No scheduled airline flies directly to Derawan Island, because Derawan has no airport at all. Direct air access exists only as a charter — a seaplane or small aircraft arranged on request, landing on water where the operator, local authorities and conditions allow. Everyone else reaches Derawan by road from Kalimarau Airport (BEJ) in Berau, then a speedboat crossing, a route that takes roughly three hours door to jetty as of September 2026.
That single fact trips up a lot of trip planning, because search engines and travel forums often use “fly to Derawan” loosely to mean “fly to Berau and then continue on.” The distinction matters for anyone booking flights, timing a same-day arrival, or deciding whether a charter is worth the cost.
What Are the Three Ways to Reach Derawan From Berau?
There are exactly three ways to close the gap between Kalimarau Airport and Derawan Island, and only one of them involves scheduled air travel — and even that one doesn’t land on Derawan itself.
| Option | How it works | Approx. duration, Berau to Derawan | Status as of September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled commercial flight | Does not exist — Derawan has no airstrip or airport | Not applicable | Not available on any airline |
| Charter seaplane or small aircraft | Arranged on request; water landing subject to operator approval, permits and conditions | Flight segment itself is short, but lead time for approval and positioning varies by request | Quote-on-request only, no published fixed schedule |
| Road + speedboat | Kalimarau Airport to Tanjung Batu jetty by car, then speedboat to Derawan | About 3 hours door to jetty (road roughly 2 to 2.5 hours, boat roughly 30 minutes) | Runs daily, the standard route used by most visitors |
The road-plus-speedboat option is the only one with a fixed, repeatable timetable. Everything involving an aircraft beyond Kalimarau is either a scheduled flight to Maratua (which is not Derawan) or a private charter booked ahead of time.
Why Doesn’t Derawan Have Its Own Airport?
Derawan is a small coral island, and like its neighbors Kakaban and Sangalaki, it has never had land set aside for a runway. Kalimarau Airport in Teluk Bayur district, Berau Regency, is the documented gateway to the whole archipelago — a 2019 Liputan6 report on the region describes it in exactly those terms — but BEJ sits on the East Kalimantan mainland, not on any of the islands themselves.
From BEJ, travelers arrive on domestic connections routed through Balikpapan (BPN) or Tarakan (TRK), then continue overland. Tanjung Redeb, the regency capital, has its own harbour used by both public boats and private charters, and Tanjung Batu is the jetty most visitors use for the final speedboat leg into the islands. None of that changes the basic fact: Derawan, Kakaban and Sangalaki are boat-only destinations unless a private aircraft brings you in on water.
Does Maratua’s Airstrip Change Anything for Derawan-Bound Travelers?
Maratua is the one island in the group with an airstrip, and it is served by Wings Air twice weekly, according to available reporting. That makes it tempting to assume you could fly to Maratua and boat over to Derawan instead of going through Berau by road.
In practice, that only works on the two days a week the flight operates, and it still requires a boat transfer afterward — speedboat travel time between Tanjung Batu and Maratua runs about two hours, separate from the Maratua-to-Derawan hop. For most itineraries, going straight through Kalimarau to Tanjung Batu and then Derawan is faster and far more flexible than waiting on a twice-weekly schedule. Maratua’s airstrip is a genuine option for travelers whose trip is centered on Maratua itself, not a shortcut to Derawan.
Can You Charter a Seaplane or Small Aircraft Direct to Derawan?
This is where “direct” gets its most literal meaning. Green Nirvana Resort, a property in the archipelago, states that the islands are reachable “by boat or small airplane” after landing at BEJ — language that confirms small-aircraft arrivals happen in practice. What it does not confirm is a named seaplane operator, a designated water-landing site, a formal water aerodrome, or any government regulation granting priority status to water landings in East Kalimantan. No source documents that infrastructure as of September 2026, so any water landing on this route is arranged case by case, subject to operator approval, aviation authority permits and weather conditions on the day.
Travelers exploring this route should treat every seaplane figure as quote-on-request rather than fixed pricing; no verified per-hour rate, fuel surcharge or landing fee for a Berau-to-Derawan segment is published anywhere. For a fuller breakdown of how that charter process actually gets arranged, see this seaplane charter Berau to Derawan overview, which covers the coordination steps between Kalimarau and the islands in more detail.
