Field note · Indonesia · Tojo Una-Una, Central Sulawesi

Togian Islands

Nothing flies here and nothing runs to a timetable you can rely on. Two mainland doors open onto the archipelago: Ampana on the Central Sulawesi coast, which has daily speedboats, and Gorontalo to the north, which has an overnight car ferry twice a week. Everything from Ampana leaves in the morning except one midday speedboat, so the standard plan is to reach Ampana the day before and sleep there. Wakai is the hub, not a destination: the boat lands you at its pier and a resort boat takes you on, and that boat has to be arranged by WhatsApp from the mainland because the signal dies as soon as you leave the coast. There are no ATMs in the islands and almost no card payment, so the cash you carry is the cash you have. Sailings are cancelled by the harbourmaster whenever the Gulf of Tomini gets above about 1.5 m, the one car ferry docks for maintenance for a month most years, and in December and January boats can sit for days. Miss a boat and the answer is usually to wait for the next one or pay for a charter; the cheap improvised alternative is how a speedboat carrying eleven foreign tourists broke up in the Gulf in July 2026.

Researched: 22 September 2026
Reviewed: not yet
Ways of moving: 9, 34 sources
Not confirmed: 9
Fares seen: 2024–2026

How transport works here

9 ways of moving, each with its rule

We confirmed seven ways of moving to, from or around Togian Islands: six by water and one by road, from 34 sources. Two entries are not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Three need a phone call or a message before you turn up.

The fares were seen in 2024 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. One fare carries no year, because it could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 5 of the 9 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 22 September 2026, and ends with nine things we could not confirm.

2 ways

Rules, permits and closures

permit

Togean Islands National Park entry ticket (PNBP)

Bought at the TNKT post inside Pelabuhan Ampana, the Ampana harbour, before you board

The Balai Taman Nasional Kepulauan Togean has a ticket post at the Ampana harbour gate, and its office is in Ampana town. Every visitor entering the park owes a non-tax state charge (PNBP) set by government regulation PP 36/2024; travelling in without one is a legal offence, not just a skipped fee. In practice the park says roughly half its visitors never pay: 3,745 tickets were recorded in 2025 against about 8,000 arrivals counted by the district tourism office. The leakage runs through chartered boats and through the back route where people fly to Luwuk, drive to Bunta and get picked up by a resort speedboat, bypassing the Ampana post entirely. Most resorts will handle the ticket in cash for you, but ask before you arrive, and keep the receipt.

When: Per entry into the park area, not per trip
Takes: A few minutes at the harbour post
Fare 2024: Charged per entry to foreign visitors; the park's own worked example when the daily charge was introduced was 750,000 rupiah for a five-entry stay, that is 150,000 rupiah an entry. Indonesian residents pay a small fraction of that. Cash

SeasonYear-round. BookingNone. Pay at the harbour post, or ask your resort to arrange it. Run byBalai Taman Nasional Kepulauan Togean (BTNKT), Ampana; head Askhari Dg. Masiki.

service status

Who decides whether anything sails

The Gulf of Tomini, between Gorontalo, Ampana and the islands

Not a road, but the thing that governs every other entry on this page. Sailings are suspended by KSOP, the harbourmaster's office, on the strength of BMKG marine forecasts, and it does not take a storm: on 24 July 2026 Gorontalo held the Tuna Tomini because BMKG showed 1.5 to 2.5 m seas and 20 to 25 knots of wind. The KSOP chief explained the ship has no double bottom, a short hull and a service speed under 10 knots, so anything over 1.5 m is a real risk. Private captains make the same call informally, and when they judge it too rough the boats simply do not go, sometimes for several days. The practical rules: never book a flight out of Luwuk, Palu or Gorontalo for the day after your planned crossing, keep one or two buffer days, and confirm your boat the day before, every time. December and January bring the strongest winds; May to September is the calm window and July and August the calmest and busiest. On top of the weather, the single car ferry docks for maintenance for about a month most years, usually in May, which removes the Ampana to Wakai to Gorontalo ro-ro entirely.

When: n/a
Takes: Suspensions typically a day or two; wet-season blows can run several days
Fare: n/a

SeasonWindiest December and January; calmest May to September; annual docking usually May. Run byKSOP Gorontalo (harbourmaster) with BMKG forecasts; ASDP for the docking.

