Pulau Belitung Travel Guide

Dear Friends,

It has been ages since I wrote one of these travel blogs, so quite honestly, I’m feeling a bit nervous. Or perhaps I’m just overthinking it, chasing the perfect flow and the perfect words, when what I really need to do is stop procrastinating and start writing. The goal (and I’m reminding myself of this) is to share the experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have, in the hope that it might get even one reader excited about discovering another corner of this beautiful world.

So, without further ado, let me tell you how I ended up on Pulau Belitung. Belitung is an island off the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. According to the internet (I’m no expert), it is about 80% the size of Bali, though in terms of tourism it is only a fraction of what Bali is today. How we ended up here was mostly a matter of convenience. I was spending most of my summer vacation in Singapore and started browsing Skyscanner for a nearby diving destination. Last-minute flights to Bali were expensive (despite the huge number of Singapore–Bali routes), and Labuan Bajo, in eastern Indonesia, was quite hard to reach. Then we stumbled upon Belitung. We checked with friends who had been there, and after hearing glowing reviews, we booked our tickets.

Accommodation & Transportation: We spent five nights on the island, staying at a hotel in Tanjung Pandan (on the west side, as you can see on the map), the largest town on the island. We rented a car and highly recommend you do the same! There are no taxis. You can hire a chartered car with a driver for a reasonable price, but we found it much nicer to have our own car and go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted.

Activities: The main reason we went to Belitung was its underwater beauty. It had been highly recommended to us for its clean (!) white-sand beaches, granite boulders, and calm waters. As soon as our flights were booked, I contacted a dive school there called Rock and Wreck. On our first full day, we headed out on a private boat arranged by the school from Kelayang Pier at Tanjung Kelayang, in the north of the island. (We didn’t ask for a private boat. We just happened to be their only guests that day. How cool is that?!) We visited two dive sites: Lengkuas Island and Lighthouse Wreck. Let’s just say my little divemaster heart felt rejuvenated underwater, as most of the corals looked healthy and unbleached. We were also greeted by giant pufferfish, parrotfish (my favourite), nudibranchs, and more.

Our divemaster, Pak Harries, also told us a fascinating story about how the wreck site came to be. About 20 years ago, a commercial ship was passing Belitung at night when, in true Indonesian style, the lighthouse wasn’t working. (If you’re not from Indonesia, this is perfectly normal. Nobody checks these things, and the life motto is mostly to relax and hope for the best.) The ship hit a reef and sank. After the dives, we were dropped off at Kepayang Island, a tiny island just off Kelayang Pier, where a local restaurant was cooking fresh grilled fish from the day’s catch. It was so, so yummy and authentic.

On our second day in the water, we organised an island-hopping tour with the same dive school. One member of my family doesn’t dive, so we thought it would be nice to do some snorkelling and freediving instead. We visited several islands, including Lengkuas Island and Batu Berlayar Island, and swam around some exciting spots. Once again, the clear water and colourful, healthy corals took our breath away. The weather was less gentle that day, with huge waves, but that’s part of the fun, I guess!

Out of the water, our itinerary was more relaxed. We visited the Laskar Pelangi Museum, Indonesia’s first literary museum, built by the famous Andrea Hirata, author of the book Laskar Pelangi. The museum offers a free space for writers, readers, and students to explore their imagination and build an interest in literature. I loved it. We also explored more of the north and centre of the island, shopped for local souvenirs, watched the sunset, and, of course, ate the local delicacies.

One thing we noticed was how clean the island was and how good its infrastructure seemed. In the five days we spent driving around, we didn’t see any homelessness at all. We later learned that, compared to other parts of Indonesia, Belitung is a prosperous island, thanks to tin mining. Honestly, that was a relief to see.

Restaurants: Speaking of food, we were pleasantly surprised by the options on such a non-touristy island. From seafood to Chinese food to Malay-inspired dishes, you can find it all. Very unfortunately, I didn’t think to take notes on the names of the places we ate. But I can tell you that we mostly went to simple, family-run restaurants in town, and the food was always on point. Not mild, just proper Indonesian food.

That brings us to the end of this travel blog. Would I recommend visiting Belitung? 100%. My family said it felt like Bali 20 years ago: beautiful sea, and no overcrowding yet. You should probably go soon, though, as more and more flights are coming in and out of the island.

Until next time x

Love,

Aislin