Flying Monkeys

Last updated: November 13, 2013

The ultimate guide to flying to Pangkalan Bun, home of the orangutan.

The best place in Indonesia to see orangutans in their natural habitat is undoubtedly Tanjung Puting National Park, in Central Kalimantan. In recent times it has grown in popularity with foreign tourists, and airlines have responded with increased flight options and frequencies to the nearest city/airport: Pangkalan Bun.

To whet your appetite, here is a recent video story about visiting Tanjung Puting NP from BBC World News’ travel show, Fast Track. It describes how tourism gives local people work, which helps to protect the area from illegal logging and mining activities.

Click the desired city below for more information about flights between Pangkalan Bun and:

Jakarta | Surabaya | Semarang | Solo | Pontianak | Banjarmasin
Denpasar, Bali | Makassar / Ujung Pandang | Singapore

Click on image for full-size

Jakarta

This is the most common route for tourists flying to Pangkalan Bun.

Jakarta (CGK) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs CGK	Arrives PKN	Days
	IL708	09:10	10:20	Daily
	KD720	11:00	12:15	Daily

Pangkalan Bun (PKN) to Jakarta (CGK)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PKN	Arrives CGK	Days
	IL709	07:25	08:35	Daily
	KD721	12:40	13:55	Daily

Want to book flights on this route? Please click here to send an enquiry.

Surabaya

Kal-Star recently commence flights on this route. Unlike Trigana Air’s direct flight, Kal-Star’s flight has a stop in Sampit.

Surabaya (SUB) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs SUB	Arrives PKN	Days
	IL704	05:50	06:55	Daily
	KD711/ KD602	09:25	11:20	Daily

Pangkalan Bun (PKN) to Surabaya (SUB)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PKN	Arrives SUB	Days
	IL705	14:00	15:10	Daily
	KD603/ KD710	14:40	16:35	Daily

Want to book flights on this route? Please click here to send an enquiry.

Semarang

Semarang is the closest Javanese city to Pangkalan Bun, so has the shortest and cheapest flights.

Semarang (SRG) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs SRG	Arrives PKN	Days
	IL702	12:20	13:15	Daily
	KD603	13:15	14:15	Daily

Pangkalan Bun (PKN) to Semarang (SRG)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PKN	Arrives SRG	Days
	IL701	10:55	11:50	Daily
	KD602	11:45	12:45	Daily

Want to book flights on this route? Please click here to send an enquiry.

Solo

Solo is a recent addition to the Trigana Air network. Solo Airport is only about 70km from Yogyakarta.

Solo (SOC) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs SOC	Arrives PKN	Days
	IL742	12:00	13:25	Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

Pangkalan Bun (PKN) to Solo (SOC)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PKN	Arrives SOC	Days
	IL741	10:05	11:30	Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

Want to book flights on this route? Please click here to send an enquiry.

Pontianak

Visitors could use this flight as a “highights of Kalimantan” tour seeing the Equator Monument in Pontianak, the orangutans in Pangkalan Bun and later the floating markets of Banjarmasin and the picture-perfect beaches of Pulau Derawan.

Both airlines’ flights stop in Ketapang, West Kalimantan.

Pontianak (PNK) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PNK	Arrives PKN	Days
	KD922	07:50*	09:15	Daily
	IL127	08:05	09:40	Daily

Pangkalan Bun (PKN) to Pontianak (PNK)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PKN	Arrives PNK	Days
	IL126	10:30	11:55	Daily
	KD923	14:45	16:10	Daily

Want to book flights on this route? Please click here to send an enquiry.

Banjarmasin

Banjarmasin is arguably the easiest city in Kalimantan for flying to Pangkalan Bun.

The flights stop in Sampit, Central Kalimantan. Please note that local time in Banjarmasin is one hour ahead of Pangkalan Bun.

Banjarmasin (BDJ) to Pangkalan Bun (PKN)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs BDJ	Arrives PKN	Days
	KD923	14:10	14:25	Daily

Pangkalan Bun (PKN) to Banjarmasin (BDJ)

Airline	Flight Number	Departs PKN	Arrives BDJ	Days
	KD922	09:45	12:05	Daily

Want to book flights on this route? Please click here to send an enquiry.

Denpasar, Bali

There are no direct flights from Denpasar, but it is possible to fly to either Surabaya or Jakarta, and get a connecting flight. It would usually be easiest and cheapest to fly via Surabaya. Having said that, if you have not much time and don’t mind an early start, it would be better to fly via Jakarta.

Makassar / Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi

There are no direct flights from Makassar/Ujung Pandang, but it is possible to fly to Surabaya and get a connecting flight.

Singapore

There are no direct flights from Singapore, but it is possible to fly to either Jakarta, or Semarang, and get a connecting flight. It would usually be easiest and cheapest to fly via Jakarta. Please note that it would be necessary to stay 1 night in the transit city, no matter which you choose.

