Read the name it might cause misleading to imagine that there are around a thousand islands or in Bahasa Indonesia is Pulau Seribu. Seribu means one thousand, but the actual islands are around 130. The name is just an expression of the great number of islands that dots Jakarta Bay starting around 15 to 100 kms north from specs of atols to a real inhabited islands or Pulau-pulau hidup. Pulau Seribu or thousand islands has been known since the era of Dutch at the beginning of 19th century, which in the course of history with the development of Jakarta as the center of business and culture, Pulau Seribu or Thousand islands has become a favorite week-end hide away. The main interest of the Pulau Seribu islands are it's tranquility, beautiful beach and panorama, clear and calm water. Some island such as Pulau Putri, Pulau Kotok, and Pulau Sepa have a very magnificent sea water with stretches of virgin beaches excellent for snorkeling and diving. The closest islands to Jakarta Bay is Pulau Bidadari and Pulau Ayer which water is a bit influenced by the nature of Jakarta Bay, but these islands are always crowded with local tourist from the Jakarta.This is especially during the week-end. Day tour from Jakarta is available for Pulau Bidadari for it's variety of simple

cottages, Pulau Ayer for it's better beach and resort, Pulau Kotok for it's good reef for snorkeling and diving, Pulau Putri famous for it's aquarium, and Pulau Sepa, a small island surrounded by wide stretches of pristine sand and having the best beach around the island.