YOGYAKARTA TO KARIMUNJAWA: All The Things You Should Know Before You Go

Yogyakarta to Karimunjawa – Karimunjawa is an archipelago in the Java Sea, located north of Jepara and included in Jepara Regency, Central Java.

Karimunjawa archipelago is a group of islands that stretches in the north of Java island including in Jepara Regency, Central Java. With a land area of ±1,500 hectares and waters of ±110,000 hectares, and consisting of 27 islands.

The Karimunjawa Islands are rich in unspoiled marine life and beautiful natural panoramas. A fact was revealed, by both local and foreign tourist lovers, that the island of Karimunjawa has become the most favorite marine tourism object.

It has various nicknames including, Vacation Island, The Paradise of Java, Caribbean Van Java, Maldives of Indonesia, etc., with some inhabited islands and many uninhabited islands. Let’s enjoy the beauty of Karimunjawa.

READ ALSO: Karimunjawa Island Central Java Tour 3 Days 2 Nights

READ ALSO: Karimunjawa Island Central Java Tour 4 Days 3 Nights

READ ALSO: Karimunjawa Island Central Java Tour 5 Days 4 Nights

READ ALSO: Karimunjawa Island Central Java Tour 6 Days 5 Nights

How to Get There: Yogyakarta to Karimunjawa 

When traveling from Yogyakarta to Karimunjawa, you can also travel overland to Jepara or Semarang and take a ferry from either of these ports. But in this guide, you will directly travel overland to Jepara. That’s the easiest way. 

By Bus 

Remember that there are daily local buses from Yogyakarta to Jepara. You can book a seat online in advance on one of the buses, such as Day Trans. Day Trans offers air-conditioned minibuses for 130,000 IDR ($8) per person. 

The bus ride takes 7 hours, and upon arrival, the minibus stops at the Day Trans terminal in Jepara, which is just a 10-minute taxi ride away from the ferry terminal.

By Ferry 

To cross to Karimunjawa, you must take a ferry. Several ferries serve from Jepara to Karimunjawa route, including: 

KMP Siginjai (estimated travel time 4.5 – 5 hours) 

Monday: 07.00 AM

Wednesday: 07.00 AM

Friday: 06.30 AM

Saturday: 07.00 AM

 

KMC Express Bahari (estimated travel time 2 – 2.5 hours)

Monday: 09.00 AM

Tuesday: 09.00 AM

Wednesday: 09.00 AM

Thursday: 09.00 AM

Friday: 09.00 AM

Saturday: 11.00 AM

The Best Places to See 

The Karimunjawa archipelago, which consists of 27 islands, is very open to be explored. 

Just so you know, Karimunjawa is very famous for its beautiful beaches with exotic white sand.

Are you curious? Let’s explore!

 

Bobby Beach 

Bobby Beach is one of the beaches with top-notch natural beauty in the Karimunjawa Islands. This beach boasts a wide expanse of white sand and a dazzling clear blue sea. 

You’ll surely be drawn to it and fall in love with it the first time you see it. To reach this beautiful beach, it takes about 5 hours by ferry from Karimunjawa harbor.

In addition to its white sand, Bobby Beach has relatively calm waves, making it very pleasant to play in the water, swim, or snorkel here.

READ ALSO: Best Adventure, Bobby Beach, A Hidden Gem In Karimunjawa Island

Ujung Gelam Beach

Ujung Gelam Beach, also known as Tanjung Gelam, is one of the finest beaches in Karimunjawa with its white sand and clear blue sea.

There are two ways to reach Ujung Gelam beach: by road or by sea. For the sea route, you can take a boat from Karimunjawa harbor, while the road trip can be made by motorcycle or car.

The road to this beach is very challenging. The road is winding and passes through unpaved rural roads. After driving for about 11 – 15 minutes, you come across a beautiful stretch of white sand beach.

READ ALSO: Ujung Gelam Beach Karimunjawa, Your Best Tropical Escape

Barracuda Beach

Another beautiful beach with white sand and waving mosquitoes in the Karimunjawa islands is Barakuda Beach.

Barakuda Beach is known for its clean white sand and calm seawater. This allows you to play by the sea or swim.

Its natural beauty is supported by the view of coconut trees that grow along the beach.  From Barakuda beach, you can see the other islands in the Karimunjawa archipelago.

As with other beaches in Karimunjawa, Barakuda Beach has a stunning sunset view. It’s a shame to miss. Get your camera ready.

READ ALSO: Barracuda Beach, A Hidden Gem On Karimunjawa Island

Annora Beach 

Another beautiful beach in Karimunjawa. Like the two beaches mentioned earlier, this beach also has beautiful white sand and calm waves.