11 Comments on Flying Monkeys

1. Mas Martin Says:
   November 21st, 2011 at 5:17 pm

   I would say that suggesting Pontianak is a base for visiting Tanjung Puting AND Banjarmasin AND Pulau Derawan is a bit “overstretched”. While it is true that KALStar and Trigana may link Pontianak and Berau with 3 stopovers, this “milk run” (or circumnavigation of Kalimantan) it is probably also quite expensive.
   Are there any DIRECT connections between Pontianak and Balikpapan? I doubt it… For visiting Derawan, it seems to me it may be better/faster/cheaper to go via Java and Tarakan… Or, if I am mistaken, would you please list a link between BDJ, BPN and Berau? Is it a daily flight?

2. Chris Says:
   November 22nd, 2011 at 10:47 am

   Dear Mas Martin,

   Thanks for your feedback.

   Just to clarify, if people want to see:

   - the Equator Monument in Pontianak
   - Tanjung Puting National Park, near Pangkalan Bun
   - the floating markets of Banjarmasin
   - Pulau Derawan, near Berau

   the Trigana Air flight would be a suitable way to do it. As roads are few and generally in poor condition, it would certainly be faster and comfortable than taking a bus. Please note also that there is no road between Pontianak and Ketapang/Pangkalan Bun.

   Are there any DIRECT connections between Pontianak and Balikpapan?

   No, there are no direct flights between Pontianak and Balikpapan; flying via Jakarta/Yogyakarta/Surabaya is slower than the Trigana Air flight.

   would you please list a link between BDJ, BPN and Berau? Is it a daily flight?

   Trigana Air TGN763
   Departs BDJ: 15:50
   Arrives BPN: 16:30
   Arrives BEJ: 17:40

   Yes, it is a daily flight.

3. Chris Says:
   December 1st, 2011 at 11:22 am

   We have had a couple of clients recently confuse PANGKALAN BUN with PALANGKA RAYA.

   Both are in Central Kalimantan, but there the similarity ends.

   If you want to go to the capital city of Central Kalimantan, go to Palangka Raya. Many airlines fly there.

   If you want to see orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park, go to Pangkalan Bun. Only Trigana Air and Kal-Star fly there currently.

   There are no flights between PR and PB. The two cities are 560km apart by road, an uncomfortable 14-hour bus trip.

   In the map below, Pangkalan Bun is in the South-West, while Palangka Raya is in the South-East:
   

4. Judith Whittle Says:
   January 31st, 2012 at 1:01 pm

   Chris you are a gem,
   IWe have been looking into this and finding your info was just such a treat. Will let you know when we are ready to book.
   Kind regards
   Judith & Paul Whittle

5. Chris Says:
   December 2nd, 2013 at 7:10 am

   Sriwijaya Air may be about to commence flights between Pangkalan Bun and the following cities: Semarang, Surabaya

   Source

6. mark Says:
   December 2nd, 2013 at 10:58 am

   Hi,
   I am taking a group of students to Indonesia next April.
   I was thinking of taking them to Pangkalan Bun, and looking at the orangutans,
   but am worried about the safety of the airlines flying there.
   Should i be?

7. Chris Says:
   December 2nd, 2013 at 1:39 pm

   Hi Mark,

   The short answer is no. As you can see on our Flight Memory page, our clients fly to Pangkalan Bun all the time. PB is currently #8 on our list of most popular destinations, and Jakarta to PB is #7 on our list of most popular routes. Our clients have the opportunity to tell us later if they were unsettled/concerned by their experience, but so far none have about Trigana Air or Kal-Star.

   We discuss why not in more detail here: Indonesian Airline Safety Ratings

8. Janene Says:
   December 6th, 2013 at 1:10 pm

   Hi Chris, My husband and I did this tour 1 night 2 days in May with our niece and nephew from Jakarta. We had a fabulous guide named Chris (is this you). we got picked up from airport and had an amazing weekend on the river, we went up and it was brown and then it became black. I was wondering if recommended to friends can you request same guide? Also I cant find this tour anywhere on tripadvisor and it certainly should be so others can read about it. My niece Nicole organized it all from Jakarta otherwise I don’t know how people would find about it because its not listed on Borneo tour sites well not that I can find. I still have her email which gets me to your site.
   Anyway just wondering if the same guide Chris is still doing tours.
   Thanks Janene

9. Chris Says:
   December 6th, 2013 at 3:46 pm

   Hi Janene,

   Sorry to say, I am not that Chris, nor do I know any Chris in Pangkalan Bun.

10. Pavel Nankov Says:
    December 8th, 2013 at 9:13 am

    Hi Chris,

    We are planning a trip to Tanjung Puting in the beginning of January, but should we be concerned with possible cancellation of the early Trigana flight PKN / Jakarta, since we have an international flight in the evening on the same day? We have a lot of hours for connection in Jakarta (close to 12) between the 2 flights, so a big delay will not be that much of a problem, but a cancellation will be deffinately more problematic.

    Thank you very much, I will appreciate any information you might have on this.

    Kind regards,
    Pavel

11. Chris Says:
    December 8th, 2013 at 10:49 am

    Hi Pavel,

    Trigana Air are usually fairly reliable, except at low season when flights get cancelled so the planes can be serviced. Early January is not low season.

    Even if there is a last minute cancellation, Trigana Air passengers can be “rescheduled” to the Kal-Star flight on the same day. This has happened once in the past.

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