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By plane
Most people arrive by air. Balikpapan's The New Sepinggan Airport has frequent flights from [wiki=f3a693cf1392030d179eaa94d226f0ea]Jakarta[/wiki], as well as commercial services from [wiki=6dd0ba851a1586689ea2a37b9393694e]Surabaya[/wiki], [wiki=ec810fd6411657e2b2a4a8a5bdf1b291]Banjarmasin[/wiki], [wiki=789fad2130bdd0f99ce3d1e6a3e2d078]Tarakan[/wiki], [wiki=a579484d20e650fda0f5d5d2816f0858]Yogyakarta[/wiki] and [wiki=3de594abdcaa866aa0359fa4d66a9b3e]Makassar[/wiki]. There are also international flights from [wiki=458e4cbc78201c1aec5fc53a31c59378]Singapore[/wiki] operated by SilkAir 6 times a week and from [wiki=dc5df51ea7e4a83d5663ca4ced03a1aa]Kuala Lumpur[/wiki] operated by Air Asia 3 times a week. The airport is on the coast. Airport taxis operate from the terminal; there is a fixed fare depending on the destination. 45,000 IDR for zone 1 and 60,000 for zone 2 (Nov 2012)
*Susi Air [http://www.susiair.com] to local destinations across Kalimantan. +62 811 211 3080
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By car
Balikpapan can be accessed from Samarinda, Bontang And Banjarmasin by land through 2 bus terminal From Samarinda, Bontang by Terminal Batu Ampar, and From Banjarmasin from the other terminal in the Batu Ampar District.
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By ferry
Semayang's seaport that serves cruises from [wiki=3de594abdcaa866aa0359fa4d66a9b3e]Makassar[/wiki], [wiki=d10aa3a0a1a2666eb6c315ff1e7b0072]Pare Pare[/wiki], [wiki=789fad2130bdd0f99ce3d1e6a3e2d078]Tarakan[/wiki], [wiki=6dd0ba851a1586689ea2a37b9393694e]Surabaya[/wiki], and other eastern parts of Indonesia.
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Traffic does not yet inhibit travel within the city but is increasing by the day as relatively high living standards help to support a sea of small motor cycles.
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By taxi
It is advisable to call for their call center, tell your location and wait the call center arrange their unit to pick you up. It is uncommon to wait for empty taxis on the street because they usually stop and wait for orders from their call center.
List of taxi companies and their call center number:
* City Taxi (+62 542 743417) or (+62 542 8520001)
* Mawar (+62 542 874545)
* Kalung Mas (+62 542 762222)
* Globalindo Taxi (+62 542 878787)
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Public transport
Public transportation in Balikpapan consists of small minibus named angkutan kota or angkot for short. Locals often call angkot as taxi and metered taxi as taxi argo. There's no public bus inside the city. Minibuses serves public transport between points. Although there're dedicated routes, they often deroute due to passenger's request. They also sometimes don't serve the whole route.
The color of the minibuses determines their routes. Common routes are as follows:
* White top/Orange bottom (Route 1): between Kampung Baru Ujung and Terminal Batu Ampar
* White top/Light Green bottom (Route 2A): between Terminal Damai and Terminal Batu Ampar through Ring Road (possible deroute to Balikpapan Baru housing and or Damai III area)
* White top/Gray bottom (Route 2B): between Balikpapan Baru and Jalan A Yani through Jalan AMD
* White top/Light Blue bottom (Route 3): between Terminal Batu Ampar and Pelabuhan Semayang through Klandasan
* White top/Yellow bottom (Route 5): between Kampung Baru Ujung and Terminal Damai through A. Yani
* White top/Dark Blue bottom (Route 6): between Kampung Baru Ujung and Terminal Damai through Pelabuhan Semayang
* White top/Green bottom (Route 7): between Terminal Damai and Gunung Tembak
* White top/Light Yellow bottom (Route 9): between Terminal Batu Ampar and KM 24 to Samarinda
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Go see rescued orangutans and sun bears in their natural habitat. Just roaming around for the day or stay at the eco lodge for a few nights and experience the wildlife in the jungle. You can also do a 2 week or 4 week volunteering course, where you can help out with the animals. It is about a 1 hour journey by car from the city centre and if you stay the night or volunteer you will need out door equipment such as walking boots, spare clothes, insect repellent etc.
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Lots of sports and outdoors activities and of course Borneo culinary tour.
Sports :
You can play soccer, flying kites, jogging, softball and other sports at Merdeka field (Merdeka means Independent). There are dedicated bicycle lanes around Merdeka field. Futsal (small soccer) is one of the favorite sports, you can find futsal arena in every 5-10 km in the city. There are some membership sport clubs such as Gelora Patra (belongs to Pertamina), Pasir Ridge Int'l (belongs to Chevron), and Palm Court. These clubs have swimming pool, tennis indoor/outdoor, squash, bowling alley, pool table, basket ball and gym facilities. For those who like golf, there are two Golf fields in Balikpapan : Pertamina Golf club in Sepinggan, and Karang Joang Balikpapan Resort Golf. If you like run and drink, there are men, ladies, mixed/family running club (Balikpapan Hash house) that scheduled every week. These clubs called themselves as 'Indonesian Drinking Clubs With A Running Problem'
Beaches :
Balikpapan has nice beaches. You can enjoy a fresh coconut, grilled corn on every beach in Balikpapan. Manggar and Lamaru beaches are located to the south east. On the south-west of downtown, you can enjoy cup of coffee while watching sunset from Kemala Beach or Melawai, located further off is Klandasan.
