Maratua Island

Areas to know

These are reference descriptions of areas within Maratua Island — not a stay comparison.

• Kecamatan Maratua — Maratua is its own Berau Regency administrative sub-district (established 2003, four villages), separate from the Kecamatan Pulau Derawan administrative area that covers Derawan Island — one of the reasons this campaign treats Maratua as its own Place rather than an area folded into Derawan's page.

Access identity

Maratua's own government airport — built partly to support tourism and partly reflecting the area's position near the Malaysia/Philippines maritime border — is a materially different access pattern from Derawan Island's road-and-speedboat-only route via Tanjung Batu. This distinct access identity, together with Maratua's own administrative sub-district, is why this campaign treats Maratua as its own nested Destination rather than an area inside Derawan's page.

Fit and constraints

Maratua's more limited flight service and longer boat crossings mean transfer planning matters more here than on Derawan; build in a buffer day if your trip depends on a specific flight day, and confirm your resort's actual transfer pattern (direct-from-Berau vs. via Tanjung Batu vs. via Derawan) before finalizing flights.

When to go

The same broad April-to-November calmer-crossing window described for Derawan applies to Maratua's boat transfers; outside that window, expect a higher chance of rough water affecting both the inter-island boats and Maratua's own resort transfer boats. Confirm current sea-condition guidance with your resort or operator close to travel.

Getting there & around

Getting there

Maratua has its own small government airport (Maratua/RTU), located on the island itself and opened for scheduled service in 2017 (formally inaugurated in October 2018), but service is small-aircraft and low-frequency — historically a subsidized route running only a few days a week rather than daily — so confirm current routes and days before planning to fly in directly. Boat access is also available: a direct crossing from Tanjung Batu port (the same port that serves Derawan), taking roughly one to one-and-a-half hours depending on route and sea state, or a shorter hop directly from Derawan Island if you are combining both stops in one trip. Some resorts on Maratua run their own transfer boat directly from a Berau-side jetty, on a longer crossing of about two-and-a-half to three hours, without routing through Derawan Island at all — check which transfer pattern your accommodation uses before booking flights.

Getting around

Maratua is a larger, more spread-out island than Derawan, without a single walkable village center; accommodation is positioned around individual house-reef or jetty access instead. Reaching Kakaban, Sangalaki, or Derawan from Maratua means a chartered or resort-arranged speedboat; there is no scheduled public inter-island ferry.