6 ways

By water

ferry

KMP Tuna Tomini: the overnight ferry from Gorontalo

Gorontalo ferry terminal (Talumolo) to Pelabuhan ferry Wakai, Batudaka (-0.41478, 121.87172)

This is a state-owned ASDP roll-on/roll-off car ferry, the only scheduled link between the Togeans and North Sulawesi. Get to the Gorontalo ferry terminal by bentor, the local motorbike rickshaw, about 30 minutes from the city, and be there two hours before departure. Deck and business tickets are sold only at the ASDP counter in the terminal on the day, never online; ASDP answers ticket questions on WhatsApp at 0813-2002-8322 for Gorontalo and 0812-7980-7751 for Wakai. There are only about eight cabins and they go weeks ahead in July, August and December, so ring for one if you want a door that closes. Economy is a numbered space on a shared tatami platform; you can rent a mattress on board for about 10,000 rupiah. Board early and claim a spot away from the television.

When: Twice a week each way. ASDP's own route record: Gorontalo to Wakai Tuesdays and Fridays at 18:30 WITA; Wakai to Gorontalo Mondays and Thursdays at 17:30 WITA. Departure times are re-issued month by month and vary by an hour or two, and at least two current operator sources give earlier afternoon times, so treat the day as fixed and the hour as approximate
Takes: 12 hours. Overnight arrivals at Wakai land at about 03:00 to 04:00, in the dark
Fare 2026: ASDP tariff, September 2026: adult 64,000 rupiah, child 41,000, bicycle 106,000, motorbike 173,000. Business seats about 80,000 to 89,000; a private two to four berth cabin about 600,000 to 700,000 rupiah on top of the per-person ticket

SeasonYear-round except the annual dry-docking, which took the whole Ampana to Wakai to Gorontalo route out of service from 3 May 2026 and has done something similar most years. Cancelled outright in bad weather. BookingDeck and business at the terminal on the day, cash. Cabins by phone or WhatsApp, a week ahead normally and up to two months in peak season. Run byPT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, Luwuk branch; vessel KMP Tuna Tomini, 571 GT.

ferry

The same ferry on the Ampana day crossing

Ampana to Wakai. OpenStreetMap puts the car ferry ramp not in the town but at Pelabuhan ferry Uebone (-0.91278, 121.65943), about 9 km east of Pelabuhan Ampana (-0.86685, 121.58377)

Between its Gorontalo runs the Tuna Tomini works the Ampana leg about three days a week. It is the cheapest way across and the only way to bring a motorbike. Tickets are sold at the ASDP counter at the port, at least two hours before departure; ASDP's Ampana WhatsApp line is 0821-4871-1101. Ask your hotel which pier the ro-ro is using on the day, because the speedboats and the car ferry do not always leave from the same place. This is the slow option, five to six hours in the open gulf with no cabins, and the Wakai to Ampana runs leave brutally early.

When: ASDP's own route record, September 2026: Ampana to Wakai Thursdays and Mondays at 10:00 WITA and Sundays at 09:00; Wakai to Ampana Wednesdays and Saturdays at 08:00 and Sundays at 15:00. The days shift with the monthly schedule
Takes: ASDP lists 6 hours; travellers and resorts more often report about 5
Fare 2026: Adult 56,500 rupiah, child 39,000, bicycle 77,000, motorbike 136,000 (ASDP tariff, September 2026)

SeasonYear-round except the annual docking and weather suspensions. BookingAt the ASDP counter at the port on the day. No online sale. Run byPT ASDP Indonesia Ferry.

speedboat

The daily Ampana speedboats: Hercules and Cahaya Manakara

Pelabuhan Ampana (-0.86685, 121.58377) to Bomba (-0.53158, 121.66951) on request, then Wakai (-0.41062, 121.86933)

Pelabuhan Ampana is a few minutes by ojek or car from any hotel in town, and the speedboat ticket point is at the harbour. Two boats run every day of the week: the Hercules at about 09:00 and the Cahaya Manakara at about 12:00 to 13:00. Both will drop you at Bomba on request. Turn up an hour early outside July and August; in high season have your resort hold a seat by WhatsApp, because the Hercules carries only about 22 people and does sell out. These are small open boats: soft bags rather than suitcases, luggage goes on the bow under a tarp, and spray over the bow at speed is normal, so keep electronics in a dry bag on your lap. Smaller wooden bodi boats leave from other jetties around town for the Bomba side for under 50,000 rupiah; ask your hotel which jetty on the day.

