Cruising in Indonesia: A Guide for Superyachts

Whilst Covid-19 has caused a lot of disruption around the world, Indonesia has benefited from being an archipelago with water borders.

Due to some good policies for Marine Tourism, we are happy to announce that Indonesia has become one of the first destinations in SE Asia to be  fully open to superyachts, crew and owners.

After a year of shutdowns, lockdowns and meltdowns, Catalano Shipping and Benoa Marina are leading the re-opening period with new protocols which make superyacht entry simple. Additionally, as long as conditions are met in advance of arrival, there is no mandatory quarantine period necessary which is a huge boost for crew changes and owner trips.

"Prioritising Marine Tourism is a good move," commented CSS MD Richard Lofthouse "It is low volume and mainly takes place outside of large local communities and built-up areas. It is very easy to track a small group of people in an isolated space so it makes sense to grow things back from here." Benoa Marina, managed by CSS Indonesia, has remained busy throughout the last 6 months but now is receiving a lot of new enquiries.

"It is exciting to see things moving forward again and the marina starting to fill up," said Clarice Jarmain, CSS GM "It has been a challenging year and we are looking forward to finishing strongly. "The Indonesian Government has made single entry visas more readily available over the last few weeks  and  CSS  has  processed over 20 of these e-visas for visitors successfully - some in as few as 3 days.

"This makes a big difference and allows crew changes and guest trips to happen a lot more easily than in almost any other country in the region," continues Lofthouse "This, coupled with clear entry protocols and the remoteness of the National Parks, has made Indonesia an attractive post-Covid destination and we are looking forward to  continuing to welcome our clients back. The cruising over the next few months will be some of the best in history!"

Here is a guide to get superyachts, crew and guests into Indonesia safely and with ease: 

STEP 1 - Visas

CSS Sponsors and supplies B211 visas for all inbound crew and guests. This process takes around 7 working days. These can be picked up at Indonesian Consulates or arranged as e-visas direct to you.

STEP 2 - PCR Tests

Each crew member and guest takes a PCR test from an accredited hospital within 7 days of entry into Indonesia.

With a PCR test of less than 7 days on arrival, there is no quarantine period.

STEP 3 - Entry

• By Sea: International Port clearance as standard. We will designate a port within the 7 days window period.

• By Air: Landing into an international airport and usual process.

FAQs

1) Can we cruise all areas of Indonesia ?
Yes all areas are open to cruising yachts.

2) Are there any protocols moving from place to place ?
Only if flying or overland there is a requirement for a rapid test. Moving  by yacht  there  are no requirements unless we go into populated areas in which case masks are required.

3) Is it ‘safe’?
Once out cruising we will be in areas of low population and away from any urban areas with cases. In short, there are few safer places to be.