This beach is on the west side of Karimunjawa. To reach the beach, you have to detour through the east coast and cross the hills.

 This beach is unique in that it has embossed sand located not far from the beach. To get to this sandbar, you have to cross a kind of large seawater pool.

READ ALSO: Discovering Annora Beach, A Serene Escape On Karimunjawa Island

Love Hill (Bukit Cinta)

One of the locations that has always been the target of tourists is Love Hill (Bukit Cinta). This hill (Bukit Cinta) is very exotic and also romantic. Many photo spots can be found here.

From the top of the hill, you can see the open sea. You can also take pictures with the ocean in the background. In addition, you can watch the mesmerizing sunset.

Love Hill can be easily reached from Karimunjawa city center, only about 10 minutes by motorcycle. Interesting, isn’t it? 

READ ALSO: Bukit Cinta: The Must-Visit Hill On Karimunjawa Island

Mangrove Trekking 

Mangrove trekking is one of the leading destinations in the Karimunjawa Islands. Mangrove trekking is a mangrove forest that is organized into a trekking place by installing a long wooden bridge around the forest.

In some places, shelters are placed where you can rest while learning about the vegetation in this mangrove forest. You can travel while enjoying the natural beauty here and learning about mangrove forests.

Don’t forget to bring anti-mosquito lotion when you come here. This mangrove forest is quite lush so there are many mosquitoes and insects in it.

READ ALSO: Mangrove Trekking – A Journey From Yogyakarta To Karimunjawa

Menjangan Besar Island 

Menjangan Besar Island is one of the island groups in the Karimunjawa archipelago. This island is one of the five inhabited islands in Karimunjawa.

The island has an area of about 56 hectares and has a stretch of white sand beach that is very beautiful like the other beaches in Karimunjawa.

Menjangan Besar Island offers some very interesting tourist attractions including shark breeding, Javan eagle breeding, and also turtle breeding.

One of the attractions you can try is swimming with sharks in shark breeding. This is something out of the ordinary. This very interesting attraction also triggers adrenaline because you swim with white sharks which are predators.

To swim with these predators, you have a few things that you must pay attention to and must be under the supervision of officers in this breeding ground.

One of the conditions is that you must not have the slightest wound because the smell of blood will trigger the shark to become ferocious even in captivity. How’s that? Interested in trying it?

READ ALSO: Yogyakarta To Karimunjawa, 1 Best Trip To Menjangan Besar

Menjangan Kecil Island 

Menjangan Kecil Island is one of the highly recommended tourist destinations in Karimunjawa. This place is one of the best spots for snorkeling. The marine life is very rich and beautiful.

On Menjangan Kecil Island, there is also a shark breeding center that can be one of the alternative activities that you can visit.

The beaches on this island have white sand, clear sea water, and a calm atmosphere, making it one of the must-visit places especially if you like tranquility.

You can swim, camp, snorkel, and explore the island to enjoy its beauty. Don’t forget, the island is also famous for its beautiful sunsets. So make sure you capture this moment.

Cilik Island  

The Karimunjawa Islands do have a stunning cluster of islands. The islands in the Karimunjawa Islands all have beautiful beaches with clear blue sea. No wonder this archipelago is a mainstay of tourism in Jepara Regency, Central Java.

After Menjangan Besar and Menjangan Kecil, Karimunjawa has Cilik Island or Kecil Island. This two-hectare island is one of the many islands in the Karimunjawa group.

Cilik Island is on the eastern side of Karimunjawa Island and when you set foot on it, you will be greeted by soft white sand and a wooden pier. You can also see rows of cypress trees with towering coconut trees.

The waters are clear and very beautiful and invite you to go inside to enjoy the beautiful underwater world there. This island has several snorkeling spots that you should not miss. 

 Cemara Kecil Island  

This island is located to the south of Big Spruce Island. Cemara Kecil Island has an area of 1.5 hectares. The island is overgrown with cypress, ketapang, and coconut trees.

On this uninhabited island, you can enjoy the view of white sand with a clear blue sea. The shallow waters with calm waves are perfect for snorkeling and swimming.

Since the island is uninhabited, you can enjoy the beauty of this place without being disturbed by many people, like a private beach. Don’t forget to capture your moments in this place.

As mentioned earlier, this island has several snorkeling spots that are highly recommended to explore because of their stunning underwater beauty.

Best Things to do 

When you are on vacation in Karimunjawa, never miss these activities. All are a must-try. And all are worthed to try.  