When: Daily, two departures. Returns leave Wakai roughly 08:30 to 10:00 and 12:00 to 13:00
Takes: About 40 to 45 minutes to Bomba, 1h15 to 2h to Wakai depending on the sea
Fare 2026: 130,000 to 170,000 rupiah per person, paid at the harbour ticket office. Children up to 7 half price. Wooden bodi boats 50,000 rupiah or less, about 3 hours

SeasonDaily year-round in principle, but the first thing cancelled when the gulf is rough, above all in December and January. BookingCash at the harbour, or a WhatsApp message from your resort in high season. Run byPrivate boat owners; no company website, no online booking.

boat

The milk-run boats deeper into the archipelago

Ampana to Wakai, Katupat (-0.32328, 121.94937), Malenge (-0.27213, 122.05607), Pulau Papan, Popolii, Dolong (-0.26190, 122.21513) and Tongkabo

If you are going past Wakai to Katupat, Malenge or Dolong, these larger public boats are the direct way and save a charter. Two alternate: KM Wamburabura on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and MV Allya Express 1 on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings. Departure times float between about 08:00 and 10:00 across sources, so be at Pelabuhan Ampana by 08:00 and ask which boat is going where. Tickets at the harbour; some boats sell an economy and a VIP class, VIP being the air-conditioned cabin for another 20,000 to 30,000 rupiah. They come back from the Malenge and Katupat side on the opposite days, but times are not published anywhere and even the islanders' own reference says its sources disagree, so confirm with your resort. Other names (KM Touna Express, KM Kapia Touna, KM Banawa Nusantara 78, KM Belavista) turn up in Indonesian schedule listings on the same pattern but are less consistently reported as running.

When: Five to six days a week between them, one boat a day, mornings only
Takes: About 3.5 hours to Wakai, 4 to 5 to Katupat, 5 to 6 to Malenge
Fare 2026: 110,000 to 180,000 rupiah depending on destination and class

SeasonYear-round, weather permitting. BookingTickets at the Ampana harbour on the morning. Nothing is reservable. Run byPrivate operators; KM Wamburabura and MV Allya Express 1.

boat

Resort boats at Wakai: the transport most visitors actually use

Pelabuhan Wakai to Kadidiri, Katupat, Bolilanga, Malenge, Una Una and the rest

Wakai is a harbour and a market, not a place anyone stays, and there is no scheduled onward boat to most islands. What exists instead is a fleet of resort boats that meet named arrivals. You tell the resort by WhatsApp which boat you are on, and a captain is at the pier when it lands; if you cannot spot him, other captains will ask where you are going and walk you to the right one. The message has to be sent from the mainland, because signal dies once you leave the coast and is patchy at best in the islands. Pickup off the 03:00 to 04:00 Gorontalo ferry has to be agreed in advance too, since some resorts collect guests in the dark and others make you wait at the pier until it is light. Kadidiri, the busiest destination, is about 30 minutes from Wakai.

When: Timed to each arriving ferry or speedboat, not to a clock
Takes: Wakai to Kadidiri about 30 minutes; Wakai to Una Una considerably longer and in open water
Fare 2026: Free with a minimum stay at some resorts, charged at others. Examples seen in 2026: Una Una resorts 250,000 rupiah per person for divers and 500,000 for non-divers from Wakai, minimum two people; a private charter Wakai to Malenge 800,000 to 900,000 rupiah per boat; Wakai to Katupat about 400,000

SeasonYear-round; the Una Una crossing is the first to be cancelled because it is the only long open-water leg. BookingWhatsApp, before you leave the mainland. There is no other booking channel and no walk-up desk. Run byThe resorts themselves: Kadidiri Paradise (WhatsApp +62 852 4118 2440), Black Marlin (+62 812-3830-7077), Pristine Paradise and others.

