Karimun Jawa

There are 3 ways to travel the 87 kilometers (54 miles) from Karimun Jawa to Karimun Jawa. You can choose between the flight, ferry via Jepara and ferry via Semarang. The journey takes 2 to 9 hours and the quickest way is by ferry via Jepara. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by ferry via Semarang with tickets starting at 110,000 IDR (€6.20).

An alternative option is to take a ferry from Semarang to Karimun Jawa. While Semarang is a bigger city than Jepara and has a bigger port, the ferries from Semarang Ferry Terminal are available only every other week.

Travel time from Semarang to Karimun Jawa takes 7 to 9 hours, which is about twice as long as the slow ferry from Jepara. The ferries depart Semarang every other Friday or Saturday at 22:00. In Karimun Jawa, the ferries arrive between 06:00 and 07:00 the day after.

Ferry tickets start from 110,000 IDR (€6.20). For the schedule and online booking, you can click the button below:

Check Ferry Tickets

Departure and arrival port

The ferries depart from Tanjung Emas Semarang, located about 3-4.5 km from Poncol and Tawang train stations in the city centre. From Jenderal Ahmad Yani Airport, it’s a 20-minute taxi ride to the port.

Unlike the ferries from Jepara, the ferries from Semarang arrive at the Port of Legon Bajak on the north side of the island. From here, it takes approximately 45 minutes to the town centre.

Jepara is the main gateway for people travelling to Karimun Jawa. From Jepara, you can reach Karimun Jawa by either fast or slow ferry. Both ferries on this route operate multiple days a week.

The fast boat is operated by Bahari Express and takes 2 hours from Jepara to Karimun Jawa. Tickets cost 200,000 IDR (€11.20) for the executive class and 230,000 IDR (€12.90) for the VIP class when you buy them at the port.

The KMP Siginjai slow ferry costs only 125,000 IDR (€7) per person. It’s a bigger ferry that takes 3 hours longer than the fast boat. If you easily get seasick, this slow ferry is a better choice for you as it’s more stable. You can also bring your motorcycle or car from Jepara to Karimun Jawa with this ferry.

Departure and arrival port

Both the fast boat and slow ferry depart from Jepara Kartini Ferry Terminal. This terminal is 10 minutes away from Jepara City Square.

In Karimun Jawa, the ferry terminal is located on the south coast. Outside the port, you’ll find several motorcycle rental shops. You can rent a motorcycle as soon as you arrive to get to your accommodation.

The plane used to be a quick way to reach Karimun Jawa from Semarang because the flight took only 30 minutes.

Karimunjawa Dewadaru Airport (KWB) is basically a small airfield with limited flights. Only Wings Air used to offer flights from Semarang to Karimun Jawa every Monday, Friday and Sunday. The flight departed at 11:20 and the fare was around 400,000 IDR (€22).

Aircraft were small turboprops with limited seats so they used to get booked up fast in the summer and on popular holiday long weekends.

We rather recommend taking a ferry on this route because short-haul flights like this produce high carbon emissions that negatively affect the environment.

Check Flights on Skyscanner

Coming from other destinations in Indonesia?

There are no direct routes to Karimun Jawa from other cities. From Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta, you need to travel to either Jepara or Semarang to take the ferry to Karimun Jawa.

Make sure to check the ferry schedules above so you can plan ahead for your trip. See below for a more detailed guide.

TIP: If you decide to travel by plane, please consider including a carbon compensation fee to reduce your impact on the environment.

Your best option when travelling from Surabaya to Karimun Jawa is by train via Semarang. You can then take the ferry from Semarang or head to Jepara, where ferries have more departures in a week.

It’s also possible to take a flight from Surabaya to Semarang, but all flights on this route make a stopover in Jakarta, making for a longer trip.

By Train

In Surabaya, you can take the train from Pasar Turi Station to Semarang’s Tawang Station or Poncol Station. Trains to both stations are available almost every hour.

Travel time is 3-4.5 hours with train tickets starting from 100,000 IDR (€5.60).

If you’re travelling on the day the Pelni ferries are available from Semarang to Karimun Jawa, you can directly take a taxi from the train station to the ferry terminal.

Otherwise, you’ll need to go to Jepara and take the ferry there. From the train station, take a short taxi ride to Kencana Travel Terminal. Kencana offers hourly bus trips from Semarang to Jepara. The bus ride takes about 3 hours and costs around 95,000 IDR (€5.30).

The Kencana Travel Terminal in Jepara is a 10-minute taxi ride to Jepara’s Kartini Terminal, where ferries for Karimun Jawa depart from.

From Yogyakarta to Karimun Jawa

When travelling from Yogyakarta to Karimun Jawa, you can also travel overland to Jepara or Semarang and take a ferry from one of these ports.

Yogyakarta to Jepara

There are local buses from Yogyakarta to Jepara daily. One of the buses that you can book online in advance is Day Trans, which departs from Gading. This bus company offers air-conditioned minibuses for 130,000 IDR (€7.30) per person.

The bus ride takes 7 hours and the minibus parks at the Day Trans terminal in Jepara, which is just a 10-minute taxi ride to the ferry terminal.

Flight options from Karimun Jawa