What Does the Road-Plus-Speedboat Route Actually Involve?
For the vast majority of visitors, this is the real answer to “how do I get to Derawan.” It breaks into two legs.
Leg one: Kalimarau Airport to Tanjung Batu by road. This drive runs about 2 to 2.5 hours, with one itinerary source citing up to 3 hours depending on traffic and the exact pickup point at BEJ.
Leg two: Tanjung Batu to Derawan by speedboat. This crossing takes about 30 minutes, the shortest inter-island hop in the group.
| Speedboat leg | Approximate duration | Departure point |
|---|---|---|
| Tanjung Batu to Derawan | About 30 minutes | Tanjung Batu jetty |
| Tanjung Batu to Kakaban | About 1 hour | Tanjung Batu jetty |
| Tanjung Batu to Maratua or Sangalaki | About 2 hours | Tanjung Batu jetty |
| Derawan to Kakaban (island hopping) | About 1 hour | Derawan jetty |
| Tanjung Redeb harbour to Maratua, Sangalaki or Kakaban | About 2 hours, first departure 08:00, last 16:00 | Tanjung Redeb pier |
A separate public speedboat also leaves Tanjung Redeb pier around 10:00 and runs direct to Maratua in roughly 2.5 hours, which is a useful alternative for travelers based in the regency capital rather than flying straight into BEJ. Either way, door to jetty for Derawan via Berau adds up to roughly three hours total, which is faster than most people expect once they see BEJ described as an “archipelago gateway” and assume a longer overland leg.
How Do Weather and Daylight Limit Same-Day Arrival?
Both the road-and-boat route and any charter aircraft option are weather-dependent, and daylight is the harder constraint of the two. Speedboats running the Tanjung Batu and Tanjung Redeb crossings operate within documented daylight windows — the Tanjung Redeb harbour boats run their first departure at 08:00 and their last at 16:00, and the public Maratua boat leaves around 10:00. Missing the window at either jetty means an overnight stay in Berau before continuing, since these are open-water crossings that operators do not run after dark.
A water landing for a chartered seaplane or small aircraft is even more sensitive to conditions, since it depends on sea state, wind and visibility at the landing site on top of standard flight planning. Anyone connecting an international or long-haul domestic flight into BEJ on the same day as a Derawan crossing should build in a buffer rather than scheduling the boat leg immediately after landing, particularly in shoulder-season weather.
Which Option Should You Choose?
For a straightforward trip, the road-plus-speedboat route from Kalimarau Airport is the practical default: it runs daily, has verified timing of roughly three hours door to jetty, and does not depend on charter availability or a twice-weekly flight schedule. A charter seaplane or small aircraft is worth exploring for groups prioritizing speed or a scenic approach over cost, but it should be requested and confirmed well ahead of travel dates, since pricing and water-landing approval are handled per request rather than published as a fixed fare. Maratua’s Wings Air service is a fit only for itineraries built around Maratua itself, not as a shortcut to Derawan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an airport or airstrip on Derawan Island itself?
No. Derawan has no airport or airstrip of any kind, and neither do Kakaban or Sangalaki. Maratua is the only island in the group with an airstrip, served by Wings Air twice weekly. Reaching Derawan always means landing at Kalimarau Airport on the East Kalimantan mainland first, then continuing by road and speedboat, or arranging a private water-landing charter.
Can I fly to Maratua and then take a boat to Derawan instead of going through Berau by road?
Yes, but only on the two days a week Wings Air serves Maratua’s airstrip, and you still need a speedboat afterward — roughly two hours between Tanjung Batu and Maratua, separate from any Maratua-to-Derawan crossing. For most travelers, going directly from Kalimarau to Tanjung Batu to Derawan is faster and does not depend on a limited flight schedule.
How early do I need to arrive at Kalimarau Airport to reach Derawan the same day?
Speedboats to the islands run within daylight windows, with departures documented as early as 08:00 and as late as 16:00 depending on the jetty. Given the road transfer of about 2 to 2.5 hours to Tanjung Batu plus the boat crossing, arriving at BEJ by early-to-mid morning gives the most reliable buffer for a same-day arrival on Derawan.