speedboat

Charters, the Una Una boat, and the short cut that killed a captain

Wakai to Una Una (-0.13806, 121.65459); Ampana or Tojo Una-Una direct to Marisa in Gorontalo province; anywhere to anywhere by private boat

Public boats from Wakai to Una Una run on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday mornings at roughly 08:00 to 09:00; on other days it is a resort boat or a charter. A direct private speedboat Ampana to Una Una is about 2 hours from around 3,500,000 rupiah. Charters are bargained at the Wakai jetty. The crossing to bargain hardest over is the one nobody should take lightly: Tojo Una-Una to Marisa on the Gorontalo coast is sold as an hour by speedboat and looks like an obvious short cut to the north. On 24 July 2026 a boat carrying eleven foreign tourists and two crew left at 10:00 for an 11:00 arrival, was still in the middle of the gulf at 21:00, was hit by heavy swell, broke up and sank. Twelve people reached a raft and were picked up after 17 hours adrift; the skipper was never found. The official ferry had been suspended for the same weather that same weekend. Resorts have warned against private Marisa boats for years.

When: Wakai to Una Una public boat three mornings a week; charters on demand
Takes: Wakai to Una Una a long open-water hop; Ampana to Una Una about 2 hours by private speedboat; Marisa about 1 hour in theory
Fare 2026: Private Ampana to Una Una from about 3,500,000 rupiah; private Marisa to Una Una about 5,000,000 rupiah for up to six; Wakai charters 400,000 to 900,000 rupiah per boat depending on distance

SeasonAvoid entirely in December and January, and on any day the harbourmaster has held the ferry. BookingThrough your resort rather than at the jetty, and never with a boat leaving after the scheduled services have been stopped for weather. Run byIndependent boat owners; no licensing you can check from abroad.

One way

By road

share taxi

The mainland legs: Luwuk, Palu, Poso, Tentena and the ojeks

Luwuk (LUW) or Palu (PLW) to Ampana; Rantepao to Tentena to Poso to Ampana; Manado to Gorontalo

Most people fly into Luwuk, which has daily jets from Makassar, and drive about 5 hours up the Tomini Bay coast to Ampana. Shared minivans leave the Luwuk bus station in the mornings; a private car is around 1,000,000 rupiah for up to four or five people and is what the resorts book. From Palu the same trip is 8 to 12 hours: shared travel cars leave daily at roughly 10:00 and 17:00 for 200,000 to 300,000 rupiah a seat, a private charter is about 1,500,000. Overland from the south you go Rantepao to Tentena by bus, 12 to 15 hours, then Tentena or Poso to Ampana by shared car, 4 to 5 hours; Poso is the hub where you change, and bus and shared-car tickets are sold by the same companies at the same terminals, often without telling you which you have bought. The mountain roads are potholed and delays are routine. In Ampana and Tentena the short hops are by ojek, the motorbike taxi. One correction worth knowing: Ampana does have an airstrip, Tanjung Api (OJU), but the Wings Air service from Palu was suspended in May 2025 and the only thing possibly still flying is a subsidised Susi Air perintis run, reportedly Mondays and Fridays, booked through local agents. Do not build a plan on it.

When: Luwuk to Ampana minivans in the mornings; Palu to Ampana shared cars twice daily; Rantepao to Tentena buses daily around 09:00
Takes: Luwuk to Ampana about 5 hours; Palu to Ampana 8 to 12; Poso to Ampana about 4; Rantepao to Tentena 12 to 15
Fare 2026: Private car Luwuk to Ampana about 1,000,000 rupiah, Palu to Ampana about 1,300,000 to 1,500,000, Poso to Ampana about 800,000, all per car for up to four. Shared car Palu to Ampana 200,000 to 300,000 per seat; Rantepao to Tentena bus about 250,000; Tentena to Ampana shared car about 300,000. An ojek hop in Tentena was 5,000 rupiah

SeasonYear-round; landslides and potholes after heavy rain lengthen everything. BookingAt the terminal, or have your resort arrange the car. A morning flight into Luwuk does not reliably connect to the same day's boats, so plan to sleep in Ampana. Run byShared-car and bus companies at the Poso, Tentena, Luwuk and Palu terminals; independent ojek riders.

