How to Get to Rote Island, Indonesia (2024 Guide)
Rote Island in West Timor is a true hidden gem when it comes to travel in Indonesia! As the southernmost island in the entire Indonesian archipelago, Rote is actually just 500 kilometers (~300 miles) from the Australian mainland. That puts it in closer striking distance to Australia than to other Indonesian islands, like Bali and Java!
Despite its remoteness, Rote Island is a blossoming tourism destination for people willing to go a bit off-the-beaten-path due to its excellent surf and gorgeous, electric blue waters.
A handful of low-key beach resorts have sprung up in the Nemberala area of Rote Island on its western tip, increasing tourism there — though it’s still not over-touristed by any stretch of the imagination.
I’ll be completely honest here: getting to Rote Island is not particularly practical, but it’s worth the pilgrimage to experience some of Indonesia’s most pristine waters, gorgeous coral reefs, and epic surf.
It took a lot of back-and-forth with our resort over WhatsApp to figure out the logistics of getting to Rote Island from Bali, so I’ve distilled everything I learned from making the trip there into this guide. I also include information on how to get to Rote Island from Jakarta, which is a little easier.
| 🏝️ Planning a trip to Rote Island? Here are some top-rated hotels in Rote; I stayed at Seed Resort for 3 nights and loved it. If you need to stay the night in Kupang on the way to Rote, here are some suggested mid-range budget hotels in Kupang; I stayed at Hotel on the Rock on the way there and back. |
No matter which route you take, the journey is broken into two parts: your origin to Kupang and then from Kupang to Rote, either by ferry or by flight.
Now let’s get into it: here’s how to get to Rote Island!
Step One: Flying to Kupang
The first step in getting to Rote Island is flying to Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara and the largest city in West Timor. But the logistics of continuing onto Rote Island differ depending on where you start.
Sometimes, it requires an overnight stay, such as when coming from Bali. However, if you come from another destination in Indonesia, like Jakarta, you can fly into Kupang early enough in the morning that you can catch a ferry or onward flight on the same day.
From Jakarta
If you come from Jakarta, you can take the Batik Air flight from Jakarta to Kupang that departs at 2:00 a.m. and arrives in Kupang at 6:10 a.m.
This gives you enough time to either take the Susi Air flight (if arriving on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday) or take the fast ferry at 9:00 a.m., which runs every day.
It takes about 30 minutes to get from the Kupang Airport to the ferry terminal; you can get a taxi at the airport or use Grab (which I recommend, personally!).
From Bali
If you come from Bali, you can take the Lion Air flight from Denpasar to Kupang, which leaves at 11:05 a.m. and arrives at 12:45 p.m.
However, note that if you do this, you will either have to overnight in Kupang or take the slow ferry, which gets you to your hotel around ~10 p.m. I suggest staying in Kupang, as it’s less stressful and you can enjoy a little time in West Timor before heading to Rote.
Step Two: Kupang to Rote by Ferry or Flight
Fast Ferry to Rote Island
The easiest way to get to Rote Island is via the fast ferry, which takes about 2 hours. However, the ferry is often delayed, so you should expect to arrive about 3 hours after departure.
Unfortunately, the ferry does not line up well with the flights arriving from other cities in Indonesia. For example, our flight from Bali arrived around 1 p.m., but we weren’t able to take a ferry that same day because the only ferry of the day goes from Kupang to Rote at 9 a.m.
We had to stay overnight in Kupang, which was fine because we really enjoyed having a day to explore the area.
I’ll write more about that in a future blog post because there are some really cool sights around Kupang, including a beautiful waterfall and a super interesting cave pool.
We also stayed at a great hotel in Kupang, Hotel on the Rock, for a good price, about $25 USD a night for a room with two double beds.
It has an incredible oceanfront view, a sunset-facing pool, and an excellent and safe location in the heart of Kupang, so I highly recommend it!
