Ambon + Fast ferry to the bandas and the cost of a taxi. Last questions before leaving

Hi Baikan,

Here is the latest timetable news on the fast boat from Ambon to Banda. Please note that it leaves from Tulehu, not the main port in Ambon City.

3 - This trip is pretty straight-forward to make by public minibus; the fare is roughly 10,000 Rupees. I have no idea how much a taxi would cost.

4 - Sago is not readily available at restaurants in Ambon. There might be places that serve it, but you'll really have to go out of your way to find it. The speciality in Ambon (and in the Bandas!) is seafood, and this is easy to find. The durian in Ambon is fabulous (it comes from Seram), but the season is pretty short.

5 - Transport in Indonesia is never that reliable. Plan on at least one night in Ambon before trying to catch a flight. Note that there are places to sleep near the airport in Ambon, which might be convenient if you have a morning flight. The airport's a good way out of town. To get from Tulehu to the airport, you won't actually have to go into Ambon town itself, should you want to avoid it.

1. It's a long (but beautiful!) trip from Solo to Borobudur via Selo, and I guess a taxi would want sg like 500.000 RT. Public transport in stages would certainly be possible, with a bit of hitching after Selo, maybe. But it would be slow!

2. If you fly on Thursday and Pelni goes to Banda on Saturday, I wouldn't even bother with the other, less reliable options. It would be easy to spend an interesting day or two exploring Ambon Island itself.

3. There are plenty of places to stay in Ambon, and it's hard to recommend one without knowing your budget. For a cheapie, the Penginapan Asri is popular.
   A taxi to Tulehu from the airport would cost ca 200.000. To do it by public angkot, change in Passo.

4. Sago is widely sold in form of dry bagea cakes and the like at street stalls. In restaurants, it would be served as papeda, a jelly-like thing accompanied by fish soup, and places serving it are rare in Ambon. One place recommended in LP closed by the time the book got published. Another I know that lasted long is behind the Kantor Walikota on a small street (Jl Kamboja) - you could check if it is still there.
   Papeda is much easier to find in Ternate.

5. Whatever you take from Banda back to Ambon, don't book your onward flight in advance! If you reach Ambon early enough, go straight to the airport and buy a ticket there (or at a travel agent on the way). I never had trouble getting a ticket for the same day out of Ambon for a normal price.

@therighteousdude

Helpful update, hopefully they won't change again in the coming weeks. Great reminder about Tulehu as well. Thanx

@Giora

Many thanx for your help, i was thinking there might be some sort of public transport between ambon and Tulehu. you just confirmed, which is great.
Will definetely sample some durian, i know after my researches that it will be in season in Java by the time i ll be travelling, will check it out in Ambon!

@Laszlo

Many thanx for your insightful comment. I will be landing at Solo by mid morning so i think i ll have enough time to reach Borubudur byt a combination of public transportations.

My budget is around 200.000 for accomodation per night approx. i am happy with a fan and a mandi as long as it is clean and most importantly not too noisy (very light sleeper)

I definetely ditched the likeliness of securing a susi air ticket, right now i am less and less confident about the fast boat so my last possibility would be might pelni, cross fingers it will call at Ambon a couple days after my planned arrival. the day i am planning to take it is waay ahead of the available schedule,but i calculated it stope at Tulehu every Sunday on its way to bandas (or does the pelni crowd embark from Ambon port?)

too bad for sago meal, but if i end up transiting in the city for longer than planned, i might go hunting for it in side alleys

Pelni goes also east to Kei islands .....airport : Langgur/Tual (LUV) ....then Wingsair to Ambon twice a day and the rest of Indonesia.

There are good budget accommodations in Ambon city on Jalan Sam Ratulangi and the street between it and Jalan A Y Patty. Another option is on Jalan Anthony Rebok. This is where I stayed 2 years ago.
Next to Masjid Raya Al-Fatah on Jalan Am Sangaji is a popular cafe serving papeda. I ate here 3 times. It serve also boil banana eaten as rice. This cafe located between the masjid and a Padang-style restaurant. It is usually full during lunch time. Try get there about 11am. It is open only until about 3pm. Papeda is usually eaten with fish yellow soup (ikan kuah kuning) and sucking by straw.
All the locations you can use google map.

Pelni ships stop in the city, not in Tulehu.
And they run on fortnightly, not weekly schedules - in any case, check again about a month before your trip. Once a schedule is posted, the sailings are reliable enough, with no more than a few hours delay, if any.

With your budget, you should have various options in the city. Or if that doesn't appeal (and frankly, the city is much less appealing than the rural parts of the island) you could have a quieter and more atmospheric stay at the Colin's Beach Resort in Latuhalat village, ca half an hour beyond the city proper.

@sambalgoreng , are you sure about papeda being sucked with a straw??? Never seen it that way, and couldn't imagine it either - it's too solid! Usually served with chopsticks and then eaten with spoon. A quick Google search for "makan papeda" also shows images with spoon and chopsticks only.
If that place near Al-Fatha serves a variety suited to be sucked by straw, it's something new to me, will have to check!
Though I must admit nasi kuning is my favourite local food in Ambon, way ahead of papeda. ;-)

The papeda is gooey and mix with the fish soup become watery. We use straw sucking this. The straw is big not the normal teh botol straw. Go early to the cafe because by 2-2.30 most food sold out. It is located toward Jalan Yos Sudarso same side of street as masjid not toward Tugu Trikora.

There's plenty of public transport between Ambon town and Tulehu; it's not that fast though, so give yourself plenty of time (ie. at least 2 hours) to get there if you have a boat to catch.

I've only ever had papeda in North Maluku, but there was only one I saw it being eaten there: with one's hands!