The principal gateways for entry to Indonesia are Jakarta and Bali. Jakarta is serviced by more airlines but, thanks to its huge tourist trade, Bali gets almost as much traffic. New Merpati flights from Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory to Ambon (Maluku), Ujung Pandang (Sulawesi) and Biak (Irian Jaya) have opened up eastern Indonesia to travellers departing Australia. Airport tax on international flights varies between airport. Departure tax from Jakarta and Denpasar is around US$6 and from other airports about US$3.
The only open land crossing is at Entikong, between Kalimantan and Sarawak. Visas are not required and a 60-day visa pass is issued on the spot. Most sea connections are on comfortable high-speed ferries running between Malaysia and Sumatra, though there is also a service between Manado in northern Sulawesi and Davao in the Philippines.
Most of the sea conections are between Malaysia and Sumatra and the vessel of choice is the comfortable high-speed ferry from Penang to Medan. The other main ferry connection is between Dumai (Sumatra) and Melaka (Malacca).