Rondreis 21 dagen Molukken - Ambon, Saparua, Seram en Banda

Garuda Indonesia flies non-stop from Amsterdam to Jakarta with her new Boeing 777-300 ER. Experience the hospitality of the Indonesian culture on board of Garuda Indonesia, the national flight company of Indonesia. The direct flight to Jakarta takes you in 13 and a half hour from Amsterdam to Jakarta. Departure Amsterdam around noon, arrival Jakarta early in the morning the following day. Your connecting flight leaves about 2 hours later and is a 3,5 hou -flight. Garuda staff is helping you to get you quickly on the Ambon flight.

Upon arrival at the airport, your driver will be waiting for you at the exit with a name sign. He will take you to your hotel. Your room may not be ready yet at an early check-in. But you can already use the other facilities of the hotel of course.

There is nothing on the program today. You can relax at the pool or take a walk to the bay of Natsepa.

The whole day we are traveling, but there is so much to see along the road and on the water that it is certainly far from boring. From your hotel you will be picked up and taken to the port of Tulehu. Here you get on the boat where you are in the luxury VIP class. After two hours of sailing you arrive in Amahai. From there we continue by car. A beautiful three-hour drive through nature and villages takes us to the village of Soleman. The last part of the route starts here. With a small motor boat you will be transferred to your hotel. The evening is free, you can recover from the long journey.

Today we make a long boat trip to the fishing village of Sawai. We visit several small islands and sail on the Samahai river. On the river you can spot beautiful exotic birds and butterflies. If you are lucky, a freshwater crocodile will show up. End of the afternoon we return to the hotel.

This is a quiet day. The program includes snorkelling and a trip to the freshwater source Air Belanda. Snorkelling is a special experience in the surroundings of these islands, discover the colourful underwater world with its exotic corals and fish. Later we go to the freshwater source. The rest of the day is free.

Op deze laatste dag keert u terug naar Ambon. Bij de haven van Tulehu staat uw chauffeur gereed voor de transfer naar uw hotel. 3 overnachtingen in Natsepa.

Normally you leave at 8 o'clock in the evening with the big Pelni boat to Banda. You stay in a first or second class cabin. Very early in the morning you arrive in the Bay of Banda. There is a porter present to take your luggage to and from your cabin. Because of your early arrival at Banda you also pay for the early check-in at the hotel (already included in the price). NB: From January 2016, Pelni sails until further notice with vessels without 1st, 2nd or 3rd class cabins. Only Economy tickets are available. We strongly discourage these due to poor hygiene.

You will be picked up by your guide and start with a visit to the fish market. You then visit the restored fort Belgica with a beautiful view over the Bay of Banda and then the remains of Fort Nassau. The Hatta house is decorated as a small museum. During the colonial period, the co-founders of the Republic of Indonesia, Hatta and Sharir were banned from the Netherlands to Banda. Hatta spent his time here teaching the local youth. The VOC or Jan Pieterszoon Coenmuseum shows in all simplicity how Coen raged among the people of the Banda islands. The old church is still used and is in good condition.

You can go to the island of Pulau Lontar, better known as Banda Besar, in a half hour by longboat. This island is mainly known for the planters who grow their nutmeg and mace here. Among other things, we pay a visit to the former beds of the Van den Broeke family. We continue our walk through Fort Hollandia to the tomb stone of Nona Lantsuese.

The Banda Islands shelter dozens of beautiful snorkelling and diving locations with colourful coral and many different fish. A wonderful day of snorkelilng and relaxing on a white beach is an absolute must. With fresh fish from the fire, lunch is not to be sneezed at! Diving is also possible, at an additional cost.

Nothing has been planned for this day. You can book an excursion to one of the islands at your hotel or guesthouse. When you visit the Banda islands in April or October, you’ve got a big chance to see (the preparations for) the kora-kora matches. The impressive rowing boats are then rowed by about twenty muscular men.

Terugvaart van Banda naar Ambon. U wordt aan boord geholpen met uw bagage door de kruier en heet wederom een hut ter beschikking. Vermoedelijk vertrek rond 07:00. Bij aankomst in Ambon, circa 8 uur later, staat een kruier weer klaar en wordt u naar het hotel gebracht.

In the morning we pay a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Tantui. Originally here was the prison camp of the Dutch and Australian soldiers who fought against the Japanese during the Second World War. After visiting this now peaceful and quiet place we continue to Hila - Kaitetu to visit the Fort Amsterdam, the old church from 1780 and the old Wapaue mosque from 1414. We have lunch en route. We have seen the production of sago before, but today we also see how the leaves of the palm are used, for example, for making roofs. For this we go to the village of Rutong. End of the afternoon we return to the hotel.

In the morning we drive to Hurnala to board the boat from 09.00 to Haria on the island of Saparua. You will be transferred to the Perdana Hotel in Saparua by minibus. Then we make a tour to the Duurstede Fort and adjacent museum (if open, since 2013 the museum seems to be closed to the public). You can enjoy your lunch on the beach of Duurstede. Then we go for a walk through Saparua.

Today we first take a walk around the busy market. After this we drive to the pottery village Ouw, here we get a demonstration of traditional pottery. After lunch we continue to the village of Mahu. There we walk through the sago forests. Sago is a starch product that comes from the pith of different plant / tree species. You’ll see the whole process. We end the day with two other villages, Itawaka and Noloth. Here you can quietly look around by yourself and discover the culture. Late in the afternoon we return to the hotel in Saparua.

After an early and meagre breakfast you will be taken to the port by minibus. Then we sail back with the fastboat to the Hurnala shipyard in Tulehu and return to the hotel.

Na het ontbijt gaan we naar het dorpje Waai. Hier leven 'heilige alen' en kunnen we zien hoe de bewoners ze voeren met rauwe eieren. Ook is het mogelijk om de glibberige alen aan te raken en zelfs te knuffelen. Na Waai rijden we verder naar het Hunimua strand. Terwijl we wachten op de lunch is er alle tijd om te zwemmen en te ontspannen. Voordat we terugkeren naar het hotel in Ambon, maken we en stop bij het Natsepa strand. Hier kunt u de heerlijke gebakken bananen proeven, beter bekend als 'pisang goreng'. Ook kunt u 'roedjak' proeven, een pittige fruitsalade met bruine suiker en pinda's. Eind van de middag zijn we terug bij het hotel.

There is nothing on the program today. You can do some shopping in Ambon city or relax at the pool.

At the agreed time, your driver will pick you up for your transfer to the airport or the port.

Flight with Garuda Indonesia Ambon-Amsterdam with transfer in Jakarta. Departure from Ambon in the afternoon, arrival late afternoon in Jakarta. The connecting flight leaves Jakarta around midnight. Arrival Amsterdam in the morning.

In the morning arrival at Schiphol. The end of a beautiful trip...