vanimo-jayapura & border-crossing

I'm planning to go from Vanimo to Jayapura and then to the Baliem Valley in august and if anyone has recently crossed the border I would appreciate to have the following information:
1. most appropriate way to reach the border and crossing to Jayapura (i.e hiring a taxi, a company/agency organizing this trips....)
2,- Regarding the visa to get into Papua (indonesia), how long does it take it to get it in Vanimo?. It seems that the permit cannot be obtained overseas.
3.- God hotels in Vanimo?

thks. for the info,

javier

1/indonesian visa in vanimo takes 1 day....lodge it by 2pm...pick up next morning(10am)make sure you have passport size photo attached.
2/public bus system runs from market area,look out for bus names like batas queen,batas princess etc(batas is indonesian word for border)....fare is around 15kina.......90minute trip.
3/from skouw hire taksi into jayapura.....2 hour trip.....negotiate price in rupiah
4/many hotels and guest houses in vanimo....depends on your budget/my pick is vissers guest house on top of vanimo hill(west tower)single room 100kina.vanimo beach hotel in town have single rooms from about 125kina

Thks a lot for the info. very helpful. JDF

Anything else if you go the other direction?

Hi,
Did you actually end up travelling this route? I am planning to cross the Vanimo to Jayapura border in October and would like to hear from people who have done it recently.
Cheers,
Fredrik

We just did this border crossing 2 days ago, hope this info is helpful for someone

• you can get a 60 day visa if you ask (and if they feel like it?), we asked for it and were told no, asked again and they said yes. They did ask for a sponsor letter but when we said we didn't have one they were still happy to issue 60 day visa (the notice pinned up on the wall states sponsor letter only required for multiple entry visa). All we needed was 2 passport photos. Also the visa fee is 135 kina for 60 day or 70 kina for 30 day
• they didn't ask for a ticket out of Indonesia although it was mentioned on the form that you have to fill in there so you may want to have one just in case (I had a forged ticket for Penguin Ferries from Pulau Batam to Singapore ready just in case but wasn't asked for it - if anyone wants the template to use for themselves just message me and I'll send it over)
• currently you get the visa the day after you apply (because of the power blackout in Vanimo which has apparently gone on for a few months)
• the best days to travel to the border (batas) by PMV are Tuedays, Thursdays and Saturdays because on those days the big Indonesian market is open on the other side of the border so there are lots of locals from PNG going so therefore its easy to find a PMV (the fare is 10 kina). It is possible to find PMVs on other days, (we travelled on a Friday) but there are a lot less of them. PMVs leave from by the main market
• Vanimo is a very friendly place (as with everywhere we travelled in PNG) but locals told us it's got more dangerous in the last few years and warned us against walking around at night
• we were offered free accommodation but ended up staying at the Vanimo Beach Hotel - not recommended, I think the place Donbrisbane mentions above would be a much better option
• entry into Indonesia was no problem (although the customs officer was very suspicious about the loose leaf green tea we were carrying in an unmarked bag), at the other side the only transport available was a kijang cost for hiring the whole car was 400,000 rupiah, we shared with 3 others so 80,000 each. He tried to drop us at a market outside Jayapura so better to ask to be dropped at your hotel
• all budget (and midrange) hotels in Jayapura were full when we arrived, might be wise to try and book your room in advance if you can (or couchsurf)

Anyone wants any more info message me and I'll try to help out

Thanks for the update, captikus!
The visa you get in Vanino; does it look like a regular Indonesian visa? And did you go to Immigration in Jayapura after arrival there?
Cheers,
Fredrik

Hi Fredrik - it looks slightly different from the last Indonesian visa I had 2 years ago but maybe they've just changed the format a bit, for all practical purposes I guess it's the same as a visa issued anywhere else. Immigration is dealt with at the border now so we were stamped in there and didn't go to report to immigration in Jayapura (although we did go to the police station to get our surat jalan for the rest of Papua).
Cheers

Further to captikus report,

I completed the Vanimo-Jayapura crossing today and it was a breeze. From I left my accomodation in Vanimo till I checked in at my hotel here in Jayapura it only took three hours. Get the bus from the bus station in Vanimo to the border (less than 1 hours - 10 kina). Probably best to go on market days as suggested above. Immigration and customs formalities on both sides took probably about half an hour altoghether. I was the only non-local. On the Indonesian side there were taxis waiting, although they charge a fairly steep 400.000 Rp for the 1 1/2 hours trip into central Jayapura. I did not check other transport options.

I got my Indonesian visa from their embassy in Norway (where I live) so there was no need to visit the Indonesian consulate in Vanimo. I did actually meet one of the consulate's staff members at the Vanimo Beach Hotel over a beer, and he told me that the consulate would be closed the following day due to power cuts or something like that. So if you definitely plan to do this route, and do not want to hang around in Vanimo, it may be easier to get your visa in advance. That fact that my visa was issued in Oslo, not Vanimo did not cause any trouble, just a bit of curiosity.