A long blue lagoon, overwater bungalows, and reef walls off a horseshoe island.
Maratua is the largest island in the group, a long horseshoe of land curled around a wide turquoise lagoon, sitting roughly 70 kilometres off the Kalimantan mainland. A handful of resorts have built bungalows on stilts over the water here, with steps down straight into it, and that combination of genuine remoteness and a comfortable bed is what draws most people. Beyond the resorts there are local villages, working jetties and quiet stretches of coast you can reach by motorbike or small boat.
Underwater is the real argument for the place. The island drops away into vertical walls with visibility that operators routinely describe as over 40 metres, and the regulars are grey reef, leopard and whitetip reef sharks, eagle rays, devil rays and a lot of turtles. Maratua is also rated as the best place in the area for bumphead parrotfish and napoleon wrasse. Hammerheads, threshers and whale sharks all turn up, but they are genuinely occasional and no honest operator will promise them; Mid Reef is the site most associated with threshers, while Gorgonzola and Lighthouse have the pristine shallow coral.
One thing worth knowing, because most guides sell it as a headline: the Maratua Channel, often marketed as Big Fish Country, is not universally dived. At least one established operator on the island declines to run it at all, citing dangerously strong currents, depths beyond 30 metres and how far you are from any medical care. That is not a reason to avoid Maratua. It is a reason to pick your operator on their safety position rather than their marketing, and to be honest with yourself about your own experience level.
行き方
There are two routes and both need checking before you count on them. Wings Air opened a Kalimarau (Berau, BEJ) to Maratua (RTU) service with an inaugural flight in October 2025 using an ATR 72, reported since as running around three times a week and taking about 45 minutes. Reported start dates and schedules differ between sources and the route has been described as a trial subject to review, so verify it is operating before you build an itinerary around it. Separately, Wings Air handed the Berau to Balikpapan route to Super Air Jet in late 2025, which changes how you connect through. The sea route is the dependable one. Speedboats run from the Tanjung Batu area, and resorts quote around two and three quarter to three hours from the Berau jetty to the island, with a car transfer of about 20 minutes from the airport to the jetty. Resorts and homestays generally coordinate transfers and often charge a fixed per-person rate, so book the boat or the flight through your accommodation rather than trying to assemble it on arrival.
ベストシーズン
The dry season, roughly April to October, brings calmer seas, better visibility on the walls and far fewer disrupted transfers, which matters when a crossing can run to three hours in open water. Flights and boats are both limited in capacity, so accommodation and transport need booking together and well in advance, particularly around Indonesian public holidays when the whole archipelago fills. Resorts commonly require arrivals to land before mid-afternoon and departures to be booked for late morning, so check those cut-offs against your flight times before you book anything.
知っておきたいこと
Bring all the cash you will need for the entire stay in small notes. ATMs and card payment are unreliable across the archipelago and assuming otherwise is the most common mistake people make here. If you dive, arrange it through your resort and talk to them about currents before you go. The outer walls run strong, several operators set minimum certification and logged-dive requirements, and some decline particular sites outright on safety grounds. Take that seriously rather than shopping around for whoever will take you. Overwater bungalows are few in number and book up months ahead, so plan early if that is specifically what you want.
Yes, a small number of resorts have built bungalows on stilts over the lagoon with steps down into the water. There are few of them and they book up well in advance, particularly during the dry season and around Indonesian holidays.
Wings Air opened a Berau to Maratua service with an inaugural flight in October 2025, reported as roughly three times a week and about 45 minutes. Sources disagree on start dates and schedules and it has been described as a trial route, so confirm it is running. The speedboat from the mainland, roughly three hours from the Berau jetty, is the more dependable option.
Vertical walls with visibility often over 40 metres, regular grey reef, leopard and whitetip sharks, eagle and devil rays, turtles, and some of the best bumphead parrotfish and napoleon wrasse in the area. Hammerheads, threshers and whale sharks are possible but not guaranteed.
Only with an operator who is willing to run it and only if your experience matches. At least one established local operator declines the site entirely, citing very strong currents, depths beyond 30 metres and the distance from medical care. Choose your operator on their safety position rather than their marketing.
Yes, and enough for the whole trip. Card payment and ATMs are unreliable across the Derawan archipelago, so bring what you need in small notes before you leave the mainland.
Snorkelling the lagoon, exploring local villages and jetties by motorbike or boat, and day trips to Kakaban and Sangalaki. It is a slow place, and most people come for a few unhurried days rather than a packed itinerary.
インドネシアを横断するルートに加えれば、各立ち寄り先間の移動時間と費用を私たちが算出します。
旅を組み立てる
