Kiluan Bay
A Bay On Sumatra'S Southern Tip Where Spinner Dolphins Gather In Large Numbers And Are Watched From Outrigger Canoes That Hold Two Or Three People · Bandar Lampung, Lampung
Kiluan is a bay near the southern tip of Sumatra where SPINNER AND BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS GATHER IN LARGE NUMBERS, and the way you meet them is what makes it. YOU GO OUT AT DAWN IN A JUKUNG - a small wooden outrigger that takes two or three people and sits very low in the water - and when the dolphins come they come around the boat rather than past it, at eye level, close enough that the scale difference stops being abstract. IT IS ALSO THE THING TO UNDERSTAND BEFORE BOOKING: THESE ARE TINY BOATS ON OPEN SEA. There is a lagoon at KELAPA ISLAND for calmer swimming, simple homestays around the bay, and a coastline of headlands and green hills. THE ROAD IN IS THE OTHER OBSTACLE - four to six hours from Bandar Lampung with a rough final stretch that puts most people off entirely, which is exactly why the bay is still quiet and the boats still belong to the people who live there rather than to an operator.
Teluk Kiluan, Tanggamus, Lampung, Bandar Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia
DOLPHIN TRIPS GO AT DAWN and are arranged the day before through homestays - typically leaving around five, returning mid-morning. THE JUKUNG TAKE TWO OR THREE PEOPLE EACH and are hired per boat with a boatman. SIGHTINGS ARE NOT GUARANTEED, though they are reasonably reliable in calm months. TRIPS DO NOT RUN IN ROUGH WEATHER and should not - these are small outriggers on open water. THE BAY ITSELF, THE LAGOON AT KELAPA ISLAND AND THE BEACHES are open with small local charges. ACCOMMODATION IS SIMPLE HOMESTAYS booked directly or on arrival. IT IS FOUR TO SIX HOURS BY ROAD FROM BANDAR LAMPUNG with a rough last stretch; the province is also drivable from Jakarta via the Merak to Bakauheni ferry. Bring cash.