The Banggai Regency in Sulawesi Island is one of Indonesia's most underrated tourist destinations, featuring the stunning blue lake of Paisupok and other breathtaking landscapes, including beaches, caves, waterfalls, and wildlife.

This region is vast, encompassing three different administrative districts—Banggai, Banggai Kepulauan (Islands), and Banggai Laut—making it somewhat more complex to navigate than other parts of Sulawesi. Fortunately, my wife is Indonesian, which greatly assisted us.

We independently toured Banggai Kepulauan, arranging our own hotels and transportation for each step of the journey. This blog post will explain how you can do the same. If you prefer to join a group or take a private tour, I'll also share the contact information of some local guides to facilitate your trip.

Regardless, Banggai Islands offer some fantastic attractions. If you're already planning a trip to Sulawesi, Banggai Islands are definitely worth visiting. Here's our travel guide!

Contents

Day 1 of Banggai Kepulauan Itinerary: Luwuk to Peleng

• Flying to Luwuk
  The starting and ending point of your Banggai Kepulauan adventure is Luwuk, a small town with a population of about 35,000 in central Sulawesi.

Multiple flights operate daily from Makassar in South Sulawesi to Luwuk Airport (LUW). Alternatively, you can hire a driver to take you from Ampana by road after exploring the Togean Islands, another worthwhile destination in Sulawesi.

If you're flying to Luwuk from Bali, Jakarta, or other parts of Indonesia, you must make a connecting flight in Makassar before heading to Luwuk. You can purchase flights on Skyscanner.

• Taking a Ferry to Peleng
  Upon arrival in Luwuk, taxi drivers will be waiting to take you to the town, which is just a 20-minute ride. We paid 50,000 Indonesian rupiahs (IDR) for airport transfer.

From Luwuk Town, you can take a public ferry from Pelabuhan Rakyat Luwuk to Leme Leme on Peleng Island. The ferry departs at 2 PM daily and takes 2 hours, but it usually leaves an hour late (Indonesian rubber time).

Tickets can be purchased on the spot for 54,000 IDR (about $3) per person. Online booking is currently unavailable, but tickets are not sold out.

The ferry is a large wooden boat that can carry 50 to 100 passengers. It has berths and benches but is not very comfortable. If you prefer more privacy, you can rent a small double room with bunk beds and a fan for an additional 50,000 IDR.

Alternatively, you can arrange a speedboat to take you to some of the best attractions on Peleng Island, including Paisu Pok Lake and Poganda Beach. In this case, the journey from Luwuk takes about an hour, and you might see dolphins on the way.

A round-trip for a private speedboat tour like this costs around 1.5 to 4 million IDR (100to250), so it's not cheap. However, it's faster than the ferry, and if you're traveling with friends and split the cost, it can be economical in some cases.

Regardless of whether you choose the ferry or the speedboat, the sea between Luwuk and Peleng Island is very calm, so I don't think waves will be a problem for the crossing under normal circumstances.

• Overnight Stay in Peleng
  We arrived in Peleng after 5 PM, and the sun was setting. We were eager to see Paisupok Lake, but we didn't have enough time on the first day.

We stayed overnight at Novpitri Homestay, which is right next to the port of Leme Leme. The rooms are very basic, with fans, squat toilets, and cold water buckets for showers. When we visited in late 2023, there was only generator power, but now there's 24/7 electricity.

They have only one air-conditioned room, so it's best to book in advance if you want it. Even if you speak Indonesian, they respond slowly on WhatsApp. Don't expect luxury from the homestay, but it's fine if you're spending the whole day exploring outside. We already knew it was the toughest place we'd stay during our Banggai trip, so two nights here were fine.

The normal price for an air-conditioned room is 200,000 IDR per night, and a fan room is 150,000 IDR. Hopefully, they'll add mosquito nets soon. The family is very helpful and cooked dinner for us, which was very cheap and delicious: rice, vegetables, scrambled eggs, fried tofu, and chicken.

If you want to stay closer to Paisu Pok Lake, Luk Panenteng Village by the lake has many very basic homestays. If you stay there, you can walk to the lake every day for a swim.

Before going to bed, we rented a motorcycle from the homestay so we could visit the lake and beaches the next day. They had the motorcycle ready for us when we went to sleep!

Pantai Mandel Beach, Banggai Kepulauan, Luwuk, Sulawesi, Indonesia Travel Guide
Banggai has many small private beaches, like this one near Mandel Beach.