Banyak Surf Charter - Pulau Balai, Sumatra. Indonesia

For our guests arriving in Medan, if you are travelling with us we recommend printing this page and keeping it with you.

In Medan

If you have booked transfers you will be met at Medan airport, and transported to either to the domestic flight to your charter or your Medan hotel if you’re staying the night. Your boards may need to be sent in advance, please have items you might need in Medan separate from your boardbag.

In the event of airline delays, Our representatives will be able to collect your bags and connect you to domestic travel arrangements. When you get off the plane, go to the Visa on Arrival counter before going through passport control, pay your money, then go to the counter adjacent on the left to get your passport stamp.

You’ll need 25USD in cash for the visa on arrival, please ensure you are eligible (US and Australian citizens are). Getting through customs in Medan can be slow. Being patient and having your documentation handy for checks will make your experience easier. When in the luggage hall to get your bags, do not accept any offers of assistance from anyone.

If you have booked transfers to your charter, staff should be waiting outside the luggage hall in front of the main exit. Our staff will easily recognize you with your boardbag, and will find you in the airport if you get delayed for any reason. Call your skipper at the numbers below if you have any problems.

The best way to get local currency is the ATM at the airport (if you have a card that has the Cirrus or PLUS logos, and almost all do, or a Mastercard or Visa it will work on one of the many machines). 1 USD roughly equals 13.000 rupiah.

You won’t need that much local money as there is nowhere to spend it on the boat, but it is handy to have for Medan departure tax , leaving tips for the boat staff, some lunch, massage, beer on arrival, etc.

We recommend getting a couple of million ($200) when you arrive and then you have options. You can always change it back at the end if you don’t use it, but you never know when it might come in handy.

Once you arrive in Sibolga, on the Monday of departure you will be met by our representative and transferred to a hotel with swimming pool, bar, massage then to the charter. During that time The skipper will finalize the paperwork, and transported to the boat to start your journey, leaving port Monday evening.

The charter curently departs from Sibolga in Sumatra Indonesia, and the easiest way to get there depends on whether you are coming from overseas or you are traveling elsewhere in Indonesia.

If you are coming directly from overseas, it is easiest to fly to Medan’s Kuala Namu airport (KNO), where we can organize a meet and greet and your domestic travel to and from sibolga harbour. So you don’t have to do anything. Most guests travel to Medan via Singapore (Silk Air, Valuair/Jetstar), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysian, Air Asia) or Jakarta (Garuda).

You can order the transfer package as part of your trip with us at the following rates: Transfers from Medan: $300usd , includes return flights from Kuala Namu Airport (Medan) to Sibolga ; meet and greets off all your flights; and transfer of boards/luggage to and from your charter (note that airlines usually cannot take an entire group’s surfboards and have restrictions on length/weight).

Please see SURFBOARD TRANSPORT below.

Basically, with this package you arrive in Medan and we look after the rest!

We can arrange to provide transport to and from hotels in Medan. All costs for Medan transfers to be paid by the guest prior to arrival. So, if you are spending the night in Medan on either end of your trip and be transferred to and from hotels this will be an additional expense.

Alternatively, if you’re a hardcore independent traveler and cheapskate with experience, you can get yourself from Medan to your charter by public bus or express bus for under fifty dollars and in a day or two, but you’ll be needing more than a surf at the end of it!

We recommend getting our transfer option unless you are fluent in Bahasa Indonesia and experienced in Sumatran logistics. Many of our guests visit Lagundri/Sorake on their travel and we can also help with accommodation and transport on Nias – just let us know. In all cases, please run your itinerary by us before you book just to make sure! Getting your boards to the boat. Please contact us for more information regarding this.

You must be at your charter on the Monday afternoon of departure. If you come from Medan and have the transfer package, you’ll need to be in Medan by the day before departure, morning to evening!!! Departure/arrival from Medan on same day of charter can be organised in some cases by us.

Please contact us before confirming flights as domestic flight schedules do change. If you want to come into Indonesia on the same day as your charter departure, the Silk Air flights from Singapore arriving in Medan 0755 or Air Asia AK450 from KL arriving at 0735 will work.

On the way home, we recommend you stay the night in Medan on Friday and depart on Saturday after your return, as the domestic flights from Sibolga to Medan are occasionally delayed or cancelled due to weather or operational requirements.

If you really want to depart on the Friday night, we can aim to connect with flights leaving Medan after 7pm, but you must have fully comprehensive travel insurance as we can bear no responsibility for missed connections due to domestic airline delays or cancellations.

Yes, we can book the Danau Toba or equivalent at $50/room/night twin share ($60 for 3 people); or the Marriott $100/room/night twin share ($120/night 3 people). The Marriott is a good bargain in Medan with a breakfast that you have to see to believe, and if you’re looking for value for money we recommend it as a five-star hotel which is the same price as many budget hotels in Singapore or KL.

Unfortunately, the new Kuala Namu airport is about 90 minutes from the city of Medan, but we expect this to reduce to about an hour once highway construction is complete. There is also a very convenient train service to avoid the street hassle. Please contact us with any questions – we’re happy to provide advice on any itinerary!

We pick you up at Sibolga airport, then you’ll go straight on to the ship where you will chill out in your cabin. In order not to miss any day of surfing, crossing to Banyak islands will be done during the night (same for return). At dawn, you can already have your first surf in this pristine paradise. There is a potential of about 12 waves, including secret waves. The captain will share all this knowledge and his secret for finding the ideal conditions of the day. The surf guides (speaking English, French, Spanish and Indonesian) in consultation with the captain will offer you many options that you will decide on. Throughout the way, you will have the opportunity to chose a variety of other activities like walking on the beaches, snorkelling and spear fishing.