Travel guides

Ferry crossings in Indonesia

Public ferries are the part of Indonesian travel that guidebooks skip: slower than a fast boat, open to cars and motorcycles, run as state services rather than tourist ones. These are the crossings visitors actually need, written up honestly.

Which island are you crossing to?

Start here if you know where you are going but not which port you need. These guides compare the crossing with the faster alternatives and send you to the right terminal.

Bali to Lombok by ferry Usually about four to five hours at sea Lombok to Bali by ferry Usually about four to five hours at sea Bali to Java by ferry Short — commonly around forty-five minutes to an hour once under way Java to Bali by ferry Short — commonly around forty-five minutes to an hour once under way

Port-to-port crossings

The individual crossings, each written from the direction you are actually travelling in — the departure port, the arrival port, and what happens after the ramp.

Padang Bai to Lembar ferry Usually about four to five hours at sea Lembar to Padang Bai ferry Usually about four to five hours at sea Gilimanuk to Ketapang ferry Short — commonly around forty-five minutes to an hour once under way Ketapang to Gilimanuk ferry Short — commonly around forty-five minutes to an hour once under way

What a public ferry is, and is not

Indonesia’s inter-island ferries are run by ASDP as public transport. They are roll-on/roll-off ships built around vehicles and freight: cars, motorcycles, buses and trucks drive aboard, and foot passengers travel on the deck above. They are the cheapest way between islands, they run in weather that stops smaller craft, and they are the only way to move a vehicle across.

They are not fast boats. A fast boat is a small passenger craft running between tourist harbours in a fraction of the time, carrying no vehicles, sold by private operators. Most visitors asking about a ferry actually want one of those — which is why every page in this section names the fast-boat alternative rather than pretending it does not exist. Those routes are listed under Sailtix routes.

Tickets for public ferries

ASDP sells its crossings through Ferizy, its official ticketing channel, and through authorised Ferizy sales points. Tickets are bought ahead of travel and issued against passenger identity details, so book in the name on the document you will carry. Vehicles are ticketed separately from passengers and priced by vehicle class, based on the type and length of the vehicle.

Finding your crossing on Ferizy

The site is in Indonesian only. These are the six fields on its search form, in order, with what each one wants.

  1. Pelabuhan Asal — departure portGilimanuk and Ketapang are in the short default list. Padang Bai and Lembar are not: choose "Pelabuhan Lainnya?, Klik Disini" ("other ports, click here") to reach them. This is the step that convinces people the route does not exist.
  2. Pelabuhan Tujuan — arrival portThe list fills in once the departure port is chosen.
  3. Kelas Layanan — service classWhich class of service you are buying on that crossing.
  4. Jenis Pengguna Jasa — who is travelling"Pejalan Kaki" is a foot passenger; "Kendaraan" is with a vehicle. Choosing Kendaraan then asks for Golongan Kendaraan, the vehicle class.
  5. Jadwal Masuk Pelabuhan — port CHECK-IN time, not departureThe form asks you to "set your arrival schedule at the port". You are booking a slot to enter the port, not a sailing time — which is the single most misread thing about an ASDP ticket.
  6. Penumpang — passengersAdults, elderly, children and infants are counted separately.

The button on that form reads CARI JADWAL — "search schedules".

Elsewhere on Sailtix

Fast boat routesLive schedules and fares for the crossings we sell. Harbours and portsWhere the boats actually leave from. BaliHarbours, islands and how to move between them. LombokPorts, the Gilis and the road across the island. Gili IslandsWhich harbour serves them, and which does not. Sea conditionsWhat the water does, month by month. Travel guidesThe rest of the Sailtix guide library.