Guide to Sulawesi, the true local Indonesian travel experience

Sulawesi: my favorite spot in Indonesia for adventure, local experiences, and natural beauty

Updated August 2025

When I travel, I like to look for more off-the-beaten path, local experiences where I can really make my own adventure and get to know the local culture. After 2 months in the more touristy islands of Indonesia - Java, Bali, and Lombok - I was very ready to make my own adventure and experience authentic Indonesian life somewhere. I bought a plane ticket to Sulawesi, where I’d meet a boy I had met in Lombok again, and together we planned to travel slowly through the island without much of a plan, just seeing what we’d find. It turned out to be a dream come true: a perfect 2 months of exploring this less traveled island that has so much culture and beauty to offer. We discovered hidden paradises of untouched tropical beaches with almost nobody (and sometimes literally nobody) around. We were met with the friendliness of locals who so kindly befriended us and showed us local places and experiences. We were the only travelers in most of the places we visited, and it really felt like we got to experience an authentic Indonesia. In the end, it felt like our 2 months of slow travel was not enough, and we could have easily spent another month discovering this local gem of an island. If you like adventure, local culture, and finding off the beaten path experiences, Sulawesi is the perfect island for you.

Contents

Choosing your route through Sulawesi

How to travel through Sulawesi

North versus South Sulawesi

South Sulawesi destinations

Central Sulawesi destinations

North Sulawesi destinations

Routes through Sulawesi

First things first, Sulawesi is a big island. There are a few different ways to do Sulawesi depending on how much time you have and how much of an adventure you want.

Over 1 month: Cross the whole island overland

Cross the whole island overland, either north to south or south to north. We flew into Makassar (the capital of the south) and traveled from south to north by land, and then flew out of Manado (the capital of the north). It requires at least 1 month to complete this route, though I would recommend 6 weeks or more. We took 7 weeks and still wished we had a couple more. Going from south to north, or north to south, doesn’t really matter, and I would choose the one that makes most sense for your flight and continued travel plans.

Less than 1 month: Choose the south or the north

Choose either the south or the north, or fly between north and south instead of traveling over land. Sulawesi is huge, and crossing by land takes quite a bit of time, that it’s not worth it if you have less than 1 month. Below, I’ll give an overview of South versus North Sulawesi.

How to travel through Sulawesi

Though it’s possible to fly from Makassar in the south to Manado in the north, if you have the time, the best way is to cross it over land to stop at all the sights along the way. You can travel overland by either bus or taxi between pretty much anywhere you’ll want to go. Within each page below, I’ll include how to get to and from each destination. Below is a general overview. I’ve included the routes where it’s easy to find a bus. For the times you want to take a taxi, you can either check with your accommodation for taxi information, or join the Sulawesi Travel Info Facebook group. Here, you can post your desired route a couple days ahead of time, and drivers will reach out to you with taxi offers.

• Makassar to Bira: bus or shared/private taxi

• Makassar to Tana Toraja: bus

• Tana Toraja to Tentena: bus

• Tentena to Ampana: private taxi

• Ampana to Togean Islands: ferry

• Togean Islands to Gorontolo: ferry

• Gorontolo to Tomohon or Manado: bus or shared/private taxi

Since most places are very far apart, it’s generally not feasible to rent a scooter to drive from one destination to another. Instead, you’ll arrive at your destination and rent a scooter to explore that area. The only exception is if you take a several month journey and return your scooter at the same place at the end of your trip, or if you buy a scooter in either Manado or Makassar, drive it one way, and sell it at the other end. For this to make sense, you need at least a couple months for your trip.

North vs. South Sulawesi

Both the north and the south have an abundance of beautiful nature in the form of mountains and beaches, and both have rich local culture to experience. You can dive and hike in both, though the north is known to have more dive spots.

The main difference between the north and the south, is that the south is less traveled and is less on the typical tourist path. We personally loved this and preferred the south to the north because of this reason. It felt like once we started making our way up north, we were on the typical tourist path as everyone else in Sulawesi. And while I call it “touristy”, it’s by no means touristy in comparison to places like Bali or Lombok. I would choose the south if you want a more off the beaten path experience, or the north if you want to have a bit of an easier travel experience and be around other travelers more. Both are beautiful and full of their own rich experiences, so if you can, it’s best to experience both!

South Sulawesi

We initially planned to fly into Makassar in the south and then take about a month making our way to the north by land. But after spending two weeks and not even making it north of Makassar, we quickly realized one month was not close to enough. In fact, we were going to run out of time before our visa expired in 2 months if we didn’t move a bit faster!

We arrived in South Sulawesi without much of a plan, just a few pins on Google Maps of places a local friend had recommended to me. We set out without knowing what to expect and found our adventure along the way. I look back at this time in South Sulawesi as a time marked with freedom and excitement of discovering a place that was so undiscovered. With few other travelers and a path not already marked, it was a time full of local experiences and discovering unexpected paradises. It was in a true adventurous spirit that we embarked on this path!

Central Sulawesi

Central Sulawesi is home to absolutely stunning islands that feel like paradise. But, it’s also a large region where a majority of your time will be spent on long transport days just crossing the region. The most famous places to visit in Central Sulawesi are the Togean and Banggai Islands. The Togeans are known for being a tropical paradise and a great place for diving, while the Banggais are known to be an island hopping adventure with far fewer travelers. We visited the Togeans and while we loved our time here in paradise, it was definitely more visited and on the typical tourist path, and we wished we had had more time to also visit the off-the-beaten path Banggai Islands.

Aside from these islands, the rest of the time spent in Central Sulawesi is mainly to cross the region. If you have limitless time and your own means of transportation, there is so much to explore in this region. From the bus, we crossed so much beautiful countryside, mountains, and small villages that looked lovely to explore. But if you’re limited by time and public transit, there’s unfortunately only one main route through this region that most travelers follow. If you have the luxury of crossing south to north by land, definitely take your time to enjoy these gems of Central Sulawesi.

North Sulawesi

North Sulawesi is a region full of beautiful nature, from mountains and countryside, to beautiful islands teeming with marine life. More travelers frequent North Sulawesi compared to South, so there’s more developed tourism infrastructure which makes traveling easier, but also makes for being around more travelers. We enjoyed our time in the north a lot and found some very unique, off-the-beaten path experiences, but also reminisced our time in the south when we saw no other tourists.