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Villa
Tunggaoen, Tunggaoen
beachfront
Rote Island, Indonesia
www.villatunggaoen.com
Contact: Sani +6281236480997
shany.rasta1@gmail.com
GETTING TO VILLA
TUNGGAOEN IN 2022 (as at 16 June)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a
large effect on travel and has made international travel a bit
more of an "adventure". Here we give some information on
traveling to Villa Tunggaoen based on a recent trip from
Australia by the owners. While the travel described
starts from Australia, once you get to Bali, the trip is the
same coming from other locations.
The route described is:
1) Australia to Bali
2) Bali to Kupang
3) Kupang to Ba'a in Rote
4) Finally Ba'a to Villa Tunggaoen
If you are staying at Villa Tunggaoen and
need further advice on travel or are having difficulties on
your journey, please contact the Villa Manager, Sani (see
above) or the Airbnb Host (contact details on the Home
page).
Australia to Bali
Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin
Australia all fly to Denpasar (DPS) Airport in Bali.
That is the first leg of the trip. Jetstar has a good
description of what you need to travel at Travel
to and from Bali | Jetstar
You are no longer required to have proof of travel insurance certificate showing cover for COVID related medical costs in Indonesia in order to enter Indonesia. You should consider regular travel insurance for cancellation, baggage loss, medical expenses and medical evacuation etc., especially being mindful of the less developed state of medical facilities in Rote.
At DPS Airport, there were queues for Visa on Arrival, checking vaccination certificates and passports. The length of the wait will depend on how many other aircraft have arrived. For customs you need to have a QR code from their app (see Jetstar link above), which they scan on exit. If you are bringing a foreign mobile phone into Indonesia to use with an Indonesian SIM for the long term, make sure you read the customs information on registering it or it will not work.
You will need to stay overnight in Bali before traveling to Kupang, NTT. We have stayed at two hotels near the airport. The Novotel Bali Ngurah Rai Airport is right in the airport and is walking distance from both the international and domestic terminals. It is really a transit hotel. To enjoy a bit of Balinese beach life after arrival, we stay at The Patra Bali, which is next to the airport on the beach. For a small fee you can arrange for them to pick you up from your flight and take you back to the airport the next day, a short drive.
Bali to Kupang
Lion Air flies daily from DPS to Kupang. You can book that flight and a flight from Kupang to Rote with their subsidiary Wings Air on the one website. I found that I could reserve seats on the browser booking page but not in the Lion Air app, but it may have just been my use of it. For a small charge, you can book "Cool Seats" - near the front on the way to Kupang and at the back (near the door) on the flight to Rote.
Check-in for the flight to Kupang is at the DPS domestic terminal. You can check your bags all the way through to Rote. Make sure they put a big red "Transit" sticker on your bags if you choose this option. Lion Air accommodates surf boards at an extra charge as set out in the Lion Air FAQ (see "Perlengkapan Olahraga"). It says:
1. Fee IDR 200,000 per leg/per surfboard
2. Maximum weight of 1 surfboard 23 KG
3. Not included in the Free Baggage or Prepaid Baggage
There is no stated length limit but see below for Kupang-Rote flight.
There is quite a long stopover in Kupang. Rather than stay at the airport, we prefer to go to the nearby Hotel La Hasienda where you can have a drink or meal on their roof top terrace. If you give them a call, they'll pick you up from the airport and deliver you back for your next flight.
Kupang to Rote
The Kupang-Rote flight takes only 30 minutes, essentially climbing, flying for 10 minutes and then descending. Check-in (if you didn't get your boarding pass for this flight in Bali) can be a bit slow but is straightforward. If you have not checked your surfboard all the way through to Rote, you may have difficulty checking it onto the Wings Air flight if it is "long". Again, there is no specified maximum length published and long boards do get carried. If your board is refused it will need to travel on the ferry. If you would like to travel by ferry or your board has to, you can call Sani on the number above for advice.
Rote Airport to Villa Tunggaoen
Transport from Rote Airport to the villa can be arranged for an extra charge. Once you have collected your bags, a driver will meet you outside the small terminal. The drive to the villa takes a bit over an hour and shows you parts of Rote that are quite different to the West Rote surfing area.
COVID-19
Face masks were mandatory on all the flights mentioned above. Apart from the vaccine check in Australia and on arrival at DPS, which also has various body temperature sensors in both the international and domestic terminals, there is little regulatory impact from COVID-19. You are required to download the Peduli Lindungi (contact tracing) app to enter Indonesia but no one seems to want to see it or have you use it, especially in Rote. I went through a procedure, which took several weeks, to get my Australian international vaccination certificate inserted into the app but this is not necessary as the certificate is well recognised in Bali. If you are coming from a country with relatively few travelers to Bali, with a certificate that is less often seen in Bali, it might be worth getting it inserted in the app. Steps to do this are in the app.
Bali, Kupang and Rote have all had COVID-19 infection waves but the prevalence now is very low. In Rote, there is no real sign of a pandemic. You can check the current COVID-19 situation at the Provinsi or Kabupaten/Kota level here: Situasi COVID-19 | Covid19.go.id (relevant provinces are Bali and NTT, and Kabupaten/Kota in NTT are Kupang and Rote).
DISCLAIMER
The information above is provided in good faith to help your preparation to travel to Rote. International travel is changing rapidly as it recovers from the pandemic as are travel regulations. Please check your travel and health arrangements independently from original sources. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the authors of this website, the villa owners and operators and landowners, their associates and suppliers and the staff, Directors, Trustees and Commissioners of these entities disclaim responsibility or liability for any loss, accident, injury or illness incurred by users of this website.