LASKAR PELANGI

How to get there

1. Flight from Jakarta: Batavia Air and Sriwijaya Air. Price range from Rp 450k – Rp 1,2mill (round trip). 45 minutes flight. Soekarno-Hatta Airport Tax Rp40k, Tanjung Pandan Airport Tax Rp 11k.

2. from Jakarta take PELNI Ship (only goes there once in two weeks). 24h ride. around Rp 150k(oneway)

3. from Bangka Island, take fast boat (KM Bahari) to Belitung Island. Goes there once everyday. 4h. around Rp 170k (one way).

Places to stay

in Tanjung Pandan(10 minutes from Airport):
1. Hotel Martani. Ac Standard single Rp108k. AC Standard double Rp118k. AC Lux Rp258k. AC VIP Triple Rp308k. Super VIP Rp288k. (0719)21433
2. Pondok Impian 1&2. if you stay in Pondok Impian 1 (we stayed here) please bring earplug due to the Dangdut Bar in front of the rooms. not suitable if you are traveling with children. 150k/250k/300k/AC room/night. Pondok Impian 2 is nicer but also have higher rates Rp 350k/400k, located in front of the beach, but the beach is not really nice. extrabed Rp 100k. Phone: (0719) 22076, 25298, 23190. Fax: (0719) 22381.
3. Hotel Bunga Pantai. not far Pondok Impian 1&2. looks small but cozy. cost about Rp 150k/ac room/night. +6271924524. Jl. Pattimura no.25.
4. Billiton Hotel. Standard Rp500k. Deluxe Rp650k. Suite Rp900k. (0719)22887

in Tanjung Kelayang (20 minutes from Airport):
1. Kelayang cottages (it was full during our trip, looks cozy, not expensive,located directly in front of the beach). starts from Rp100k

in Tanjung Tinggi (20 minutes from Airport):
1. Lor In Seaside. Deluxe Rp600k. Jr Suite Rp 1.200k. (0719) 24100

in Tanjung Binga (35 minutes from airport):
1.Bukit Berahu Resort. Cottage-Double/Twin AC Room Rp 242k, extrabed Rp75k. Bungalow Rp 726k, Breakfast for 4, allows more than 4 people staying. 5 cottages and 2 bungalows. CP: Lisa 081933349818 (Manager), Fax: (0719) 21277.

click here to see the pictures of the accomodations

Places I’ve visited
Day 1: lunch in Bukit Berahu, Tanjung Tinggi Beach (Laskar Pelangi – Movie Scene Location)
Day 2 (the best part of the whole trip): Island Hopping (depart from Tanjung Binga Port. Rp350k) to Pulau Lengkuas (LightHouse), Pulau Burung, Pulau Babi. Ps: There’s no F&B in these islands, so bring enough food, snacks, drinks for the whole day!!! buy them in the center of the town.
Day 3: Pantai Burung Mandi, lunch in Bukit Batu (the restaurant only open during weekend.average food), Vihara Dewi Kwan Im
Day 4: Tanjung Kelayang, Tanjung Tinggi.

Other places you might want to visit:
1. Gantung (town, 20km South of Manggar), to see the Pice Dam built by the dutch in the 19th century.
2. Kelapa Kampit (town, 50km East of Tanjungpandan), Old underground lead/tin mining.
3. Membalong (village 54km South of Tanjungpandan), from Teluk Gembira port in Membalong, you can take a boat to go to Seliu Island, a unique small island.
4. Punai Beach (1.5-2h from Tanjung Pandan) and Punai Island. from Punai beach you can walk to Punai Island during the low tide. best to find seafood.
5. Samak

How to get around:
1. rent a private car (Avanza/Xenia/Kijang/Innova, fits for 6-8 persons). around Rp 350k (included driver, not including gas). gasoline around Rp200k for three days. other cost: driver’s F&B and tip.
2. rent motorbike Rp 30k/day.

Places to eat:
1. go to the center of the town. lots of cheap food. 5k for a plate of Bangka Noodle soup. you can find KFC there, next to BCA Bank office.
2. Bukit Berahu Resto & Resort. the indo-chinese food here is really tasty (my favorite is Cap Cay and Ayam Saos Mentega). each plate is enough for 2-3 persons. we ordered some fish and a dish called Udang Arak (which is 8 Prawns cooked with local wine), the fish were okay, but the Udang Arak was not our favorite.yuck! both were really expensive, the Udang Arak were Rp80k. they have no price on the menu. so it is best to ask how much the price and how big the portion of one plate is before order something, so you would know how much you will spend. i spend around Rp27k for sharing Cap Cay, Ayam Saos Mentega, nasi goreng bukit berahu, nasi putih, nasi goreng ikan asin, mie goreng special.
3. Sari Laut. Seafood Restaurant. the situation is the same here with Bukit Berahu Restaurant. no price on the menu, the portion of one plate. so definitely ask about the price and the portion. i like the Cumi-Cumi Goreng Tepung,but the price was Rp45k. Scheiße!!!!(read:sh!t)

ps: i really have big problem eating in a place where they have no prices on the menu. so the best way is to take note on how much it is before ordering. and when it turns out to be expensive, i would say say ohh crap,what a shitty price…i’m in a budget you know… but i like to eat so ordered up!!!!
oh yeah remember to order food for your drivers by yourself, you dont want the restaurant to order food that are out of your budget, do you!

also, if you’re really in a budget (let’s say 8-20k/meal), it is better to buy some food in the center of the town for the whole day (trip), coz it is hard to find food when you go farther from the main town. like for day 3 and 4 on our itinerary.

source: our own experience traveling in Belitung on May 2009, www.belitungtimur.com, www.belitungisland.com, and www.belitungkab.go.id