Ambon island, Indonesia travel guide: A charming surprise with few tourists

Indonesia may be one of Australia’s closest neighbours, but exploring its lesser-known islands can result in brutal flight itineraries. On a recent trip to remote West Papua – just over 1000 kilometres from Darwin as the crow flies – there’s nearly 24 hours of travel, including long layovers and tedious hours in airport terminals.

But one lengthy stopover proves a charming surprise, allowing a six-hour window to explore the island of Ambon. Part of the Moluccas, or Maluku, archipelago – 1027 dots in the Banda Sea – Ambon (meaning pretty in Indonesian) is a small but relatively populated island, with its main city, Kota Ambon, the capital of the province.

Heady with the scent of exotic, precious spices such as nutmeg, cloves and mace, Ambon has lured traders since the 14th century, when seafaring Arab merchants brought the Islam faith to the region. The Portuguese and Dutch later followed, establishing trading companies, subjugating the locals, introducing Christianity and creating ancestry as blended as garam masala.

Today, Ambon’s population of around 500,000 is a 60/40 divide between Christian and Muslim, and apart from a brief and violent period of sectarian conflict between 1999 and 2002, the religions co-exist in relative harmony, with a growing grassroots movement towards tolerance.

From a tourist perspective, Ambon is no Bali. Western visitors are few and far between. From the outset, however, we are greeted with huge smiles and an enthusiastic “hello mister!”, the ubiquitous salutation given to every Westerner, regardless of gender.

With my travelling companion fluent in Indonesian, finding a guide for our impromptu tour is simple – he simply chats to a taxi driver, negotiates a price and mentions a few destinations we’re keen to visit. For those reliant on English, a little more effort may be required – but there are several tourist kiosks in the airport to help with arrangements if necessary.

Heading past the port and across the bay, our driver, Rafael, drops us at our first destination, the Ambon War Cemetery. More commonly known as the Australian Cemetery, this tranquil, manicured park, shaded by sprawling kenari trees, commemorates Australian and Allied soldiers who fell in defence of Ambon during World War II.