,


If you are riding around the world then this in the end will seem a very easy part of your journey, don't worry about the route too much just ride upwards, some of the ferries its hard to get an exact time from locals as they all say different days...just enjoy the many corners in Sumatra and watch the pot holes in East Timor (One threw me in the shadows)


Good luck

Hi there folks

I rode the opposite way last year - from Sumatra to East Timor. I rode Sumatra - Java then did a detour to Sulawesi and came back to Java. Then from Java - Bali - Lombok - Sumbawa - Flores - Timor. I guess most overlanders do this route without the detour to Sulawesi, this route would be the most natural and logical.
Theres also a island "between" Flores and Timor (not quite right geograpically) but you probably know what I mean - the Sumba island. Other islands as West Papua, The Molukkes, Borneo/Kalimantan are probably not what you had in mind as theyare just too off the main grid.

Depends where you want to go and how much time you have to spend. Remember to get a 60 day visa to Indonesia before you enter. The VOA of 30 days will not by any chance in world be enough to get you through this country. Even 60 days will hardly be enough to get you through the main overland route if youre planning to take in some of the sights along the way. If youre extending youre 60 day visa with another 30 days you might have time to explore islands off the main overland route such as Sulawesi or Sumba. Remember that Indonesia is very time consuming, the roads are narrow and totally jammed and overfilled with vehicles of all kinds. Its often totally chaotic and traffic seldom moves along at more than 40-50 kms/h. And do not plan to ride more than 300 kms pr day as you might get dissapointed.
There is a ferry from Labuan Bajo on the western tip of Flores to south Sulawesi and then ride on Sulawesi and take a ferry to Surabaya. You will miss out Sumbawa, Flores and Bali if doing this and thats a shame but it is an option.

Whats the best route depends on your definition of "best" but I would say the most logical and natural will be Timor - Flores - Sumbawa - Lombok - Bali - Java - Sumatra. This route will easily take 60 days if you stop here and there for sights etc.
Then it depends where you want to go, what you want to see and do and how much time you want to spend in Indonesia.

Agree with the above comments. I went in the same direction you're planning and the ferries were fairly easy. One note, you'll be looking for the ASDP ferries, not the PELNI ones, and it's often a different ferry wharf/terminal.

Don't bother booking in advance online, just arrive an hour or two prior and join the queue.

East Timor - West Timor: land border
Kupang - Flores: ferries were twice a week only, and jam-packed. Long crossing, too, upwards of 12 hours
Flores - Sumbawa: daily ferry at 9am. Labuan Bajo is a nice town, lots of diving/snorkelling and the Komodo Dragons nearby
Sumbawa - Lombok: hourly ferry during daylight hours, only a short hop
Lombok - Bali: another hourly departure
Bali - Java: Hourly. Traffic in the western half of Java is an absolute nightmare, even if you steer WELL clear of Jakarta. It's almost as bad as India.
Java - Sumatra: hourly.

When I went through, the Indonesian embassy in Dili was not issuing 60 day visas, but I found 30 days to be enough - mind you I blasted across Sumbawa, Lombok and Bali in a day each, and you could easily spend three weeks instead of three days there.

Wow thanks for the in-depth replys, we are trying to compose a book of possible routs with details of all these points you are making, I really want to just jump on and ride but I have to think safty, one of my kids will be just 18 months old! We don't really have a time frame which is good!, what is the best way tobskip Malaysia? I've heard it's a paperwork nightmare!

The classical way of shipping bikes from Malaysia to Indonesia or vice versa would be with Mr Lims so called "Onion boats". But for the moment those boats are stopped by the local government. Probably not enough tea money paid in some link. Lets hope the onion boat will start to run again soon. This boats go from Medan to Georgetown or to be more precisely Belawan to Butterworth.
The latest travellwrs have shipped their bikes with a passenger ferry between Port Klang and Dumai I think it is.

The paperwork is very easy - just get your carnet stamped and go.

Is Malaysia a head f@#$ as fare as paper work goes?, I've heard stories of it being like any other boarder crossing (going into Malaysia not out), but I've heard stories of it being horrible with ppl having to leave there bikes at the boarder to go into Malaysia to get Malaysia specific paperwork that can't be obtained at the boarder to bring and forren bike in?

I think it is like this, but dont trust me blindly:

To ride your bike legally in Malaysia you need your Carnet with stamps, third party insurance, a permit from the Malay transport office - I think its called JPJ. They will want to inspect your bike papers and insurance and you IDL. Then they will give you a sticker to put on your bike. It should be pretty straightforward if you find the right offices.

The horror stories you mention reminds me of stories I have read here entering Singapore.

RTW- Australia to Sumatra rout?
 

In my experience you only need a carnet.
We entered Malaysia twice in the last 3 months ( 1.by air and 2. by boat coming back from Sumatra), they only asked for our carnet, not for insurance and also not for any permit.

Also, the boat from mister Lim is running again. We used the passenger ferry from Tanjun Balai to Klang wich is a little chaeper, faster and runs mor often.


www.amsterdamtoanywhere.nl

Hi there

Good news that mr Lims boats are running again.

You said "they" were only asking for Carnet. Who are "they"? The shipping company probably dont want more than a Carnet to ship your bike. I am talking about driving legally in Malaysia. Then you will need insurance and a permit from JPJ.
Where you stopped by the traffic police in Malaysia? Well I wasnt either and I rode around for a month and 5-6000 kms. But if stopped by traffic police or involved in something if an accident or similar I will prefer to have all paperwork and insurance right.

I've heard Singapore is a nightmare too but isn't it part of Malaysia?, totally geographically confused now haha

:clap: please take a look at the map young man. Singapore is a sovereign state and have been so since the beginning of the 1960s. They had 50 years anniversary as a indipendent state some 2-3 years ago if I remember right. Geographically its an island (one main island and many smaller ones) and its situated right south of mainland/peninsular Malaysia. Its connected by a bridge/causeway.

Hahaha happy days then!, won't be bothered with Singapore then, just another city that sucks your money!

Yeas - just another city that eats your money. Just pronounced the most expensive city in the world by the newspaper The Economist. Its a city thats well worth a visit but probably not on an overland adventure.

Right-on Snakeboy .. you're absolutely correct. :thumbup1:

I did just that - BUT parked-up the bike in KL beforehand, then got a 5½ hour bus ride down the E2 Highway to the Singapore border .. and crossed over on foot.

Stayed in the Little India area for 3 nights. There’s plenty of public transport around Singapore - and we didn’t miss the bike one bit. My personal (independent) itinerary included:

• A coach tour around the city, including a long stroll around the CBD
• A day on Sentosa Island
• A visit to the excellent Singapore Zoo
• Even drank Singapore Slings at the Raffles Hotel.

Don’t by-pass Singapore is my advice. Worthy of a [brief] visit, for sure .. and it really wasn’t that expensive.