We write this after noticing that often foreign visitors face difficulty to get in Kapuas Hulu area due to the poor transportation.
The only airport in Kapuas Hulu is in Putussibau, the capital of this regency. To come to Kapuas Hulu, you first should enter West Borneo. There are several paths to get in West Borneo:
First, you take flights from Jakarta to Pontianak (the capital of West Borneo province). The flight takes one hour and fifteen minutes. There’re some airlines with many options of time departure everyday: Batavia Air, Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya, Lion Air and Mandala Air Service, with tickets start from Rp.400,000,- to Rp.900.000,- in normal season. Prices rise during peak season.
Another option, you could take travel by ship from Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta, to Oevang Oeray Port in Pontianak. You will sail about three days and two nights. The price of ticket is cheaper that airplane (about Rp.300,000,-) but you should spend several days on the sea. It’s just wasting time.
Through Malaysi. You could take flight from your country to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak in East Malaysia. From Kuching, take the bus to Pontianak. There’re some options of buses: SJS bus, Damri bus, or bus owned by Malaysian company. The ticket is about Rp.200.000,-. Kuching-Pontianak takes nine-hour-trip.
No problems at the border (Tebedu-Malaysia, Entikong-Indonesia) as long as you have document required. The border is opened from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Indonesian time).
In Pontianak you can stay overnight or directly take another vessel to go Putussibau. There are so many hotels in Pontianak, from star hotels to inns and also transit houses. We suggest you to look for hotel in save and strategic location in where you are not difficult to find restaurants or other stores.
From Pontianak To Putussibau
There are several ways to get into Putussibau from Pontianak.
You can take flights from Supadio airport, Pontianak, to Pangsuma airport in Putussibau. The ticket is Rp.838,000,-.
The flight is on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. One flight on each day, check in at 12.30 a.m. in Supadio airport. Only one airline: Indonesian Air Transport, with 40 passengers. It’s one hour flights with ATR-42 aircraft.
The second way, you could take bus from Pontianak to Putussibau. There are some busses: Perintis Bus, Tri Anugerah Bus, Valenty Bus, or you can rent a car (it would take much money). It’s Rp.360.000,- (bus with Air Conditioner), Rp.240.000,- (Executive, Non-AC), Rp.160.000,- (Economy, Non-AC). The travel would take 18 hours.
Another way, you can take bus from Pontianak to Sintang. There are Damri bus or SJS bus with Rp.100.000,- (with Air Conditioner).
From Sintang to Putussibau, you could take a speedboat or “Motor Bandung”. Motor Bandung or Motor Tambang is used to call a cargo boat that in the past was the main intercity transportation.
But those do not always available everyday, depends on the owner. Commonly for a speedboat, Rp.400.000,- per each with ten-hour-sailing. If you take Motor Bandung, it takes two days and one night on the river of Kapuas, to get to Putussibau.
