The Banggai Islands are an archipelago in the Banda Sea, off the east coast of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Regions
[edit]The Banggai Islands consist of two separate regencies: the Banggai Islands Regency, which includes the largest island of Peleng, and the Banggai Laut Regency, which contains Banggai Island and some smaller, more remote islands off to the southwest and southeast.
Cities
[edit]- Salakan — capital of the Banggai Islands Regency and largest city on Peleng Island.
- Banggai — capital of the Banggai Laut Regency, located on Banggai Island.
Other destinations
[edit]Understand
[edit]Still very underdeveloped touristically, the Banggai Islands are a place to escape the tourist masses from Tana Toraja and the Togian Islands. This makes the Banggai Islands a little harder to travel in without a guide or Indonesian language skills. Most visitors will stick to the handful of scattered homestays along the typical routes and receive lots of smiles and planning assistance from the owners, who all seem to know each other.
Get in
[edit]By boat
[edit]There are daily boaty from Luwuk to Leme-Leme on west Peleng island at 2PM, and daily boats in the other direction at 9AM. Similar daily boats serve Luwuk - Salakan (east Peleng island) and Luwuk - Banggai (Banggai Laut). Twice a week (presumably Tuesday and Friday) there is also a direct boat at 7AM from Luk Panenteng (where Paisu Pok Lake is) to Luwuk and back. The tickets can't be bought online, and depending on your chosen boat company, can't even be bought a day before departure. Just show up a few hours before departure at the pier.
By air
[edit]Although there is a new airport on Banggai Laut, at this time (Mar 2025) there do not seem to be any flights there. The closest airport thus still is Luwuk, taking the boat to reach the islands.
Get around
[edit]See
[edit]Western Peleng island
[edit]
- 1 Paisu Pok Lake (Through the wooden decorative gate in Luk Panenteng village). Accessible 24/7, best in the morning before local tourists arrive. Likely the reason why you heard about Banggai in the first place. A lake famed on social media for its lush setting surrounded by palmtrees and especially its extremely transparent water. Rental of gazebos (30,000 rupiah), stand-up paddles (100,000), boats (30,000), snorkelling equipment and even drones and experienced underwater photographers are available, to make sure influencers can get the best footage for their channels. 5,000 rupiah entrance fee, late afternoon the fee is not collected anymore.
- 2 Paisu Batango (From the Paisu Pok gate, follow the road westward for 10 minutes on foot. Entrance is on the right when exiting Luk Panenteng village). Accessible 24/7. A cyan colored lagoon near Paisu Pok where spring water mixes with sea water. Locals like to wash their clothes and bodies there and fetch spring water. Free.
- 3 Poganda Beach (From Paisu Pok, follow the road westward for 30 minutes by bike or car). A white sand beach and snorkelling spot 30 minutes drive from Paisu Pok. Reportedly 5,000 rupiah.
- 4 Gua Susundeng (From Paisu Pok, about 3 hours clockwise around the western half of Peleng island). A cave filled with turquoise and dark blue, very transparent water. Closed when rainy due to slippery paths.
- 5 Gua Bab'Banang (From Paisu Pok, about 2.5 - 3 hours clockwise around the western half of Peleng island). Another cave, a little smaller but very similar to Gua Susundeng. A little better developed, with a toilet and changing room and better paths. Therefore also open when rainy. 10,000 rupiah.
Eastern Peleng island
[edit]- 6 Mandel Beach (From Salakan, drive eastwards along the north coast for 45 minutes). Accessible 24/7. A long, well-known but remote white sand beach with turquoise water. No infrastructure, a lot of trash lying around, but can still be cropped out of pictures. Due to overfishing nothing much to see underwater according to locals. Free.
- 7 Bone Pompon (From Salakan, drive eastwards along the north coast for 30 minutes). A clean white sand beach. Decent snorkelling, toilets and gazebos available. Showers present but depending on the season and water availability you may have to use the tubs in the bathrooms instead. 10k rupiah per foreigner.
Banggai Laut
[edit]- 8 Oyama Beach (Can only be reached by boat, e.g. from Popisi or Lokotoy). Accessible 24/7. Another well-known white sand beach with turquoise water. Sand almost as fine as flour. Some trash lying around. Nothing to see under the water, but also no jellyfish, even at times when other locations around the east side of the island have them. Free.
- 9 Long Beach (Pantai Pasor Panjang) (Next to Oyama beach. Can only be reached by boat, e.g. from Popisi or Lokotoy). Accessible 24/7. White sand beach with nice snorkelling. May have seasonal jellyfish around the end of March. Free.
- 10 Tanjung Gundul (Can only be reached by boat, e.g. from Popisi or Lokotoy, and the last 20 meters only by swimming). Accessible 24/7. Picturesque cliff with a hole created by sea waves. The floor is made of sand-colored stones. In the water in front of the place there may be seasonal jellyfish, so consider wearing long-sleeved clothes and swimming shoes to get there. Free.
Do
[edit]Snorkelling and enjoying the beautiful empty beaches, lagoons and lakes.
For scuba diving, there may be some dive centers in Luwuk offering trips to the Banggai Islands.
Eat
[edit]There are not many public restaurants on the Banggai Islands: even in Salakan the options are somewhat limited. The accommodations will usually provide three meals per day.