There are no roads on Panaitan Island, and you will not reach it by motorcycle, so this stop is one to read about before you ride to the coast and board a boat. It lies off the south-western tip of Java, a few kilometres from the mainland, within the Ujung Kulon National Park, one of the last great stretches of lowland rainforest on the island, and the nearest road ends at small villages on the peninsula's edge, such as Sumur and Tamanjaya.
The park is a refuge for the Javan rhinoceros, one of the rarest large mammals on earth, with fewer than a hundred animals left, all living on the mainland peninsula. Banteng wild cattle, rusa deer, leopards, gibbons, and sea turtles that nest on the beaches share the forest. On Panaitan itself you will find macaques, mouse deer, monitor lizards and thick jungle, along with reefs, white sand beaches and one of the best-known surf breaks in Indonesia. A weathered Hindu statue, left from some earlier culture, stands on the hill, a reminder that Java's religious history was layered long before Islam arrived.
The area is also a place of geological violence. Krakatau, whose 1883 eruption was one of the loudest events ever recorded, lies in the strait to the north-east, and the great waves from that eruption killed tens of thousands of people along the coasts of Java and Sumatra, and wrecked the forests of Ujung Kulon. The new volcano, Anak Krakatau, collapsed in December 2018 and sent another tsunami onto these shores. For that reason, the coast has a feeling of being at the edge of something.
The roads that lead there are the best part for a rider. From Serang the route goes through Pandeglang to Labuan on the west coast, where the highway is busy with trucks and minibuses, and then along the coast to Sumur, with a mix of potholes, bends and views of the Sunda Strait. Traffic thins out beyond Labuan. Rain falls most of the year, and the dry season, from May to September, is the safest time for the sea crossing, since boats do not run in rough water. Access to the park requires a permit and a guide, arranged in advance, so plan carefully.
Fuel is the main practical point. Buy it in Labuan or Pandeglang, because stations are rare on the peninsula and only roadside bottles are available in the villages. Mosquitoes are fierce, so cover up.