130 km, 2 1/2 hours
Get an early start from Balikpapan otherwise the traffic lingers for about 20 km beyond the city.
Many stretches of decent road, some of it quite pretty. A lot of road works where only one lane at a time is allowed to pass. This can be used as an opportunity to leapfrog slow-moving trucks and buses.
A lot of old-fashioned overtaking where where plenty of kW are a good thing.
Signposting approaching Samarinda is erratic but roads are good.
At least two Pertamina stations with Pertamax on the main road.