Travel To Papua With Local Tour Operator
You need an Indonesian visa to enter the Papua and West Papua provinces. Most nationalities receive a visa on arrival with a validity of 30 days. The visa on arrival costs IDR 500.000 and can be extended once by additional 30 days at any Immigration office in the country. If the 30 days are exceeded and no extension has been applied for before, a penalty fee of IDR 1,000,000 for each additional day is to be paid when leaving the country. Please check this website https://www.imigrasi.go.id/ to get update information about E-Visa.
The visa on arrival is available at all international airports. These include the airports of Medan, Surabaya, Jakarta, Denpasar & Makasar. There are no international airports in Papua and West Papua! You must therefore travel to Papua on a domestic flight after you have obtained your visa.
Please get advice from your local medical center. For some parts of Indonesia malaria prophylactics are recommended as well as booster injections for intestinal diseases and hepatitis A and B. While in Indonesia or papua we ensure you will run no risk of “traveler’s diseases” as the food is prepared with a high degree of hygiene and all the drinking water comes from bottles. Please ensure your medical insurance covers your vacation.
The local currency is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Most hotels and restaurants in Bali or Jakarta accept credit cards, but it’s always helpful to have some local currency to hand. On Bali or Jakarta there are plenty of ATM cash machines that service most foreign bank cards, most common are those servicing cards with the Cirrus and Maestro logos. You will need Indonesian Rupiah should you wish to purchase local handicrafts when visiting villages or markets during the trip in Papua
It is not uncommon in Indonesia for domestic flights to be delayed, rescheduled or cancelled altogether! For this reason, we always recommend that you overnight in Bali, Jakarta, or wherever you enter or leave from Indonesia, before taking your onward flight & do not try to catch an international flight the same day to Papua.
Domestic airlines typically impose a strict weight restriction of 20kg per person for checked luggage & 7kg for carry-on luggage. Excess luggage is charged per kilo and is payable in Rupiah cash at the airport. Please note that excess luggage is not guaranteed to arrive at the same time as the passenger!
It is recommended to arrange a Cancellation Insurance policy with your travel agent from home for your flights and to have good medical insurance, a baggage loss or damage insurance or combined travel insurance.
The islands and the lowlands of Papua are malaria areas. When travelling to these areas you should consider taking prophylaxis. There are never many mosquitoes, but as you know one bite is enough. Malarone is the most common malaria prophylaxis nowadays. It is usually well tolerated and is also already available as inexpensive generic medication. The best way to avoid malaria in Papua and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes is to wear long clothes, especially in the evening. If you additionally spray the uncovered skin areas on the hands and neck with anti-mosquito spray, you are very well protected, and prophylaxis is then usually no longer necessary.
Papua and West Papua are Indonesian provinces and as such the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is the currency here. In Papua and West Papua it is usually not possible to pay with foreign currency or credit card. Exceptions are some resorts in Raja Ampat and hotels in the larger coastal towns. Expect to have to make most of your payments in cash in local currency and take enough cash with you. In larger towns there are ATMs where you can withdraw money in local currency with a credit card. There are limits per withdrawal and a daily limit. This method is therefore unsuitable for larger expenses.
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