You’ll encounter the same problem on the way back, no matter if you return to Bali or Jakarta — the ferry from Rote to Kupang departs at noon and arrives at 2 p.m.
The flight back to Bali departs at 1:35 p.m., which doesn’t give you enough time to get from the ferry terminal to the airport. There are no direct afternoon flights to Jakarta either, so you’ll have to stay in Kupang the night before your flight or take a pricy connecting flight.
As a result, we had to spend a night in Kupang at the end of the trip, which was fine as we stayed at the same hotel we did on the way there.
Fast Ferry Schedule & Prices
- Kupang to Rote: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
- Rote to Kupang: 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Cost: The fast ferry costs 245,000 IDR for VIP Class ($15 USD) or 172,000 IDR ($11 USD) for executive class
The ferry is comfortable, air-conditioned, and has assigned seats. When I traveled there, it was pretty empty.
The bathrooms are relatively clean, and you can also buy drinks and food on board if you need something to snack on.
Note: The sea is smooth in some places, but in the middle of the route, when you are going through open seas, it can be super choppy, so be sure to take Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness. I get motion sickness quickly, and I felt fine on the way to Rote Island, but I felt a little tossed around on the way back from Rote to Kupang.
A local on the ferry approached us and offered to arrange taxis for tourists on board. We got a shared taxi to Nemberala for 500,000 IDR ($32 USD) for two people, sharing with a third person heading to the same area.
Nemberala is about 2 hours drive from the current ferry terminal (as the closer ferry terminal is being worked on after storms closed that port), so getting there is a little pricy. Our resort quoted us 800,000 IDR ($51 USD) for a transfer, so we were happy with the price we could negotiate on board. We also got his WhatsApp for the return trip.
If you want to contact the ferry company, here is their Whatsapp: +62811789200
Slow Ferry to Rote Island
If getting to Rote Island on the same day is super important to you, there is also the option to take the slow ferry, which takes 4 hours but has a different schedule. If you arrive early enough in the day (flight arriving before 2 p.m.), you can leave for Rote that same day.
However, the journey is really long, since the resort area in Rote Island is not close to the harbor. The Kupang-Rote slow ferry departs at 3:30 p.m. and arrives at Pantai Baru Harbor at 7:30 p.m.
You’ll need to account for at least 2 hours to get from the ferry port to Nemberala, the island’s accommodation center. If you want to get there without an overnight in Kupang, you will arrive at nearly 10 p.m. Since hotels in Rote are generally more expensive than hotels in Kupang, I think it makes more sense to stay the night in Kupang and simply arrive the next day.
Slow Ferry Schedule & Costs:
- Kupang to Rote: 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- Rote to Kupang: 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Cost: About 64,000 IDR for adults (and less for kids), about $4 USD.
Flying to Rote Island
While there are more convenient ways to get to Rote Island, it’s undoubtedly the most beautiful.
The small Indonesian airline Susi Air operates the flight from Kupang to Rote Island. You can reach them via WhatsApp. As of summer 2024, the flight departs quite early in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only.
For your information, If you are flying from Bali, Flight Kupang-Rote Route is now handled by Susi Air. However, it’s only flying on certain days with a morning flight schedule and is subject to changes (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). It leaves at 8:10 a.m., arrives at 8:30 a.m., and costs 815,000 IDR ($52 USD) one-way.
If you want to book tickets via Susi Air, here are the contact numbers:
• Tickets departing from Kupang: +6281120213235
• Tickets departing from Rote: +6281120011917
Allison Green is a former teacher who has been travel blogging since 2016. She has a Masters in Teaching and a B.A. in English and Creative Writing. Her blog posts merge her background as an educator with her experience traveling to 70+ countries to encourage ethical, meaningful travel. She has been a speaker at the World Travel Writers Conference and her writing, photography, and podcasting work has appeared in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, CBC Canada, and Forbes, amongst others. Now a full-time traveler, she has lived in Prague, Sofia, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
