Derawan Islands

Getting there

Fly to Balikpapan or Tarakan, then on to Tanjung Redeb in Berau, and take a boat to the islands: Indonesia Travel puts it at about two hours by speedboat from Berau.

What to do

• Snorkel and dive the reefs: the islands have about 460 species of coral and more than 870 species of fish.
• See green and hawksbill turtles nesting or swimming out to sea; Indonesia Travel calls it the country’s largest nesting site.
• Take a boat to Kakaban, about 45 minutes from Derawan, for its lake of stingless jellyfish.

The weather here

Boats cross open sea, so wind and swell decide the schedule: check the morning forecast, and leave a spare day before a flight out. Rain squalls can cut visibility on the water.

Good to know

• The Derawan archipelago has 31 islands, the best known being Derawan, Maratua, Sangalaki and Kakaban, in a marine area of about 1.27 million hectares.
• Kakaban has no accommodation: visitors stay on Derawan, Maratua or Sangalaki and go over by boat.
• In the jellyfish lake, follow your guide’s rules and never touch or chase the animals.

Tuesday 3 November has the least daytime rain in the weather forecast: about 0.4 mm between 8 am and 8 pm.

• Monday 2 November: Light showers, 29°C / 27°C, rain 0.1 mm in the morning and 0.9 mm in the afternoon.
• Tuesday 3 November: Partly cloudy, 29°C / 27°C, rain 0.4 mm in the morning and 0.0 mm in the afternoon.
• Wednesday 4 November: Light showers, 29°C / 27°C, rain 0.6 mm in the morning and 0.0 mm in the afternoon.
• Thursday 5 November: Light showers, 29°C / 27°C, rain 0.6 mm in the morning and 0.1 mm in the afternoon.
• Friday 6 November: Light rain, 28°C / 26°C, rain 0.6 mm in the morning and 0.1 mm in the afternoon.
• Saturday 7 November: Rain, 28°C / 27°C, rain 4.9 mm in the morning and 1.2 mm in the afternoon.
• Sunday 8 November: Light rain, 28°C / 27°C, rain 1.2 mm in the morning and 0.2 mm in the afternoon.

Weather forecast issued Mon 2 Nov, 03:17 (WITA) from the MET Norway weather model; smoke forecast from Copernicus CAMS. Forecasts from models, not measurements.