Island hopping is a word that means jumping from one island to another, but not with the actual meaning of jumping. The term island hopping is often used for those who visit more than one island that is close to each other. Of course it feels very nice if you can visit several different tourist spots in the same area.

In Indonesia, there are thousands of islands that can be visited for island hopping. One that has become popular in recent years is island hopping in Lampung Bay. There are quite a number of islands that you can visit in Lampung Bay, such as Kelagian Besar, Kelagian Kecil, Pahawang Besar, Pahawang Kecil, Tanjung Putus, Tegal, Maitem, Balak, Lok, and Lunik.

Of the several islands, Pahawang and Kelagian are the islands that are excellent for tourists. This is because the location of the island is not too far from the pier.

In general, the islands in Lampung Bay tend to have clean white sand, clear sea water, and many beautiful snorkeling spots. It can be said that snorkeling in the waters of Lampung Bay is a must-do activity. Here, you can find a variety of marine life that is truly stunning.

If you are curious and want to see for yourself how beautiful Lampung Bay is, come to Lampung. You and other tourists will definitely want to come back if you have ever enjoyed the beauty that is in Lampung Bay.


Transportation options to Bandar Lampung

Air transport

Air transportation is the best choice for those of you who have limited time or don't want to be too tired on the trip. From Radin Inten II International Airport, you can use a taxi, Trans Lampung, or a pick-up that you ordered earlier. The Trans Lampung fare is quite cheap, which is Rp. 20,000 for the Radin Inten II Airport – Bandar Lampung City route.

Land transportation

Some of the land transportation that you can use to get to Lampung is using a private car, Damri, or public bus.

From Java Island, the fare for the Merak-Bakauheni crossing for minibus/sedan type cars is IDR 320,000, plus IDR 13,000 for adult passengers and IDR 7,500 for child passengers. This crossing itself takes about 2 hours. Arriving at Bakauheni Harbor, you will travel for 2 hours to Bandar Lampung.

If you use public transportation from Java, you have to take a bus to Merak, then cross to Bakauheni Harbor. Arriving at the port, you can continue your journey with an AC Economy class bus to Bakauheni Port – Rajabasa Terminal (Bandar Lampung City) at a fare of IDR 25,000.

If you are reluctant to get on and off the bus, you can use Damri with a direct destination from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung. The fare is also adjusted to the selected class, from IDR 170,000 to IDR 270,000.


From Bandar Lampung to Pahawang Island

To go to Pahawang Island, you have to go to Ketapang Pier in Lampung Bay. You can rent a car at a cost of IDR 250,000 to IDR 300,000 per day or use public transportation at a relatively cheaper cost to get to the pier. The routes you can take include: Bandar Lampung–Lempasing–Mutun–Sukajaya Laut–Hanura–Ringgung–Ketapang Pier with a travel time of about 1-2 hours.

The road to Ketapang Pier is fairly jam-free. When on a trip, once in a while you can see the beautiful view of Lampung Bay. Arriving at the pier, you will not see a large ship perched because this pier is a fishing port. You can find many boats used for fishing and charter boats.

To go to Pahawang and Kelagian Islands, you need to rent a motorboat at a cost of around IDR 400,000 to IDR 800,000 per day. In addition to renting a motorboat, you can also rent snorkeling equipment and underwater cameras provided by residents around the pier. The rental fee is IDR 50,000 for snorkeling equipment and IDR 250,000 for underwater cameras.

From the pier, you will start to feel the beach breeze and see the clear sea water. From the pier, it takes about 30 minutes to reach Pahawang Kecil Island.

Pahawang Kecil Island is directly opposite the Big Pahawang Island.

If Pahawang Kecil is famous for its beautiful natural panorama, then Pahawang Besar is famous for its snorkeling spots. Before heading to the snorkeling spot in Pahawang Besar, you will usually visit Pahawang Kecil Island first. To enter this island, you don't need an entrance ticket, you only need to pay for the boat parking of Rp. 20,000 per boat.

Pahawang Kecil Island has the same characteristics as the islands in Lampung Bay in general, which has clear sea water and clean white sand. The other thing that is most known about this island is Pasir Timbul. Pasir Timbul is also known as Gusung Pasir or Tanjung Putus (not Tanjung Putus Island). Do not be surprised if many people call it by a different name.


 Embossed Sand

In the past, Pasir Timbul could be said to be a natural bridge, where this sand connected between Pahawang Besar Island and Pahawang Kecil Island. When the water is low, you can cross from one island to another just on foot. However, this can no longer be done because some of the waters near Pahawang Besar Island have become quite deep waters.

