Harapan Island, Java, Indonesia

5Juan S 5:00 PM Jul 19, 2018

Beautiful side of Jakarta
I really wish to go to Harapan Island since long time ago and finally I could get there. The island is amazing and the people there were very friendly. Seafood barbeque provided by the guesthouse was the best fresh BBQ I have ever had.

3hecallsmeange 5:00 PM Jun 26, 2015

Don't Book a Trip to Harapan Island from Tour Guides Named "Asep Azhari" or "Anto" or "Surya"
Went to Harapan Island with my bf in mid June 2015, we booked a private 2D 1N trip for 2 from a local tour guide, turned out it wasn't so private. On their ad, they said we will get a private island hopping trip to 5 different spots, a trip to the turtle breeding site, photo underwater facility, a private beachfront homestay, etc, but we didn't get what we supposed to get. At 1st, the ad said we had to pay Rp 1.500.000 for the trip, but then we had to pay Rp 200.000 more bcoz my bf is a foreigner. So we paid Rp 1.700.000 in total. We arrived very early in the morning at Muara Angke harbour, around 5.30 am, coz the guide said that the ferry would departed at 6.30, but we departed at 8-ish, so almost 2 hours later than the schedule. We thought we're going to the island with a big safe ferry, but the boat we took was just in a horrible condition, no safety at all, we had to sit in a hard wooden cabin floor, no seat, together with groups of people. So it was hot, and the sailing trip was very bumpy. We're lucky we didnt get a seasick, but had to witness others getting seasickness. Yuck. Once we arrived in the island, they put us in a room, not a private beachfront homestay, and next to our room was a large room with 15 people inside, so it was so noisy at night. There were no fresh water in the bathroom, only salty water. Harapan Island itself is a so so since you have to go with a fishing boat to the other islands nearby for beautiful views and snorkling. Later in the afternoon, they took us to only 2 spots for snorkling, and later to a small, yet crowded, island. In one of the snorkling spot we found hundreds of sea urchins under the water, so again, talking about safety here!!! What if we got stung? They claimed that they're local guides, but they took us to a dangerous spot for snorkling!!! The guide didn't take us to the turtle breeding site, as promised in their ad, nor took underwater photo while we were snorkling. Later the next day, he gave us Rp 100.000 back as a compensation of the underwater photo. If you want to book for a traditional massage in Harapan Island, make sure you ask the masseus before it, how long is the massage gonna take and how much do you have to pay. We booked for a massage, without asking the details, and what we got was: a 30 min of a lousy massage for me, and a 15 min of an even more lousy massage for my bf. The masseus was not a professional, she was the mother of our tour guide, and all she did was just rubbing our body with massage oil. And we had to pay Rp 200.000 for that. The next day, our schedule was supposed to go to a quiet island, since the night before i asked the guy to take us there coz i, as a writer, wanted to make some writings, and my bf, who is an artist, wanted to draw some sketches. That morning, our guide showed up saying that a group of 12 people (families with kids) had to join us in our fishing boat, since the boat that supposed to take them was out of order. But he promised he would drop us at a quiet spot in an island. So we had to share our boat with freaking noisy kids and their noisy parents. The guide took us to a not-so-quiet small island, where some campers were there, and the island was so small that it didn't have any quiet spot, just a small beach. What a private trip: kids playing, screaming, campers singing out loud with their guitars, etc. I had to complain to our guide so he would take us to a nearby island which looked quiet. Finally, he did. He took us to a nearby island, private spot and quiet, and he said he would pick us again in 2 hours to go back to the main island. Only an hour we got ourselves in a peaceful time, coz then that stupid guide came to our quiet spot along with that family group!!! Seemed that the family group also complained to him and wanted a more quiet spot, but why in the hell did he bring them to our spot?! Anyway,, let's just say, it was a rip off to us. Very disappointing. I gave average review for thousand islands only bcoz of the pretty view of the surrounding islands in Harapan Island. For the tour guides, it was a scam! So make sure you check everything before booking a private trip to Harapan Island or any other islands in Thousand Island, Jakarta.