The Karimunjawa archipelago is situated in the Java Sea, 45 nautical miles away from Jepara Regency and 60 Nautical miles from Semarang, the capital city of Central Java Province. Karimunjawa is known for its amazing fringing coral reefs, diving sites, and sandy beaches. The reefs are a combination of fringing, barrier, and patch with bottom depths ranging from 15 to 40 meters.Karimunjawa
Karimunjawa archipelago consists of 27 islands scattered along the Java Sea. Five of them, namely Karimunjawa, Kemujan, Parang, Nyamuk and Genting, are inhabited. The area is 111,625 acres in width, consists of 7,033 acres of land and 104,592 acres of water; Most of the islands are untouched and beautiful, where visitors can indulge in diving, fishing and sunbathing.
Some islands are formed by coral reefs and covered with a sand layer. The coast is mostly overgrown with mangrove and other marine plants. The ecosystems, consists of five types: coral reef, sea grass and seaweed, mangrove forest, coastal forest and low land tropical rain forest, offering maritime tourism object and natural adventure. Due to its unique and natural marine life, the islands are conserved and declared as a National Marine Park.
The most interesting tourism object in these islands is the marine area, there are more than 30 dive sites across Karimunjawa Marine National Park. There are shallow dive sites with weak or even without currents for beginners, as well as the deep ones with strong currents for more advanced divers suitable for all levels of divers, from beginners to experienced ones. Interested divers can also explore several shipwrecks of old merchant ships at various depths.
The most famous marine tourism area in the archipelago is Menyawakan Island; it is a good place
for snorkeling, ringed by a beautiful coral reef like the other islands in Karimun Jawa. The water around this resort island is so clean and the reef is clearly visible from the surface. Visitors may find an awesome experience snorkeling around the island floating and following the current around to see abundant of colorful coral reef, coral fishes and other underwater species live here. The shallow and clear water around the islands allows visitors to watch under water living from the surface using glass bottomed boat. Or visitors may just spend the time by doing other water-sports such as fishing, sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, and jet skiing around the island.
Another interesting activity here is feed and play with white tip shark at the conservation pond in Menjangan Kecil Island, there is a shark breeding site where 0.5 to 2 meters young sharks swim around freely. Another breeding site is in the Floating Cottage; a wooden Cottage that floats on a breeding area of white sharks. While on the white sandy beaches of Menjangan Besar Island and Cemara Kecil visitors can find perfect locations forsunbathing.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit the islands is from April through November. It can also be visited from December through March, but due to the rainy season, visitors may experience stronger winds and bigger waves. The most comfortable time to visit the Karimunjawa is from April to July and September to November because of the calm water and wind.
How to Get There
From Jakarta, Karimunjawa can be reached by domestic flights served by Garuda Airways, Mandala Airlines, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air and Batavia Air to Semarang. And then from Semarang there are two options to reach Karimunjawa; using plane or speed boat. Visitors may use chartered flight from Ahmad Yani Airport or KMC KARTINI I speed boat from Tanjung Mas Harbor. Approximately it needs 3 hours sailing from Semarang to Karimunjawa by boat.
Beside the two options above there is public ferry KMP Muria departs from Kartini Harbor Jepara. It needs 5 - 6 hours to reach Karimunjawa from Jepara by KMP Muria, while transportation between the islands is served by local fishermen’s boats, which can be hired anytime.