Getting Around Dumai
Dumai is a compact coastal city, and much of the centre can be covered on foot in the course of a day. For anything beyond the immediate town area, you have a few practical choices: ride-hailing cars, conventional taxis, buses and shared transport, and the traditional horse-drawn cart known as a delman.
On Foot
Walking is a realistic option in central Dumai. The town is small enough that you can wander much of it in half a day, so if you are staying near the main streets you can reach shops, waterfront areas and food spots without arranging transport. Note that the source material describes the town itself as small rather than describing the city's wider area, which is extensive; walking makes sense for the centre, not for the outlying districts.
Rail, Metro and Trams
Dumai has no rail, metro or tram network. The source material lists no such services, and land transport in and around the city is road-based. Plan your travel around buses, shared cars, taxis and ride-hailing instead.
Buses and Shared Transport
Dumai sits on the Trans-Sumatran Highway corridor and is connected to the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road, though the highway itself passes near the city's edges rather than through the centre. Bus services run from Dumai to Duri, Padang, Medan, Jambi, Pekanbaru and other cities and regions in Riau Province and across Sumatra, using the AKAP terminal.
Be aware that the main bus station is inconveniently located relative to the town centre, so factor in a taxi or ride-hailing trip to reach it. If you are heading to Pekanbaru, an office for shared taxis can be found about 300 metres from the northern end of Jalan Sudirman, on the east side.
For travel to Pekanbaru, the usual options are buses or "travels" — shared car pools. A bus ticket is the cheaper choice, while a shared car costs more per person; booking a full car is considerably more expensive again. Journeys to Pekanbaru take roughly five hours, and the roads along the way are not good. From Medan the trip takes about ten hours, with fares varying by bus and class. Large buses, both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned, run daily from Medan, usually overnight.
Within the city, the source material notes that transport modes in the wider region include bus, oplet (share taxi), bajaj (auto rickshaw) and ojek (motorcycle taxi).
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Ride-hailing is straightforward in Dumai: Grab cars serve the city. Conventional taxis are also among the transport modes available in the region. For short hops across town, or for reaching the bus station, these are the most convenient options.
Delman
In the public park on Sudirman Street, Taman Bukit Gelanggang, you can rent a delman, a traditional horse-drawn cart. It is a short, leisurely way to see the park area rather than a means of getting across the city.
From Pinang Kampai Airport into the City
Dumai's airport is Pinang Kampai Airport (airport code DUM), a domestic airport serving daily flights to and from cities including Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Medan and Batam. It sits approximately ten minutes' drive from the centre of town, which makes the transfer into the city quick and inexpensive by taxi or ride-hailing car. Because the airport is so close, there is no need to plan a long or complicated journey — simply arrange a car on arrival.
Arriving by Sea
If you arrive by ferry rather than by air, note that all passenger ferries depart from the Dumai ferry passenger terminal. The terminal gate sits right beside the cargo port gate, so take care to go to the correct entrance. Ferries connect Dumai with Malaysian ports such as Port Klang, Port Dickson and Malacca, as well as with Batam, Bintan and other Riau Islands destinations, and national Pelni ships call at Dumai linking it to other Sumatran ports and islands including Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Practical Tips
- Stay centrally if you want to walk — the town centre is compact and walkable in half a day.
- Use Grab or a taxi for trips to the bus station, which is inconveniently located.
- For Pekanbaru, choose between a cheaper bus and a pricier shared "travel" car; expect roughly five hours and poor road conditions.
- For Medan, expect about ten hours by bus, with overnight departures common.
- Allow extra time at the ferry terminal: check-in requirements and immigration queues can add significantly to your journey.
- At the ferry terminal, make sure you enter through the passenger gate, not the adjacent cargo gate.