Flight options to Sorong

[Shiqi]

Shiqi you are right! They just opened them up! I'm looking at the night of the 3rd. Sounds like your email fixed it for all of us! Thank you!


I'm tempted to do the same as you ConeyIslander and book 2 nights due to arriving on the same Batik flight early morning.

Not sure if that was because of my email (I also reached out to swisshotel via twitter sometimes I found that more helpful) because I got no replies lol. but you are welcome!
Are you getting off the boat on 3rd as well? ha I wonder if we are on the same boat (I will be on Samambaia, since the liveaboard operator mentioned there are other guests on their boat asking them to help booking swisshotel because they have difficulty to book that as well, I wonder if that's you guys since sometimes the world is surprisingly small haha

 

[pclark2]

Not sure if that was because of my email (I also reached out to swisshotel via twitter sometimes I found that more helpful) because I got no replies lol. but you are welcome!
Are you getting off the boat on 3rd as well? ha I wonder if we are on the same boat (I will be on Samambaia, since the liveaboard operator mentioned there are other guests on their boat asking them to help booking swisshotel because they have difficulty to book that as well, I wonder if that's you guys since sometimes the world is surprisingly small haha

Sadly that is not us. Would have been great if it was! We are arriving from Sorong on the 3rd and take the boat to Sorido Bay Resort on the 4th. So this is before our trip to a land based resort.

I have seen some small world type things before though. I remember posting some photos on Facebook once to a Bonaire group and getting a reply back from someone I had passed underwater during that night dive. Or the reverse, seeing people post on that Facebook group only to later bump into them in person on the island. Heck, just this last February I was on my way to Grenada and on my first flight, my entire row ended up all being people going to the same place for scuba diving, and we later kept bumping into each other at restaurants and such.

On a side note, while Swiss-bel was unavailable, I was researching other hotels a lot. I was tempted by Favehotel due to it being within easy walking distance of a grocery store it appears. Could be nice for supplies before going to a remote island. Is that worth taking into account, or is there something close to the Swiss-bel? Is the Favehotel even decent?

 

[Shiqi]

Thank You Shiqi- I just booked my room!! I was able to do it on Booking.com

I decided to fly into Sorong a full 24 hours early arriving at 6AM the day before my boat embarks. I am flying round trip on Batik Air. I plan on booking two nights at my Sorong hotel so that I can check into my room as soon as I arrive in the morning with out any hassles. I will have one night where I am paying for two hotel rooms, One room in Jakarta, one in Sorong as my flight doesn't take off till 12:25AM.

When I leave Sorong I was told by my operator that I could be on the 10:45AM flight back to Jakarta. I plan on continuing on that same day to KL. I booked a Malaysian Airline flight departing at 6:25PM giving me a layover of more than 5 hours which I was told should be the minimum. The ticket I purchased can be changed without any fees, so there is also a 3:45PM flight I can try to get on if my flight into Jakarta is on time and a 7:55PM flight if I am late. Lets see how it all plays out

I am taking the flight on 1/4 morning to Jakarta and then 1/5 morning flight back to SFO so I booked another night at swissbel on 1/4 night

 

[ConeyIslander]

I am taking the flight on 1/4 morning to Jakarta and then 1/5 morning flight back to SFO so I booked another night at swissbel on 1/4 night

You can rest up after almost 2 weeks of diving.

 

[jjmochi]

To answer my own questions in case others are curious, now that I’m sitting at Jakarta waiting for my gate for the Sorong flight to be announced with an extra 3 hours to go…

Air Asia flight was cancelled so I ended up with Garuda 7:10PM flight from Singapore, 4 hour layover in Jakarta, and 12.30am flight to Sorong

Super easy- bags go all the way through, no need to take out in Jakarta. You get boarding pass for both flights in Singapore.

Garuda lands and leaves from T3, no terminal change. There is a sky train to T2 if you need it.

You clear immigration in Jakarta. No line for health screen (just show vaccination docs), no line for VOA payment, maybe 5-10 min wait for VOA, you clear immigration with the same officer as VOA. Go out, go upstairs back to domestic departures, no need to check in, no line to go in.

Total took about an hour.

It’s super cute how everyone looks at your ticket to Sorong and gives you the knowing look and goes “ah Raja Ampat” lol

I did get my AirAsia refund approved through the chatbot, haven’t seen it come through the card yet.

Singapore Airlines of course refunded my SIN-CGK leg no fuss even after initially rebooking to the earlier flight.

