Karimunjawa

Karimunjawa Island is accessible by Air from Semarang, the Provincial Capital of Central Java. There is a flight, which can be chartered from Semarang to Karimunjawa Island and takes about 30 minutes. When arriving at the airstrip of Dewa Daru on Kemujan Island, proceed by car (upon request) for 20 minutes to the sub district capital town of Karimunjawa.
From here, you may start your trip to all islands of Karimunjawa, since tourist' facilities such as accommodation, restaurant, utilities and inter islands transport exist here. If you prefer to go by boat rather than going by plane, you have to go by bus first to Jepara town from Semarang on the Semarang - Demak - Kudus - Jepara road. Jepara is about 70 km away from Semarang. There are regular crossings, which connect Jepara and Karimunjawa Island and vice versa.
The Karimunjawa Island has four types of terrestrial and aquatic vegetation, namely:
· Lowland tropical forest, covering almost 80% of the islands dominated by Jambon (acmena acuminatissima), Gondoria (bouea macrophylla), Rokok-Rokok and Uyah-Uyahan (procris penduculata). There is one endemic species of Dewa Daru tree (cristocalaxy macrophylla).
· Mangrove forest, with only two genera: Bruguera and Rhizopora.
· Beach forest, palm trees (cocos nucifera), sea pine (ca-suarinas equisetifolla), sea hibiscus (hibiscus tileceus) and catappas (terminalia cattapa).
· Seaweed and sea-grass ecosystem.
In terms of fauna, there are two groups of fauna, which are found on the islands either terrestrial or aquatic. Animals that can be found are: deer (cervus timorensis), pangolin (manis javanicus), porcupine (hystric branchhyura), edor snake, lasser adjutant stork (leptoptilos javanicus), grey heron (ardea cinera), white bellied sea eagle (heliaeetus leucogaster), stern (sterna spp) and nicobar pigeon (ducula rasaceae). The white-bellied sea eagle is listed in a CITES registered endangered species.

Menyawakan Island
World-class scuba diving is the hallmark of Menyawakan Island, one of 27 paradise islands of the Karimun Jawa archipelago. As well as unspoiled coral reefs and exotic fish, whale sharks and dolphins are known to frequent area, which is part of the Karimunjawa National Marine Park. In addition, the wrecks of several old merchant ships at various depths make interesting dive strips for all levels of diver. Other water-sport includes fishing, sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, and jet skiing. Manyawakan can be reached by plane from Semarang (Central Java) to Karimunjawa and from there by speedboat from Jepara Village, a two-hour drive from Semarang, or by public ferry from Jepara Village, which takes six hour journey. Attractions also offered by the management of Kura-kura Resort among others are brief diving courses, fun dives, boat, and water toy charters.

Diving/Snorkeling and Sun Bathing
Karimunjawa beaches are mostly covered with white sand. They are nice for sun bathing Gianyar in addition to diving/snorkeling and fishing. There are 5 islands out of the 27, which are good for diving/snorkeling and sun bathing. Those who are interested in diving/snorkeling can visit Tanjung Gelam, Menjangan Kecil and Cemara Kecil, while sun bathing can be done on the white sandy beach of Menjangan Besar Island and Cemara Kecil.
For water marine life, visit Gosong Cemara and Burung Island by rented fishermen's boat. Other recreation activities are water cycling, wind surfing hiking and camping especially at Karimunjawa and Kemujan islands. Visitors can also pay a visit to the grave of Sunan Nyamplung, a former leader of Karimunjawa islands, a historical place where the first Dutch ship landed. To visit each island, visitors can rent a motorboat from the local fishermen.
Karimunjawa, a cluster of islands, is administratively a sub district (Kecamatan) at Jepara Regency. It consists of 27 islands scattered along the Java Sea with 69 meters in Depth. The area consists of 7,033 acres of land and 104,592 acres of water; its total territory area is 111,625 acres. Some islands are formed by coral reefs and covered with a sand layer. The coast is mostly overgrown with mangrove and other marine plants. Five out of the 27 islands are inhabited, namely Karimunjawa, Kemujan, Parang, Nyamuk and Genting. Due to its unique marine life, the islands are conserved and declared as a National Marine Park.

Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit the islands is from April through November. It can also visited from December through March, but due to the rainy season, visitors may experience stronger winds and bigger waves. For more information, contact the Central Java Tourism Office at Jl. Madukuro Blok BB/1d Semarang, Phone (62-24) 7608570 and Fax. (62-24) 7608573 or Jepara Regency Tourist Office at Jl. Alun-alun 1, Jepara 59411, Phone (62-24) 591492, 591493 and Fax. (62-291) 591037.