Snorkeling 

Snorkeling is one of the must-try activities when you are in Karimunjawa. Apart from the clear seawater, the calm and friendly waves are also not to be missed.

One more thing, the underwater life in this place is cool and winning!

There are several snorkeling spots that you can try, among others:

Menjangan Kecil Island 

You can rent a speedboat to reach Menjangan Kecil Island in less than 10 minutes. The island has a beautiful underwater world with colorful fishes.

Snorkeling will be a lot of fun because the fish are not afraid of human presence.

Cemara Kecil Island 

On this island, you can swim with thousands of beautiful small fish. The coral reefs on Cemara Island are also very diverse and still natural.

Luckily, this island is still protected from exploitation by irresponsible humans, so the island is still beautiful and the coral reefs are very beautiful.

Cilik Island 

Just like its name, this island is small. Although it is called “cilik” which in Javanese means small, here actually get a surprise underwater beauty that makes you feel at home to dive. The coral reefs are also large and colorful.

Swimming 

You can swim and splash around in shallow waters such as Cemara Besar Island, Cemara Kecil Island, Cilik Island, Geleang Island, Menjangan Besar Island, and Menjangan Kecil Island.

Enjoy the Beach

Almost all the beaches in the Karimunjawa archipelago are very beautiful. You can enjoy the view, take a walk on the beach, or just lie back and sunbathe. 

Catch the Sunset 

Besides being famous for its beautiful beaches, there is something that should not be missed when you are on the islands of the Karimunjawa archipelago, namely the sunset.

You can capture this sunset with your camera. It is very beautiful.

Island Hopping 

Island hopping is one of the most interesting things to do in Karimunjawa considering that the archipelago consists of 27 small islands that are close to each other, which makes it possible to visit in one day or at least three days to be able to complete almost all interesting tourist spots there. 

Camping 

One of the alternative activities you can do in Karimunjawa is camping on the beach or one of the islands in the Karimunjawa archipelago. The recommended island for camping is Geleang Island.

For those of you who like camping, Geleang Island can be an option for camping because the structure of this island is very supportive. But before camping there, make sure you have rented a boat for transportation to and from this island because the distance is quite far from the main island.

This island is very comfortable for lunch after snorkeling. The panorama is typical of beach tourism which is perfect for your summer vacation.

Sun Bathing 

Enjoying the sunshine is one activity you can try. Lie on the beach under a pine tree or coconut tree, while enjoying the clear blue sea and white sand.

You can sunbathe on the beach at Cemara Besar Island, Cemara Kecil Island, Menjangan Besar Island, and Menjangan Kecil Island.  

Useful Tips

Karimunjawa is a stunning archipelago that offers a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. To ensure you make the most of your trip, here are some practical tips:

Planning Your Trip

• Best time to visit: The dry season from April to October is generally the best time to visit Karimunjawa with clear skies and calm seas.
• Transportation: While there are flights available, most visitors opt for a ferry from Jepara. Check ferry schedules in advance.
• Accommodation: Book your accommodation early, especially during peak season. Options range from budget guesthouses to mid-range resorts.
• Itinerary: Plan your activities. Consider snorkeling, diving, island hopping, and relaxing on pristine beaches. 
• Book some travel agencies: Consider booking a travel agency to help you arrange your holidays. 

Tips for Your Stay

• Respect nature: Preserve the pristine environment by avoiding littering and using reef-safe sunscreen.
• Bring essentials: Pack sunscreen, insect repellent, hats, and comfortable clothing.
• Cash is king: While some places accept cards, it’s advisable to carry sufficient cash.
• Bargaining: Practice your bargaining skills when buying souvenirs or local products.
• Capture memories: Bring a good camera to capture the breathtaking scenery and unforgettable moments.

Additional Tips

• Local customs: Respect local customs and traditions.
• Safety first: Be aware of your surroundings and take necessary precautions.
• Try local food: Don’t miss the opportunity to taste authentic Karimunjawa cuisine.
• Unplug and relax: Put down your phone, disconnect from technology, and enjoy the tranquility of the islands.

By following these tips, you’ll be well-prepared for an amazing adventure in Karimunjawa. Enjoy your trip!

Closing 

Yogyakarta to Karimunjawa is one of the best trips you can get. Karimunjawa is no less than Bali. The beaches are beautiful, the sea is blue and clear and has a stunning underwater beauty.

Ready to escape the hustle and bustle? Karimunjawa is your answer. This tropical gem is just a few steps away from Yogyakarta. Pack your bags, book your trip, and let the island magic unfold.

If you need an advice for you adventure in Karimunjawa, feel free to contact us in our website. Can’t wait!