Derawan Seaplane Charter is an independent coordination desk — Juara Holding Group, established 2015 — that arranges private seaplane and small-aircraft charters from Berau’s Kalimarau Airport (BEJ) to Derawan, Maratua and Kakaban with licensed Indonesian operators. Every flight is quote-based, subject to operator approval, weather and landing permits — not a scheduled airline service.
The three-island route from Kalimarau Airport (BEJ)
Kalimarau Airport sits in Teluk Bayur district, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan — the documented gateway to Derawan, Maratua, Kakaban and Sangalaki, reachable on domestic connections via Balikpapan (BPN) or Tarakan (TRK). From BEJ, the archipelago splits into three legs that a private charter is built to shorten:
| Leg | Today’s route | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| BEJ → Tanjung Batu jetty | Road transfer | 2–2.5 hours (up to 3 on some itineraries) |
| Tanjung Batu → Derawan | Speedboat | About 30 minutes |
| Tanjung Batu → Kakaban | Speedboat | About 1 hour |
| Tanjung Batu → Maratua / Sangalaki | Speedboat | About 2 hours |
| Derawan → Kakaban | Speedboat | About 1 hour |
A separate public option runs from Tanjung Redeb harbour: a speedboat departs around 10:00 direct to Maratua in roughly 2.5 hours, and harbour boats to Maratua, Sangalaki or Kakaban operate on a first-departure-08:00, last-departure-16:00 schedule, about 2 hours each way. Maratua is the only island in the group with an airstrip, served by Wings Air twice weekly; Derawan, Kakaban and Sangalaki have no airport and are reached only by boat under the current public network.
Today vs. by air: an honest comparison
| Road + speedboat (public route) | Private charter (coordinated) | |
|---|---|---|
| BEJ to Derawan jetty | Roughly 3 hours door-to-jetty (road + boat) | Shorter transit time, quote-dependent on aircraft and weather |
| Schedule | Fixed departure windows (08:00–16:00 harbour boats; ~10:00 Maratua boat) | Arranged around your itinerary, subject to operator and permit availability |
| Multi-island days | Requires separate boat legs and waiting between departures | Can be built as a single coordinated day, still dependent on operator confirmation |
| Group size | Shared public boats | Private group, arranged per booking |
| Price | Public boat and taxi fares, which vary by season and operator, for taxi-plus-boat combinations (Scuba Junkie Sangalaki pricing) | Quote-on-request — no verified per-hour or per-seat seaplane tariff exists publicly as of September 2026 |
We publish these figures honestly because no seaplane operator, fixed fare, fuel surcharge or landing fee for Berau to Derawan is verified anywhere as of September 2026. If a number has no named public source, we leave it out rather than guess.
Who this coordination desk is for
- Dive resort guests transferring between Berau and resorts on Derawan, Maratua or the wider archipelago who want to compress a multi-hour road-and-boat day.
- Whale-shark and jellyfish-lake travellers timing a day trip to Kakaban’s landlocked lake — home to four non-stinging jellyfish species and Kehe Daing Lagoon — or to seasonal, operator-reported whale-shark areas; sightings are never guaranteed and no public calendar or tariff exists for them.
- Corporate, dive-industry and investor groups coordinating logistics across Berau, Tanjung Redeb and the islands, including famtrip-style itineraries similar to the 2026 program that targeted Malaysian and Singaporean dive centres.
The 10 Derawan charter pages
Each page below covers one route, transfer type or use-case in the Derawan–Maratua–Kakaban archipelago — start with the one closest to your trip, then request a quote.
- Berau (BEJ) to Derawan Island Charter
- Kalimarau Airport to Maratua Charter Transfer
- Kakaban Jellyfish Lake Day-Trip Charter
- Sangalaki Manta Point Charter Transfer
- Dive Resort Transfer Coordination, Derawan Archipelago
- Whale Shark Season Charter Coordination
- Three-Island Hopping Charter: Derawan, Maratua, Kakaban
- Corporate and Investor Group Logistics, Berau
- Gusung and Outer-Island Charter Add-Ons
- Derawan Seaplane Charter Quote Request
Season note
Private operator itineraries into the archipelago, such as Indonesia Juara’s Derawan program, run in the April to November season and typically require a minimum of two travellers; that program is priced from USD 281 per person as of a page dated 5 August 2026 and updated 17 August 2026. Outside that window, weather, sea conditions and operator availability affect every transfer option, air or water, and all charter timing is confirmed case by case.
What we are not
- We are not an airline and do not operate a scheduled seaplane or aircraft service.
- There is no fixed timetable for Berau-to-Derawan air transfers; every charter is arranged and confirmed individually.
- No designated water aerodrome or government water-landing scheme is documented for East Kalimantan as of September 2026. Any water landing is subject to operator approval, aviation authority permits and prevailing conditions — we do not claim priority status where none is on the public record.
- We are not the aircraft operator. Juara Holding Group is an independent coordination desk, established 2015, that arranges charters with licensed Indonesian operators; it owns no aircraft and is not affiliated with any single named operator.
- We are not a licensed financial, legal or tax adviser; any visa or entry-route mention (e-VOA, B211A, Second Home, remote-worker or Golden Visa categories) is context only, never advice.
Request a charter quote
Send your travel dates, group size, and the islands you need — Derawan, Maratua, Kakaban or a combination — to the Juara Holding Group concierge desk. We check operator availability, permits and weather windows before confirming any price or schedule, then reply with a written quote.
WhatsApp: (https://wa.me/6281139414563) · Email: bd@juaraholding.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Derawan seaplane charter, and who actually arranges it?
A Derawan seaplane charter is a privately coordinated air transfer between Berau’s Kalimarau Airport and the Derawan archipelago, arranged through licensed Indonesian aircraft operators rather than booked as a scheduled flight. Juara Holding Group, an independent coordination desk established 2015, handles the request, checks operator and permit availability, and returns a written quote — it does not own or fly the aircraft itself.
Is there a scheduled seaplane or air service from Berau to Derawan?
No fixed public timetable for a Berau-to-Derawan seaplane exists as of September 2026. Maratua is the only island in the group with an airstrip, served by Wings Air twice weekly; Derawan, Kakaban and Sangalaki have no airport of their own. Any seaplane or small-aircraft charter is arranged per trip, subject to operator confirmation, weather and landing permits.
How long does the road-and-boat route to Derawan take compared with a private charter?
The public route runs roughly 2–2.5 hours by road from Kalimarau Airport to Tanjung Batu jetty, then about 30 minutes by speedboat to Derawan — close to 3 hours door-to-jetty. A private charter is arranged to shorten that transit, but no verified point-to-point flight time is published, so timing is confirmed with the operator per booking rather than advertised as fixed.
Can one charter cover Derawan, Maratua and Kakaban in a single day?
A single coordinated day across all three is possible in principle, since existing boat transfers already link them — Tanjung Batu to Kakaban is about 1 hour and to Maratua or Sangalaki about 2 hours, and Derawan to Kakaban is roughly 1 hour by speedboat. Whether an air itinerary can match that sequence depends on aircraft, weather and operator approval at the time of your request.
How much does a Derawan seaplane charter cost, and how do I get a firm price?
No verified per-hour, per-seat or fixed seaplane fare for Berau to Derawan exists publicly as of September 2026, so every charter is quote-on-request rather than listed. For comparison, public boat-and-taxi combinations vary depending on destination and operator, and some multi-day private island programs from BEJ start near USD 281 per person (April–November season, minimum two travellers). Send your dates and group size on WhatsApp for a written charter quote.