Others :
Balikpapan also has fishing, diving and photography clubs. Look for them online if you interested to join.
Culinary :
As culinary wise, especially sea food are affected by Makassar or Celebes style. The popular food are Soto Banjar (tumeric chicken soup with egg), Crab with special sauce, grilled fish and fresh vegetables, Cotto Makassar (peanut soup with beef/innards part of the beef). Sate, soup kaki kambing (lamb). Only few restaurant that serve pork and it's mention on their menu.
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This is the most popular shopping mall in Balikpapan. Located at the centre of the city and it is a must visit for visitors.
* E-Walk or Balikpapan Super Block new mall with department store, cinema, pool table, cafe, restaurant and bookstore. Starbucks Coffee has outdoor smoking areas. Supermarket found in the basement, near the ATM centre.
* A lot stones, gems, jewelry, diamonds with various type and price. Borneo is acknowledged as the rich island not just by oil or coal, but also with the beautiful gems.
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A local delicacy is Amplang/Kuku Macan, a kind of chips made from fish. Pacifica Food Court in Balikpapan Plaza Mall has good food and a lot of choice.
* Segeri
* Tip-Top
* Beach House Restaurant - Batakan / Manggar
* Batakan Beach Cafe
* Lia's Bar and restaurant - Batakan Kecil
* Yuli's Cafe (bar and restaurant) - Batakan Kecil
* Palm Court Restaurant - Batakan
* Dapeen Cafe - kelandasan
* Ocean's Seafood Restaurant - Klandasan
* A traditional food such as sop buntut and Pangsit mie bakso you can find in two location, in the down town near balikpapan centre and the other is at ring road, beside telkom main office bukit damai indah
* A big restaurant on the main drag with a very nice selection of seafood
* A giant fresh crab cooked with some option of sauce (black pepper; sweet n sour; oyster sauce; boiled etc.)
* Crab specialist restaurant
* Crab specialist Restaurant
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Color Beat Pub (Blue Sky Hotel) with Electric Beat band from Jakarta singing mostly English songs, performing nightly except on Sundays from 10pm-3am.
* Borneo Bar(Le Grandeur Hotel)
* Borneo Sports Fishing Club (prev. Sid's Bar) at Jl Sudirman 24, Gunung Bahagia. Bar with sea views.
* Rende Vu (Novotel Hotel)
* Red Square (Sagita Hotel)
* Lamaru Pub (Hotel Grand Senyiur)
* SQ (Adhika Bahtera Hotel)
* Nakhoda (Adikha Bahtera Hotel)
* Suzannas Liquor Store- you can buy alcohol by the case to drink at home.
* L2C Balikpapan
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There are a number of star rated hotels poised on the hills and at the beach that are perfectly adequate.
* Hotel Blue Sky one of the better places in town. With a nice swimming pool (external entry 30.000 IDR per person)
* Hotel Bahtera from 400.000 IDR
* Hotel Benakutai
* City hotel
* Hotel Le Grandeur
* Hotel Gran Senyiur The first 5 five stars hotel in town, owned by local people. phone : +62 542 820211
* 185 rooms and suites, the hotel sits in its own extensive gardens, adjoining a beautiful sandy beach, and overlooking the Makassar Straits. It is Kalimantan's only beachfront hotel.
*the only "back to nature" hotel in Balikpapan, cottage/bungalow style rooms with private garages, room rate from 280.000 IDR, 3 mins from airport (10 mins to city).
* Hotel Murni a cheap option
* Hotel Novotel
* Hotel Nuansa Indah
* Town House Bukit Damai Indah, 0542-8879 650
*the hotel located within 5 minutes walk to Balikpapan Plaza, 15 minutes drive from the SAMS airport, start at IDR 228.000,-, clean and comfy
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Bukit Bangkirai is located 58 km north-west of Balikpapan.The main attraction here is the Canopy Bridge which is very famous in East Borneo. It was originally built for biological study of the ecosystem in the canopy of the tropical rain forest. However, it is popular for public to sight-seeing the beauty of tropical rain forest from 30 m / 90 ft above the ground. It's also a very nice place to enjoy the nature or to camp and watch the stars
*Airport If you are stuck at the airport the Blue Sky Transit lounge is 75,000 (Nov 2012) for the day. It has AC, WIFI, food, drink and clean toilets (and a no smoking section). There is also massages at an additional fee.
International departure tax is IDR 200,000.
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