Musi River Tour, Getting to Know Palembang through the River

You will find something missing if you visit Palembang without taking a Musi River tour. This famous river is the longest in Sumatra at 750 km long. Taking the Musi River tour is a must for visitors who wish to know the Palembang of the past. Long ago, the native population in Palembang lived along this river. Some even built their homes along the river banks. When taking the tour, you can find several tourist sites such as Kemarau Island and temples.

Local people rely on this river for their transportation. You can see many motor boats (taxis) taking passengers to the other side of the river. You won’t have any difficulty finding local foods here. Not far from the Palembang Grand Mosque, you can enjoy Palembang traditional foods like empek-empek panggang. There is also a food stall selling es belimbing (star fruit ice). There are floating restaurants where you could improve your culinary experiences in Palembang.

Along the Musi River, there are several tourist sites such as Kemaro Island and the tomb of Ratu Bagus Kuning. You can ask the boat driver to take you to these sites. They certainly know these areas well. To travel around the Musi River, you must use a motor boat. You can rent one under the Ampera bridge, in front of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Museum, or in front of Fort Kuto Besak. There are several types of motor boats such as speed boats, Ketek, and small vessels.

Get Around

The City bus in Palembang is one of the most convenient in the country. The name of the bus is TransMusi. There are two types of buses, the green and the blue one, with different routes. The green TransMusi's route goes Terminal Sako Perumnas-Jalan Celentang-Jalan Residen Abdul Rozak-Simpang Empat Patal-Jalan Basuki Rahmat-Jalan Demang Lebar Daun-Simpang Taman Bukit-UNSRI Bukit Besar-Jalan Jaksa Suprapto-Simpang Kedaung-Jalan Letkol Iskandar-Simpang Hero-PIM, and backtrack all the bus stops.

The blue TransMusi route goes Terminal Alang-alang lebar-Jalan Kol H Burlian-Jalan Jenderal Sudirman-Pasar 16 Ilir (Jalan Tengkuruk Permai)-Underpass Ampera Bridge-Jalan Masjid Agung-Jalan Jenderal Sudirman-backtrack to Alang-alang lebar. If you prefer to take a more airy local transport, take becak or ojek instead. The fare is quite reasonable and worth the excitement.

Get There

The airport of Palembang is called the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport. There are several airlines serving the Capital City of South Sumatra, Palembang. If you are already in one of the cities or capital cities of Sumatra, an overland trip to Palembang is also possible. You can go to the main bus terminal in the city of Padang, Bukittinggi, Jambi, Pekanbaru, Dumai, or Bengkulu to and from Palembang and ask for Terminal Karya Jaya or Terminal Alang-alang Lebar. Terminal Karya Jaya serves buses going to the northern cities from Palembang, and Terminal Alang-alang Lebar serves the southern routes.