Pontianak to Kuching by car · Pontianak to Kuching by car
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Pontianak to Kuching by car
Pontianak to Kuching by car
Even with your own car, the journey from Pontianak to Kuching by road is taxing, taking anything between eight and ten hours. The road condition is partly sealed, with much of the roads in extremely poor condition requiring you to slow down to a crawl or complete stop to navigate potholes.
The journey is described in stages from Pontianak to Kuching. If you are traveling the other direction, just take the stages in reverse:
Pontianak to Sei. (Sungai) Pinyuh (50km): The drive out of Pontianak is quite straight forward. Road conditions are fair and the road heading north from the city is a two-lane road, passing the busy coastal town of Jungkat.
Sei. (Sungai) Pinyuh to Ngabang (127km): At Sei. Pinyuh, the road is split in two directions with a round-about in the middle of town. Turning left will lead to the north shore towns of Mempawah, Singkawang, Pemangkat, Sambas and Bengkayang. (Border checkpoints with Sarawak in Sambas and Bengkayang are planned by Indonesian government.) Turning right will lead to the hinterland (and Sarawak) towns of Ngabang, Sosok, Tayan, Sanggau, Sekadau, Nanga Pinoh, Sintang and Putussibau. The road from Sei. Pinyuh to Ngabang is a two-lane road, and drivers are cautioned to drive carefully as parts of the roads are damaged by heavy traffic and poor maintenance by the local authority.
Ngabang to Sosok (38km): Ngabang is a major stopping point for food and accommodation before the border checkpoint.
Sosok to Balai Karangan (80km): Sosok has the potential to become an important transit town in West Kalimantan as it lies in the intersections of roads leading to border checkpoints to the north, Sanggau, Sekadau, Nanga Pinoh, Sintang and Putussibau to the east, Sei. Pinyuh, Pontianak, Singkawang to the west, Tayan to the south (Roads linking Tayan to Pontianak is currently under-construction, and once completed it will cut short the travel distance between Pontianak and Sosok by at least 2 hours. Another road is being scheduled linking Tayan to Sandai and Ketapang in the southern hinterland and south coast of West Kalimantan).
Balai Karangan to Entikong Border Checkpoint (19km): Balai Karangan is the last town in the Indonesian side before the checkpoint. The Indonesian side of the border checkpoint is called Entikong, while the Malaysian side is called Tebedu.
Entikong and Tebedu Checkpoints: Once in the Entikong checkpoint area, there are two clearances needed. The travelers are required to get out of their vehicle and clear immigration by lining up for immigration stamps. After clearing the immigration, passengers can return to the vehicle while drivers are required to report vehicles exiting the country to the local police station at the border. Once paperwork is done, the vehicle can be driven out of the country towards Sarawak's border which is a mere 50 meters away. Once in the Tebedu checkpoint area, all travelers are again required to get out of their vehicles and line up for immigration stamps. Drivers will again require to report vehicles entering Malaysia and pay for a one-month vehicle entry permit. Customs will then check for baggage and vehicles. Please note that foreign vehicles are prohibited to have tinted windows when entering Malaysia.
Tebedu Checkpoints to Serian (50km): From the Tebedu checkpoints to Serian is about 40 minutes of mixed roads between two-lane roads and dual-carriage ways. Serian is a transit town for most Indonesians who wish to come to Kuching and vice versa.
Serian to Kuching (56km): From Serian to Kuching is about 30 minutes of 56km-long dual-carriage ways. It is a good paved road (which can be considered as a highway). Before reaching Kuching, there are several suburban towns along the way, such as Tarat, Tapah and Siburan. After Mile 15, the dual-lane roads will shrink at a signalized intersection (near Sedap Food Industries factory). On the left is a road leading to Mambong, while on the right is a road leading to Kota Samarahan. The road to Kuching is just straight ahead. The road is undeniably busy as it is a bottleneck between two highways. The split to the dual carriageway begins again at Padawan town (just around 10km from the Mambong junction). Then you will pass several satellite towns, such as Penrissen, Kota Sentosa (locally known as Pasar Batu 7), Batu 4 and Batu 3. After going through a busy road at Kota Sentosa, there will be two junctions to Kuching International Airport. Straight ahead is a road leading to Kuching.
For your information, Kuching city lacks vital signboards, especially the one leading to Petra Jaya, Santubong, and other suburban areas. Always have your maps handy to avoid being lost in the city as Kuching is a considerably large city.
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Pontianak to Kuching Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.