 

[ojo]

In somewhat the same vein (rather than start a new thread), I'm arranging flights for next October. Best connection in from SFO is Singapore Airlines arriving at 10:50 p.m., and I'd like to get on that Garuda Sorong flight leaving from the same terminal at 12:10. Is there a rat's chance in Hades of that? Really don't want to spend 25 hrs in Jakarta.

 

[outofofficebrb]

In somewhat the same vein (rather than start a new thread), I'm arranging flights for next October. Best connection in from SFO is Singapore Airlines arriving at 10:50 p.m., and I'd like to get on that Garuda Sorong flight leaving from the same terminal at 12:10. Is there a rat's chance in Hades of that? Really don't want to spend 25 hrs in Jakarta.

No way. I’ve had some domestic check in lines take 1 hour + on some occasions in Indonesia. I am SFO based and fly to Indonesia in some capacity (mostly to Singapore first then through Jakarta) twice a year and I would never dream of doing such a short connection on a separate ticket like that at the port of entry. In fact, my minimum for international connections is 3 hours when just doing a transit and no customs or immigration. Any time customs and immigration is involved it makes it even more difficult. Delays are also a thing and that can compound. When you land, you have to go through customs and immigration, grab your bags, and do the song and dance of check in and security again. If you miss it, you’re on your own to figure it out. I also aim to arrive in Sorong at least 1 day ahead of when I need to board a liveaboard in case of delays and cancellations.

That flight to Sorong is a red eye and after a long day of travel it’s nice to be able to shower and get some rest before going onwards. From SFO there are usually some flight options that get you to Jakarta about 12 hours before those midnight flights to Sorong that stop in Taiwan or Japan. I’d look for a flight that gets you into Jakarta earlier if you don’t want to spend an extra day there (I don’t blame you.)

Another option is you can buy your own ticket to Singapore and fly direct with UA or SQ then buy a separate ticket to Sorong which stops in Manado or Jakarta on the way there but it will be on the same ticket. There are flights arriving every 12 hours from SFO in Singapore with just those 2 airlines and they each have 2 flights a day. That will give you some flexibility and enough time to connect to another flight on the same ticket in Jakarta or Manado so that will make it a little easier. The flight to Sorong from Manado is really easy and direct. Singapore Airlines also has a flight that goes to Singapore then Manado on Scoot, their budget carrier, on the same ticket. You can also buy a Sorong flight from there on a separate ticket. I’ve flown all these options so let me know if you need help. Happy to look at itineraries through PM with you.

 

[ojo]

No way. I’ve had some domestic check in lines take 1 hour + on some occasions in Indonesia. I am SFO based and fly to Indonesia in some capacity (mostly to Singapore first then through Jakarta) twice a year and I would never dream of doing such a short connection on a separate ticket like that at the port of entry. In fact, my minimum for international connections is 3 hours when just doing a transit and no customs or immigration. Any time customs and immigration is involved it makes it even more difficult. Delays are also a thing and that can compound. When you land, you have to go through customs and immigration, grab your bags, and do the song and dance of check in and security again. If you miss it, you’re on your own to figure it out. I also aim to arrive in Sorong at least 1 day ahead of when I need to board a liveaboard in case of delays and cancellations.

That flight to Sorong is a red eye and after a long day of travel it’s nice to be able to shower and get some rest before going onwards. From SFO there are usually some flight options that get you to Jakarta about 12 hours before those midnight flights to Sorong that stop in Taiwan or Japan. I’d look for a flight that gets you into Jakarta earlier if you don’t want to spend an extra day there (I don’t blame you.)

Another option is you can buy your own ticket to Singapore and fly direct with UA or SQ then buy a separate ticket to Sorong which stops in Manado or Jakarta on the way there but it will be on the same ticket. There are flights arriving every 12 hours from SFO in Singapore with just those 2 airlines and they each have 2 flights a day. That will give you some flexibility and enough time to connect to another flight on the same ticket in Jakarta or Manado so that will make it a little easier. The flight to Sorong from Manado is really easy and direct. Singapore Airlines also has a flight that goes to Singapore then Manado on Scoot, their budget carrier, on the same ticket. You can also buy a Sorong flight from there on a separate ticket. I’ve flown all these options so let me know if you need help. Happy to look at itineraries through PM with you.

