Derawan Islands guide: turtles, Kakaban's jellyfish lake and Maratua

Derawan or Maratua: choose the island you sleep on

Derawan Island is small enough to walk around: the Wikipedia island list gives it under 45 hectares. Most of it is one village, home to Bajau people according to Indonesian Wikipedia, with guesthouses and the Derawan Dive Resort along the shore and stilt buildings reaching out over the reef. Wikivoyage notes that most lodgings are run by local families and that bicycles and scooters can be hired on the road along the west shore. Stay here if you want to snorkel from the beach, eat in the village and keep boat costs down by sharing day trips.

Maratua is by far the largest island in the group, bent around a wide lagoon, with four Bajau villages according to the Ministry of Tourism. It is where the water-chalet resorts are: the ministry describes Maratua Paradise Resort's beach chalets and stilted water villas, and Wikivoyage also names Nabucco. Maratua's dive sites include Turtle Traffic, known for green turtles, and Big Fish Country, which the ministry reserves for advanced divers because of deep water and strong currents. It is also the closest base to Kakaban, about 30 minutes away by boat.

Kakaban and Sangalaki are day-trip islands. The ministry notes that there is no accommodation on Kakaban, and Wikivoyage says only conservation staff live on Sangalaki. If you arrive late or leave early, a night in Tanjung Redeb, the regency town by the airport, takes the pressure off the boat connection.

Kakaban: swimming in the jellyfish lake

Kakaban is an uplifted coral atoll of about 774 hectares whose middle is taken up by a large brackish lake, sealed off from the sea as the island rose. The Ministry of Tourism says the name comes from a local word for "hug", because the island wraps around the lake. Wikipedia describes the lake as up to 17 metres deep, fringed with mangroves and carpeted with Halimeda algae, and about a 10-minute walk from the shore.

The lake holds four species of jellyfish, including a fingertip-sized box jellyfish and an upside-down Cassiopea, and none of them can harm people with their stinging cells, according to Wikipedia. Snorkelling is the way to see them: Wikipedia notes that visibility in the lake is poor, so the jellyfish near the surface are the reward rather than the view into the depths. The ministry describes the lake as a government nature reserve. Swim slowly, keep your fins off the algae-covered bottom, do not lift jellyfish out of the water and follow any rules the rangers give you.

Outside the lake, Kakaban is a very different place: Wikipedia describes a wall that drops to 180 metres, with strong upwellings, down-currents and currents that change direction. Dive it only with a local operator who knows the site.

Sangalaki, the turtles and the manta rays

The Ministry of Tourism calls the Derawan archipelago Indonesia's largest nesting site for green and hawksbill turtles. On Sangalaki, a turtle conservation island that the ministry lists as a nature recreation park (Taman Wisata Alam), green turtles come ashore to lay their eggs at night, and the ministry says visitors can watch it happen during the nesting season. The island's waters are also the archipelago's best-known manta-ray site; the ministry lists dive sites such as Manta Run, Manta Parade and Coral Gardens.

On Derawan itself, the ministry says turtles can be seen around the shore and you can swim with them, so a mask and snorkel are often enough. Keep your distance and let turtles surface without being crowded, never touch or ride them, and do not use a flash on nesting females. Wikipedia notes that turtle eggs here have been heavily exploited; do not buy them or anything made from turtle shell.

The ministry notes that a chartered speedboat can visit several islands in one day, so Kakaban and Sangalaki fit into a single trip from Derawan; the ministry gives Kakaban as about 20 minutes from Sangalaki and 45 minutes from Derawan. Wikivoyage warns that there are no restaurants on Kakaban or Sangalaki, so agree lunch and drinking water with the boat before you leave.

Getting there: flight, road and speedboat

The usual gateway is Kalimarau Airport (BEJ), about 8 kilometres from the centre of Tanjung Redeb. When we checked on 2026-10-03, Wikipedia's route list showed Batik Air from Jakarta and Surabaya, flights from Balikpapan on several airlines, Wings Air from Samarinda and a Sriwijaya Air route from Makassar. Routes to Berau change often, so confirm with the airline before you build the rest of the trip around a connection.

From Tanjung Redeb there are two ways to the islands. The Ministry of Tourism describes a road transfer to Tanjung Batu port followed by 30 to 45 minutes by speedboat to Derawan; Wikivoyage puts the drive at about two hours. Alternatively, the ministry describes a speedboat ride of about two hours from Tanjung Redeb down the river and out to the islands. Boats typically seat about 15 people and can be chartered for a multi-island day.

Maratua has its own small airport (RTU). When we checked on 2026-10-03, Wikipedia listed only Smart Aviation flights from Tanjung Redeb and Samarinda, and noted that a Wings Air service launched in January 2026 lasted about two months because most visitors still preferred the cheaper speedboat. The ministry also describes a route via Tarakan in North Kalimantan, with speedboats from Tengkayu port; Wikivoyage gives three to four hours for that crossing.

Sea conditions, money and holidays

Wikivoyage recommends March to May and August to October to avoid high waves, strong currents and poor visibility. Whatever the month, keep a spare day at the end of the trip: open-water crossings to Maratua, Kakaban and Sangalaki depend on the weather, and a cancelled boat on your last day can cost you a flight.

The islands are popular with Indonesian travellers. Wikivoyage warns that hotels and resorts on Derawan and Maratua fill up during long holiday weekends; plan around them or book well ahead. It also advises bringing enough cash for lodging, boat trips, diving and food, because banking on the islands is limited.

A workable four-night plan

This is an editorial suggestion, not a timetable. Boat times depend on the sea and on what you arrange locally.

• Day 1 — Arrival: fly to Tanjung Redeb, transfer by road to Tanjung Batu and by speedboat to Derawan; snorkel with the turtles off the village in the late afternoon.
• Day 2 — Kakaban and Sangalaki: a chartered boat day to the jellyfish lake and Sangalaki's reefs, with lunch and water on board.
• Day 3 — Move to Maratua: cross by boat, settle in by the lagoon, and snorkel or dive with a local operator.
• Day 4 — Maratua: a dive day for certified divers, or the lagoon and a Bajau village for everyone else.
• Day 5 — Out: return by boat to the mainland in the morning and keep the flight for the afternoon or the next day.