Merak Port Bustling with Holiday Travellers This Evening

Private vehicles and buses increasingly filled Merak Port in Cilegon City, Banten, on the evening of 17 March 2026. Port officers directed vehicles to berths 1 through 5.

On-site observation on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, showed vehicles queuing in front of berth 5. Those in private cars and buses took turns boarding the ferries.

Meanwhile, police officers directed vehicles towards available berths. Police used traffic lights to assist drivers.

“It’s empty over there, sir,” a police officer directed a vehicle towards berth 3.

One traveller, Rizki, said the journey from Jakarta took only two hours. According to him, traffic on the toll road was flowing smoothly.

“It’s busy now, normally it’s congested by H-4,” said Rizki.

Rizki and his family were travelling home to Palembang, South Sumatra. He chose to travel at night so he could arrive in Lampung before dawn.

“So the journey is easier and not dark,” he said.

Previously, the Head of Traffic Police at Banten Regional Police, Police Commissioner Arief Kurniawan, predicted that the peak of the holiday exodus would occur on 17 and 18 March 2026.

“We are still referring to around 17 and 18 March. Today falls within that period and the next two days,” said Arief on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

He said holiday travellers would begin arriving in larger numbers today. They would start entering Merak Port or Ciwandan Port from the afternoon onwards towards sunset.

“Based on patterns from previous years, and as is likely for the 2026 holiday exodus, there will be an increase or surge in the late afternoon, starting around 6:00 PM until early morning around the time of sahur,” he said.

According to him, holiday travellers want to reach the Lampung area in the morning so they can continue their journey during the day across Sumatra Island.