Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
252km²
Area
78km
Coastline
93m
Highest point
193,069
People
30°C
Warmest sea
May
1,289km
To the mainland
When to go to Tarakan Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in May (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Tarakan City, North Kalimantan Province, Indonesia
Tarakan Island is an island in Indonesia. It covers 252 km², with 78 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 93 m. About 193,069 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,289 km away.
Getting there
- Juwata International Airport / Suharnoko Harbani AFB (TRK)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at DPS airport (Kuta, Badung)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesTarakan - Nunukan, Ancam - Tarakan, Rute Speedboat Tarakan - Malinau PP, Tolitoli - Tarakan
- 1,289 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Tarakan Island.
- 1lighthouses
- 3ferry terminalsTarakan Ferry Port, Pelabuhan Tengkayu, Tarakan
- 1marinasPelabuhan Feri Juata Laut
- 3named peaksGunung Cangkol, Gunung Api, Gunung Lumpur
- 1ruins and archaeological sitesSitus Peningki Lama
- 18hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 10restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Tarakan Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Tarakan Island, each with its own numbers.
4mountainsPeakyas
4 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Bukit Lingkas
- Mountain Lumpur
- Mountain Tangkol
- Gunung Api
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 27 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 81 %0–50 m
- 19 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Tarakan255,310 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 243 | 182 | 267 | 251 | 278 | 221 | 226 | 213 | 216 | 248 | 258 | 295 |
| Wet days | 26 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| Sun h/day | 5.3 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2021 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.9 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.8 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Nunukan Island
Indonesia235 km²114 m78 km away
Sebatik IslandIndonesia438 km²174 m89 km away
Sipadan
Malaysia0.17 km²27 m142 km away
Sitangkai Island
Philippines0.08 km²1 m246 km away
Sibutu IslandPhilippines105 km²23 m263 km away
LabuanMalaysia88 km²94 m342 km away
Tawi-Tawi IslandPhilippines568 km²549 m336 km awaySelirong Island
Brunei29 m321 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q137796) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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