Getting Around Transport Guide in Sulawesi

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

Sulawesi's shape is a transport problem. Four long peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre, and the roads between them are long, winding and slow — Makassar in the south to Manado in the north is over two thousand kilometres by road and several days of driving. The practical consequence is that Sulawesi is treated as several separate destinations reached by air: the south from Makassar, the north from Manado, and the remote islands from whichever coast they sit off.

Flying

Makassar's Sultan Hasanuddin airport is the main hub for eastern Indonesia, with connections across the archipelago and internationally. Manado's Sam Ratulangi serves the north, with flights from Jakarta, Singapore and elsewhere. Palu, Kendari, Gorontalo, Luwuk and Toraja's small Buntu Kunik airport fill in. Flying between Makassar and Manado takes about two hours against several days by road, which is why almost everyone does. Book internal legs ahead; capacity on the smaller routes is thin.

The south and Toraja

Makassar to Rantepao in Tana Toraja is around three hundred kilometres and eight to nine hours by road, on a route that climbs from the coastal plain into the highlands. Overnight buses run and are comfortable enough; shared cars and private drivers are faster. Toraja's own airport at Buntu Kunik has limited flights from Makassar that cut the journey to under an hour and are worth checking. Within Toraja, a car with driver or a scooter is needed, since the villages are spread across a wide valley system.

The north

Manado is the base for both Bunaken, thirty to forty-five minutes by boat, and the Lembeh Strait, about ninety minutes by road to Bitung and then a short crossing. Tangkoko reserve is two hours from Manado. The Minahasa highlands, Tomohon and the volcanoes are within an hour. The north peninsula is compact and well roaded compared with the rest of the island, which is why it functions as a self-contained destination and most divers never see the south.

The remote parts

The Togean Islands need a ferry from Ampana or an overnight crossing from Gorontalo, with limited and changeable schedules. Wakatobi is reached by flight to Wangi-Wangi or, for the resort, its own airstrip on Tomia. Lore Lindu is reached from Palu. Bira, for the boatbuilding and the beaches, is five to six hours from Makassar by road. All of these require flexibility measured in days. Pelni's national ships also call at Sulawesi ports on long inter-island loops and are cheap, slow and genuinely interesting.

Getting Around Transport Guide at a glance

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