In case you’re interested to consider Bunaken as your getaway destination – hopefully this information can help. Personally, it’s always nice to get candid info from fellow traveler – since info from the resort or official website not sometime fabricated.
Bunaken can be reach by 3 hours airplane form Jakarta. I think it’s about 2 hours from Bali. However, there are also daily flights from Singapore to Manado. Manado is the biggest city nearest to Bunaken. After arriving in Manado, you’ll need to take 1-hour boat drive to Bunaken.
For lodging, actually they have quite a wide variety. The high end ones usually can only be found in Manado bay – because in the Bunaken island itself there’s no fresh tap plumbing water, electricity, etc and cost about 150-200 USD per night. However, if you’re into the very low budget type, you can actually stay at the villagers home with 10 USD/night. However, you’ll need to use public bathroom and that’s not including meals. I personally chose something in between – I stayed at Bastianos for 36 Euro/night. About 95% Bunaken visitor is from Europe, so don’t be surprised if the price tagged is in Euro.
If you dive, I think 6-7 days here it’s ok cause there are 150 dive sites. Well, maybe not all is THAT good, but if like 1/3 of it are superb, you still have lots of grounds to cover. If you don’t dive, I think 3-4 days are enough. As diving/snorkeling is pretty much the only thing you can do here, it can get really boring after a while. If you want to stay longer, suggest you to also visit other places like Tomohon market (they sold like rats, boar, dogs, etc – TO EAT), or some traditional Toraja tombs (they hang the corps in cliffs or tree).
Airlines Jakarta – Manado (2 ways): 200 USD/pp
Boat Manado – Bunaken: 60 USD/boat (however, most resort provide free boat ride but service only available on certain hour – once a day)
Lodging – Bastianos resort: 36 Euro/night (budget room, already with 3 meals). They also have better and bigger rooms with additional 4-8 euros.
Diving – 25 euro/dive or 47 euro/2 dives or 61 euro/3 dives (not including gear)
Full set Scuba gear – 11 euro/day
Intro dive – 50 euro (including theory, guides, boat, full set scuba gear)
Snorkeling mask + vest: 6 euro/day
Small boat rent: 15-25 USD/day (depending destination and how good you can haggle)
Package for dive + lodging also available for most resorts but you need to have diving certificate first
Useful resources:
http://www.divenorthsulawesi.com/
www.bastianos.com
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