December 2019

Need to know: How to get from Manado to Bunaken

Pronounced “Man odd O”

Cost

Private taxi 125,000 IDR

The taxi driver

They will approach you when leaving the airport. Tell them you need the boat to Bunaken.

Where they will drop you

The driver dropped me off at the bridge. You’ll need to walk about 5-10 minutes. The boat was in the middle area between the two bridges.

If you can’t find the boat, ask any of the locals. This charming walk along the river will include, lovely smells of rotting trash and dusty walkways. You’ll have a nice sweat at the end of the walk.

What your ride is like

My ride is a transportation boat for goods. Potatoes, rice, eggs, and vegetables to name a few. I was the only westerner on board. People were very interested in saying hi and wanted to know where I was headed. I even got a few laughs at my pronunciation of Bunaken ☺.

Cost

50,000 IDR

How long it takes to Bunaken

Approximately 1 hour to the island.

Once your dropped off on Bunaken

Once on the island, I didn’t know where to go or how to get a ride. Lucky for me I meet an ex-pat named Malcolm. He lives near the drop off point of the boat and noticed I was lost.

Malcolm kindly helped me get a ride with a local fisherman.