Pasir Timbul can only be seen when the water is receding and will disappear again when the water is high, usually at high tide when it is past 1 pm. This place is also one of the mandatory spots to take pictures when you visit this island.


 Sand arises when it starts to tide

Pahawang Kecil Island is quite quiet because the island is uninhabited. Here, there is only one villa owned by foreign nationals who are rarely visited by their owners. This villa is often referred to as Villa Mr. Joe, where no one was allowed to approach and enter the villa.


Beach near Villa Mr. Joe

We recommend that you bring a sufficient supply of food and drinks if you want to visit because on this island there are no food or drink vendors. The atmosphere on this island is very calm, especially if you visit it on weekdays.

The calm atmosphere on this island, is perfect for releasing fatigue and stress from the hustle and bustle of life. You just sit back and relax on the sand, enjoy the beach breeze, see the clear sea water, and feel the sound of the waves breaking the silence. It is extraordinary beauty.


The panoramic beauty of Pahawang Kecil Island

After being satisfied with enjoying the beauty of Pahawang Kecil Island, now is the time for you to enjoy the underwater beauty in the waters of Pahawang Besar. You only need about 7 minutes to get to the Pahawang Besar snorkeling spot from Pahawang Kecil. From a distance, you can see a post in the middle of the sea. The post serves as a boat parking lot. Here, you will enjoy the underwater beauty of Pahawang.


 Snorkeling in the waters of Pahawang Besar

You just pay for the boat parking of Rp. 20,000 per boat, then you can enjoy the underwater beauty here to your heart's content. If you are worried about not being able to swim, you can still enjoy the underwater beauty of Pahawang by using a buoy. Here, you will find lots of clown fish (nemo fish) and their really charming anemones and many other beautiful fish.


 Clown fish and their anemones

Because there are many clown fish, this spot is one of the leading spots in Lampung Bay. You will also find some writings under the sea, such as 'TOUR TAMAN NEMO LAMPUNG', 'ISLAND PAHAWANG WISATAKU', and 'WELCOME TO BUMI PAHAWANG' to take pictures.


 Several types of fish in the waters of Pahawang Besar

In addition to beautiful fish, here there is also coral reef cultivation that you can find. There are quite a lot of coral reefs being cultivated. The coral reefs here are colorful. There are several coral reefs that are blue, as if they look lit up in the depths of the sea. Although in the waters there are dead corals, this does not at all reduce the beauty that is in these waters.

If you are not satisfied, you can also snorkel in the waters of Kelagian Besar and Kelagian Kecil which are no less beautiful. You can find clown fish of several colors in Little Kelagian. The rest, the marine life in these waters is not much different from Pahawang Besar.

Several types of fish in the waters of Kelagian Kecil

If you are lucky, you will meet blue-spotted rays and green turtles in these waters. Even though you are enjoying snorkeling, you have to be careful because there are sea snake nests in the southeast-south side of the island. If it's in season, you can also find jellyfish around these waters.

As if to be a paradise for snorkeling lovers, Lampung Bay has other interesting snorkeling spots that you might not explore enough in one day. Some of the snorkeling spots that you can visit are Cukuh Bedil, Tanjung Putus, Gosong Bekri, and Gosong Pancong. If you feel tired enough, you can also rest or stay overnight in this area.


Accommodation


In general, the islands in Lampung Bay are uninhabited islands, except for Pahawang Besar Island which is located in Punduh Pidada District, Pesawaran Regency, Lampung Province. This island does not yet provide comfortable lodging, but there are quite a number of homestays that you can rent from local residents or order through online booking sites such as Traveloka. If the holiday season arrives, usually there are also those who set up tents on Kelagian Island.

The culture here is quite heterogeneous because Lampung is a transmigration area. Indigenous people are also mixed with people from various regions, such as Bali, Java, Sunda, and others.

If you have rested and stayed overnight, you can also continue your island hopping in Lampung Bay or return home. If you decide to go home, then you may always imagine the beauty of Lampung and want to come back here.

For those of you who have never visited Lampung, you should make Lampung a holiday tourist destination this season. Surely, you will be amazed by its extraordinary beauty. There are several things that must be considered during island hopping in Lampung Bay, namely:

Using sunblock

Bring dry packs for valuables or electronic equipment

Bring enough food and drink supplies

Bring or rent an underwater camera

Come on, visit Lampung! Enjoying the beauty of nature does not need to go too far. This is Lampung, the Lampung of Indonesia. Proud to be Indonesian!