Posted by Douglas on Friday, 30. October 1998 at 06:53 Bali Time:
In Reply to: Flights? posted by Jacqui on Thursday, 29. October 1998 at 07:22 Bali Time:
The round trip price from Denpasar to Ambon was about USD $200. Not sure if the price will go back down because of the change in the exchange rate. I would recommend buying your tickets in Indonesia -- as I have bought here in the USA and then found out the much lower prices there.
After getting to Maluku (you must go to Ambon, which is the center of the area), it is not so expensive to travel around or stay there. They are NOT focused on tourist trade or the US dollar so prices are still in rupiah and quite inexpensive. I found it quite refreshing there.
I visited 15 different islands on this last trip (August/September 1998) and went to Ternate (Flight -- USD $80 RT), Halmahera (ferry from Ternate -- USD $1), Seram (speedboat from Ambon -- USD $2) and Banda (flight -- USD $25 OW) and returned from Banda on a beautiful ship (USD $10 in 1st class cabin -- including 1st class lunch). The hotel rooms were very inexpensive -- from USD $5 to $10 for a nice air-conditioned, tiled or carpeted room. The people were also extremely friendly and helpful.
One note -- if going to Banda (the most beautiful snorkeling in the world), DO NOT stay at the Maulana or Laguna hotels. They had the rudest staff and ambience (very condescending) that I have ever experienced throughout my travels around the world. But the people of Banda are really great. There are so many places to stay -- which are just as nice as these 2 hotels.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. I had a great time and made many friends there.