Island of Maratua and of Derawan

Maratua and Derawan are the two out of three most famous islands in the Derawan archipelago. Together with Kakaban Island, the three are the tourist destination.

Actually I went to these two accidentally. I didn’t have any working agenda there at that time. I went there to accompany my coworkers who dove in Maratua and took an air compressor in Derawan. Of course I didn’t waste my time just for watching others went diving, I went diving also :)

Maratua
This is the furthest island of the Derawan archipelago. It takes around five hours speedboat ride from Tanjung Redeb to the northeast.

The island is a home for a few international diving resorts. A few villages are also found here. Various fish is the selling point of the diving trips here.


Around the jetty in Payung-Payung Village, it is a feeding ground for sea turtles. One can snorkel around with the turtles as long as not bothering them. And for backpackers like myself, Payung-Payung Village has homestays managed by the community. So no worries, you can swim around with sea turtles on a limited budget.
Derawan
This is the icon of the archipelago. It is famous as the sea turtle haven. One can see sea turtles swimming around near piers in the island every afternoon.

The island has various homestays, from non AC rooms to constant-supply-of-AC rooms although the normal electricity is limited, are available.

Snorkeling and diving with turtles are the selling point in here. Normally, tourists go to Tanjung Batu by rented car or taxi from Tanjung Redeb. In Tanjung Batu, speedboats are available. However, the boats are taxi, not ferry! So it’s better trying to share with others.