Not confirmed

What we could not find out

9 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.

01
No timetable for the Togean Islands is published anywhere you can trust in advance, and the boats that matter most have no operator at all. The asking procedure, in order. First, the day before you travel, message your resort on WhatsApp from the mainland and ask which boat is running tomorrow and at what time; they check at the harbour for you and this is how everyone here actually travels. Second, at Pelabuhan Ampana, go to the harbour ticket point by 08:00 and ask by boat name, not by destination: Hercules, Cahaya Manakara, Wamburabura, Allya Express. Third, for the car ferry, ask ASDP directly on WhatsApp, Ampana 0821-4871-1101, Wakai 0812-7980-7751, Gorontalo 0813-2002-8322. Fourth, at Wakai pier, if nobody has come for you, say the name of your island to any captain and you will be handed along until you find the right boat. Nothing is bookable online and none of it is written down.
02
Departure times for the Gorontalo ferry conflict across three current sources and this could not be resolved. ASDP's own route record says Tuesdays and Fridays at 18:30 WITA. The islanders' reference says 15:00 to 16:00, against the ASDP Luwuk branch's June 2026 monthly sheet. Kadidiri Paradise says 17:00 and adds a Sunday sailing that neither of the others lists. The days, Tuesday and Friday out and Monday and Thursday back, are consistent everywhere. Treat the hour as unknown and be at the terminal by early afternoon.
03
The main independent source used here, togean.com, is maintained by the team behind the Reconnect resort on Buka Buka. Its schedule tables were cross-checked against ASDP's own endpoint and against Kadidiri Paradise, and they agree on days and fares, but its charter prices and its recommendation of the Buka Buka route are the resort's own.
04
Which Ampana pier the ASDP car ferry uses could not be pinned down. OpenStreetMap has a separate Pelabuhan ferry Uebone tagged as the car ferry terminal, 9 km east of Pelabuhan Ampana, while the speedboat terminal is in the town harbour. No operator source names the ro-ro pier. Ask at your hotel on the day.
05
There is essentially no land transport in the islands and no source describing any. On Batudaka, the island Wakai stands on, OpenStreetMap holds only 103 highway ways in total and the sole named route between the two main settlements is tagged Path Bomba-Wakai, most of the rest unpaved or dirt. Ojeks exist in Ampana, Gorontalo, Poso and Tentena on the mainland; whether one can be hired at Wakai is not documented anywhere found. Assume every movement between islands, and most movement within them, is by boat.
06
The Wikivoyage article this research started from is years out of date and should not be used. Its Ampana to Wakai ferry fare of 40,000 rupiah is from March 2012; its daily 10:00 public ferry, its Tuna Tomini timings of 20:00 from Gorontalo and 16:00 from Wakai, and its Gorontalo arrival of 17:00 all disagree with ASDP's current record. Its 150,000 rupiah Hercules fare is now 130,000 to 170,000. Its resort prices from 2011 to 2018 are roughly a third of current rates.
07
The national park fee could not be confirmed to the rupiah from a government source. PP 36/2024 sets it, the park post at Ampana harbour collects it, and the park's own 2023 briefing implied 150,000 rupiah per entry for foreigners. Whether it is still charged per entry or per stay, and what the weekend rate is, was not established. Ask the resort, and expect to pay cash.
08
No source was found for a Bunta pickup as a bookable option, only the park's complaint that it is used to avoid the ticket post. If a resort offers you a Luwuk to Bunta transfer, understand that you are skipping the park ticket, which the park says is an offence.
09
Money is the quiet trap. There are no ATMs anywhere in the archipelago and almost nothing takes cards. Draw everything in Ampana, Gorontalo, Luwuk or Palu, add 20 to 30 per cent for weather delays, and carry small notes. Most resorts run generators for a few evening hours only, and Starlink is limited to a handful of places.

In the planner

What the planner can route today

The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Togian Islands is this.

N: Scheduled flightsnearest airport MDC is 411 km away
Y: Trains and coachesTransitous carries 1 timetable feed for this country, 0 with real-time
Y: FerriesPelabuhan ferry Wakai, 7 km, ASDP; sailings estimated
Y: Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
N: Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
N: Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere

Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known. Nearest place with more: Gorontalo, 177 km.