This is a rather old story about my trip when I visitedKarimunjawa. I visited Karimunjawa onMarch 2010, started from 13th until 16th for the exact.We were 14 persons: a friend from Jakarta, a friend from Surabaya and 12 persons from Cikarang.Yups, the other 11 persons were my office mates!
* A brief story of Karimunjawa *
Karimunjawais a small archipelago located in the north ofSemarang, Central Java, Indonesia.Karimunjawa itself is a subdistrict ofJepara district. Karimunjawa consist of about35 small islandsand the biggest one named Karimunjawa itself. Some names of that islands are Cemara Besar island, Cemara Kecil island, Menjangan Besar island, Menjangan Kecil island, Gosong island, etc.
karimunjawa map
Karimunjawa has become one ofIndonesia National Park. Maybe “Karimunjawa” sounds not so familiar in peoples and they don’t know that Karimunjawa keepsbeautiful beacheswithin it.Yes, I’ve proved it!It can be said that Karimunjawa is the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. FYI, I’ve even compare it with some beaches inPhi-phi Island, Thailand!!
Beside that, Karimunjawa also offerbeautiful underwater scenery,white sandandthe clear blue water. I think beach lover people would have satisfied when visiting Karimunjawa.
Karimunjawa island, here’s the center of citizens activities. Almost all thehostels,guest houses, etc. located on the island.Harborsare also located here. The bigger one for the ferry dock and one for fishing boats dock.
karimunjawa national park map
I really wish I could visit the Karimunjawa for the second time! Of course to explore other unspoiled islands!
* Things to DO and Point of Interest *
1. Explore the islands (islands hopping)
Karimunjawa has many small islands uninhabited who has a great view. We can freely play the water and sand as we like.Please prepare enough sunblock lotion!There is one island calledGosong island, that we can visit in the morning when the water has not high tide. At high tide, the island will be submerged and not visible.
Karimunjawa
Beauty of Karimunjawa
2. Dare to swim with sharks?
Yes, in Karimunjawa, precisely at theCemara Kecil island, there is a sharks captivity.We can swim with sharks in the same pool!There are about 10 sharks in it. Time that I recommend is at the time of the morning, when the water has not high tide. Take it easy, the guides said that the sharks are benign, but still it will spur theadrenalinesomeone that was there in a pool with sharks.Are you brave enough?I bet you will!
thanks to Mahendra
3. Snorkeling (of course!)
Karimunjawa has beauty underwater world of its own. There are some spots to do snorkeling. Snorkeling enthusiasts will surely be satisfied with the views offered. If I allowed to be honest, based on my experience, Karimunjawa underwater scenery is more beautiful than Phi-phi!
underwater of Karimunjawa
underwater of Karimunjawa
4. Swimming!Swimming! Well … in the sea near theCemara Besar island. The sea was calm, no big waves and the water was really clear. It’s really clear, like a giant swimming pool. We can swim with satisfaction here.
natural swimming pool of karimunjawa
it isn't a swimming pool, it's Karimunjawa!
5. Hunting sunset
There are some islands to hunt the sunset on this archipelago, one on the island ofTanjung Gelam(a lot of people also call Ujung Gelam island). In addition, on the dock of the Karimunjawa island itself we can get an interesting sunset spot. Unfortunately, because of the mountain location in the east of the island, we little difficult to get a sunrise spot on the Karimunjawa island.
Sunset in Karimunjawa
Sunset in Karimunjawa
6. Enjoy the scenery, enjoy the life!
Yups! Like I said, here I have ever seen the most beautiful beach! Around Cemara Besar island, there is avery beautiful beachthat really made me unable to say anything,speechless,amazedandimpressed!I Love You Indonesiaaaaaa!: D
We also can enjoy lunch with grilled fish menu that is baked directly on the island (if you want this, please ask your tour guide) There are also other islands that offer many beautiful sceneries.
it’s not photoshoped!! ^_^ –original taken by Danioriginal taken by Dina Ari
* Transportation and Accommodation *
FromCikarang & Jakarta, we headed toJeparaby bus. We choseShantika Busat price110.000 IDRfor one seat executive class bus. The bus was good enough and comfortable for almost 14 hours trip. We departed from Jakarta-Cikarang around 6 pm and arrived in Jepara around 8 am.
The bus final destination wasJepara Bus Terminal, and we usedbecak(traditional public transportation) to reach the harbor. It costs15000 IDR. To head to Karimunjawa, from Jepara we used aKM Muria ferry. The ferry departed around 8.30 am. from Jepara harbor. We choseEconomy Class (30500 IDR).FYI, you should go to inside ASAP if you want to get some seats there.
Jepara – Karimunjawa, it’s about6 hours.Yeah…, it’s veryrecommendedfor you to bring a MP3 player, books, cards or something that can kill the time, beside sleeping of course!
We slept over inKarimun Indah Guest House, price “only”30.000 IDR / night / person. The price is “only” for the bed room and a glass ofhot-morning-tea. The guest house is just an ordinary house with some rooms there. One bed room consist of 2 double size beds. The location is far enough from the Karimunjawa harbor, but it’sso near with the boats pier, just 2-3 minutes by walking I guess.
original taken by Mahendra
To explore the islands, we use the traditional motor boat there. We rent a rather big boat at price850,000 IDRper day plus2 guides. Sometimes you can get cheaper price for the boat, it depends on the size of the boat.Don’t forget to ask if the price is included the guides fee or not.
To go back to Jakarta, we used Shantika bus again. It departed from Jepara Bus Terminal at 5 pm.
How about the food? Yeah, don’t worry, you can buy the food in the diner called“Bu Ester”. It costs about10,000 IDRfor once lunch or dinner. If you want to the simple one, you can ask the guest house owner to serve the catering.
I arranged this tour by myself and total fee was about520.000 IDRfor 4 days 3 nights!Yeah, it’s worthy!
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* A brief story of Karimunjawa *
* Things to DO and Point of Interest *
* Transportation and Accommodation *