Where
to Go
Gunung Leuser National Park
Bukit Lawang
Tangkahan
Lake Toba
Berastagi
Mt. Sibayak
volcano
Mt. Sinabung
volcano
Sipisopiso
Waterfall
Tongging
Ketembe
Lake Kawar
Medan
What
to Do
Jungle
Trekking
Elephant
Trekking
White-Water
Rafting
River-Tubing
Volcano
Climbing
Bohorok
Orangutan Centre
Maimoon Palace
What
to Know
About "Hello
Mister Travel"
Introduction
to Sumatra
Topography
History
Getting to Sumatra
Getting Around Sumatra
Terms & Conditions
Accommodation
Bukit Lawang
Tangkahan
Berastagi
Tongging
Tuk Tuk
Ketembe
The Tours
Bukit Lawang Short Stay
The Jungle Trail
The Toba Trail
The North Sumatran Trail
How to Get to Sumatra
Medan is the main port of entry to Sumatra and can be reached by air and by sea.
Air
There are only two countries from which you can fly directly to Medan: Malaysia and Singapore. Otherwise you'll have to fly in to Jakarta and get a connecting flight which your airline will obviously arrange. Airlines flying to Indonesia from Europe are Emirates, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Qantas, KLM, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines
From Singapore you can fly Silk Air and Valuair.
From Malaysia you can fly from Kuala Lumpur using Air Asia, Firefly, or Malaysia Airlines. And from Penang using Firefly, Air Asia, Kartika, Lion Air (whose motto "We Make People Fly" possibly needs rethinking) or Sriwijaya Air.
If
you're coming from further afield, your airline can arrange
connecting flights into Medan for you.
Ferry
There is a ferry service from Penang in Malaysia into the port of Belawan, which is around 25km from Medan. The ferry service is run by Langkawi Ferry Services and cost at the time of writing (06/10/09) is 110 Malaysian Ringots (Rp.300,000) one-way or 180 Ringots (Rp.500,000) return.
Penang to Medan on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. Check-in at 8.30am.
Medan to Penang on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. Check-in at 10.00am
Journey time, a very approximate 6 hrs.
My advice is to have a jumper or jacket with you as they whack the air-conditioning up full-blast.
It's not the most comfortable of ferries and there isn't much to do other than watch badly pirated movies played much too loudly or indulge in a pot of instant noodles.
Once you arrive in Belawan there are many buses available to take you into the city and cost will vary depending on how unscrupulous the swarming touts are. You shouldn't pay any more than Rp. 25,000 but as a tourist you'll have to bargain hard for that.
Book now!
Jungle trek tours starting at only €99pp! Visit the famous Bohorok Orangutan Centre, trek into the jungle and experience Gunung Leuser National Park. Click here for more details.
"The
journey to Lake Toba from Medan, the capital of North Sumatra,
is quite long and arduous -- three to four hours should be allowed --
but as one approaches the lake's shores, one is simultaneously filled
with a sense of relief and exciting anticipation about what is about to
be revealed..." read more
from The Jakarta Post.