Getting There and Around in Lake Toba

Part of the Lake Toba travel guide — see every topic in All Lake Toba Guides.

Lake Toba sits in the North Sumatra highlands about a hundred and seventy kilometres south of Medan, and until recently the only way there was a four-to-five-hour drive on a winding road. Silangit Airport, near Siborong-borong at the southern end of the lake, has been expanded and now takes direct flights from Jakarta and elsewhere, which cuts the journey substantially. From either approach you reach Parapat on the eastern shore, and from there a ferry crosses to Samosir.

From Medan

Kualanamu, Medan's airport, is well connected to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Penang. From there it is four to five hours by road to Parapat, on a route that is winding, busy with trucks and slower than the distance suggests. Options: a private car with driver at 700,000–1,200,000 rupiah, a shared minibus at 100,000–200,000, or a public bus. There is also a train from Kualanamu to Medan city and buses onward. Leave early; the road is worse in the afternoon and driving it after dark is unpleasant.

Flying to Silangit

Silangit Airport, near Siborong-borong at the lake's southern end, was expanded specifically to open Toba to tourism and now takes flights from Jakarta and other Indonesian cities. From Silangit it is around an hour to Balige on the southern shore and one and a half to two hours to Parapat, so the whole journey from Jakarta becomes half a day rather than a full one. Frequencies are limited compared with Medan, so check the schedule before assuming it is the better route.

The ferry and the island

Passenger ferries cross from Parapat to Tuk Tuk on Samosir roughly hourly through the day, taking thirty to forty-five minutes for around 20,000–30,000 rupiah; they call at individual guesthouse jetties, so tell the crew where you are staying. A vehicle ferry runs Ajibata to Tomok. On Samosir, scooters rent for 80,000–150,000 rupiah a day and are the way to see the island; the ring road is around a hundred and twenty kilometres, partly steep, and a full day.

Practicalities and onward

Bring cash: ATMs on Samosir are few and unreliable and most places do not take cards. The last ferries back to Parapat leave in the late afternoon, so a same-day departure from the island requires planning. Onward routes: Berastagi and the Karo highlands are three to four hours north towards Medan, and Bukit Lawang for orangutan trekking is a further three to four beyond that, which makes a natural North Sumatra loop of a week or so.

Getting There and Around at a glance

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