Travel With Me #003 : Going to Pulau Banyak, Aceh Singkil

Singkil is a transit city before setting foot on Pulau Banyak. There are 2 main cities in Sumatera to get to Singkil by road. First of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. Second from the city of Medan.

If you are domiciled outside of Aceh, Medan City is the right choice for Singkil, it only takes about 7 to 8 hours. Compare it with land travel from Banda Aceh which takes about 15 hours. Almost double the mileage from Medan. This is due to the location of Singkil close to the border of North Sumatra.

Not difficult to find the type of deer transport in the city of Medan. Some transportation services are located around the road Puri and Rahmadsyah which offer rates of 120,000 rupiah per person to Singkil. If you come with a group of 5 to 7 people, you should rent a car with a bid price between 700,000 to 800,000 rupiah.

In addition, Medan - via Kuala Namu Airport - also offers direct flights to Hamzah Fansuri airport in Singkil, 3 times a week every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Good news for those of you who live in Banda Aceh, by 2014 there will be direct flights from Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport to the airport in Singkil.

Arriving at Singkil, you can choose ferry crossing at Sarok Island harbor or speed boat and fishing boats located at Jembatan Tinggi harbor.

The Port of High Bridge, a place where speed boats and fishing boats can be boarded for the purpose of Pulau Banyak and surrounding areas.

If you choose a ferry then simply pay between 25,000 to 30,000 rupiah. Unfortunately when we visited Singkil, the ferry was not serving the voyage from Singkil to Pulau Banyak. So no one can give certainty on any day and how many times a week the ferry departs to Pulau Banyak.

Meanwhile, if using a wooden motor boat capable of carrying less than 30 people and also transporting goods needs of the population in Pulau Banyak, each passenger is charged at 30,000 rupiah.

If you want to arrive faster on the island of Balai, you can rent a speed boat that docked at the port of High Bridge, side by side with fishing boats. The rental price ranges from 1 to 2 million rupiah. By using a speed boat, travel time between Singkil to Balai Island less than 2 hours.

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