Wow, so incredibly helpful, thank you. No LOB on the other end, just homestays for a couple weeks, then a resort, so no pressure in that regard. (And ironically, my starting point is SAN but find getting to LAX from SAN so time-consuming and basically unworkable that I depart from SFO instead).
I always seem to end up on EVA Air and would so love to not fly them this time, but once again, their price and connections (except for the nasty Taipei layover on return) looks the best. I tend to use Skyscanner - lmk if you know a better way to search.
I'd started looking at the option you mention of just getting to SIN on SA, then Garuda booked via CGK through to SOR. One of those flights leaves only an hour to get from SA to Garuda - I imagine that too is a little too time-crunchy. So the only reasonable option is an ANA flight arriving early in SIN, then through to SOR.
I'll probably choose between those two. A friend had me mapped via JFK and Qatar, which was definitely not on my radar - more air time and an additional plane change, minimal airport time, similar expense, nice airline, but the thought of going "backwards" via NY is very odd.
Looks like only Scoot flies direct from SIN to Manado - have read awful things about their airline, whereas Garuda, with their dive bag allowance, seems like a good option. What's your experience with Scoot, and what's their checked bag policy? I don't see good connections to SOR from Manado anyway; looks like better to stick with the Garuda CGK option. Do you book with Garuda directly? Thanks!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Wow, so incredibly helpful, thank you. No LOB on the other end, just homestays for a couple weeks, then a resort, so no pressure in that regard. (And ironically, my starting point is SAN but find getting to LAX from SAN so time-consuming and basically unworkable that I depart from SFO instead).
I always seem to end up on EVA Air and would so love to not fly them this time, but once again, their price and connections (except for the nasty Taipei layover on return) looks the best. I tend to use Skyscanner - lmk if you know a better way to search.
I'd started looking at the option you mention of just getting to SIN on SA, then Garuda booked via CGK through to SOR. One of those flights leaves only an hour to get from SA to Garuda - I imagine that too is a little too time-crunchy. So the only reasonable option is an ANA flight arriving early in SIN, then through to SOR.
I'll probably choose between those two. A friend had me mapped via JFK and Qatar, which was definitely not on my radar - more air time and an additional plane change, minimal airport time, similar expense, nice airline, but the thought of going "backwards" via NY is very odd.
Looks like only Scoot flies direct from SIN to Manado - have read awful things about their airline, whereas Garuda, with their dive bag allowance, seems like a good option. What's your experience with Scoot, and what's their checked bag policy? I don't see good connections to SOR from Manado anyway; looks like better to stick with the Garuda CGK option. Do you book with Garuda directly? Thanks!

I like flying through Singapore because it’s a big gateway; there are so many flights with different carriers to Indonesia per day to various places and if something goes wrong, you have options to help you get to where you ultimately need to be without sitting and waiting for flights, even if it means an additional connection within Indonesia.

I have done a fair share of Eva and ANA to Jakarta so I understand your desire for something different.

Scoot is budget but bearable. If you buy it on your international ticket with SQ as one itinerary, your checked baggage rules for SQ apply because it’s the MSC (most significant carrier) in your ticket. The baggage gets transferred between the 2 flights for you. For carry on, I carry 16-17kg of camera equipment in a roller board as well as a 7-8kg backpack and I haven’t had issues. To be honest, Scoot is pretty similar to the other budget carriers in Indonesia but I trust it for safety more, if anything. Get the flight that works best for you logistically.

When looking at flights I use google flights. Some other search services don’t retrieve the local domestic flights and airlines.

There are direct flights with Lion Air between MDC to SOQ daily, usually 1.5 hours and under $200 round trip. I usually book direct with Garuda but for Lion group (Batik, Wings, Lion) I book with Tiket but you may need to whitelist your card with them through email if it doesn’t work. Booking direct with Lion group doesn’t play nicely with my various US credit cards.

 

[ojo]

I like flying through Singapore because it’s a big gateway; there are so many flights with different carriers to Indonesia per day to various places and if something goes wrong, you have options to help you get to where you ultimately need to be without sitting and waiting for flights, even if it means an additional connection within Indonesia.

I have done a fair share of Eva and ANA to Jakarta so I understand your desire for something different.

Scoot is budget but bearable. If you buy it on your international ticket with SQ as one itinerary, your checked baggage rules for SQ apply because it’s the MSC (most significant carrier) in your ticket. The baggage gets transferred between the 2 flights for you. For carry on, I carry 16-17kg of camera equipment in a roller board as well as a 7-8kg backpack and I haven’t had issues. To be honest, Scoot is pretty similar to the other budget carriers in Indonesia but I trust it for safety more, if anything. Get the flight that works best for you logistically.

When looking at flights I use google flights. Some other search services don’t retrieve the local domestic flights and airlines.

There are direct flights with Lion Air between MDC to SOQ daily, usually 1.5 hours and under $200 round trip. I usually book direct with Garuda but for Lion group (Batik, Wings, Lion) I book with Tiket but you may need to whitelist your card with them through email if it doesn’t work. Booking direct with Lion group doesn’t play nicely with my various US credit cards.

Thanks so much!