Does anyone have recommendations for travel to N. Sulawesi and the Moluccas

[cloudgoddess]

I am going to be arriving to Indonesia in Manado and have planned a two week long trip. I want to tour the surrounding islands. I plan to do some SCUBA diving. Could anyone recommend where I should visit and particularly how I should travel to and from islands. The PELNI ferry system seems to be a good option but I cannot find current time tables.

[VacationBuddy]

hi there,

If you're planning to do so scuba diving, I can suggest also the tiny island of Ambon which has many dive locations such as Nusa Tiga, Saparua, Molana and Nusa Laut islands to the east of Ambon. There is several airlines such as Lion Air, Batavia Air that operate daily flights to Ambon from Manado.

While in Manado Indonesia a couple of top attractions not to be missed are:

- Kienteng Ban Hian Kong which is a 19th-century Kienteng Ban Hian Kong is the oldest Buddhist temple in eastern Indonesia and has been beautifully restored. The temple hosts a spectacular festival in February (dates vary according to the lunar calendar).

- Museum Negeri Propinsi Sulawesi Utara which features a large display of traditional costumes and housing implements, with captions in English.

Hope this helps
Vacationbuddy

[alleppocity]

Saparua is also great for diving. it is located east of Ambon. you can go by ferry from Tulehu in Ambon to Haria, the main harbour of Saparua but a speedboat is much faster..

[Travadvice360]

hi there,

Public boats from Manado to Bunaken Island leave at around 8 am each morning, and return to Maando at 3 PM. The cost is 2500 Rp per person.

Also, fishing boats leave Bunaken village to take their catch to Manado around 1 PM, and are sometimes happy for passengers to tag along. Otherwise you could try chartering for 15,000 Rp, including a one-hour de tour to the reefs.

Alternatively, you can hire a boat in Manado and set your own pace. It's probably easiest to charter a boat from behind the fish market for about 25,000 Rp, go out to the reef in the morning, paddle around for a few hours and return to Manado in the afternoon.

Good luck!