Selayar
a hidden gem of Sulawesi where local culture meets undiscovered paradise
Selayar was a bit of a dream. An adventure and an unexpected paradise all in one. If you like an off-the-beaten path experience where you can enjoy an undiscovered paradise, experience the kindness of locals, and make your own adventure with almost no other tourists around, Selayar is the place for you.
It’s actually kind of funny how we arrived here though. Sulawesi has a fairly well-mapped out path that most travelers take, and Selayar is not on it. So how did we get here? Simple because a friend from Sulawesi dropped a pin for me on Google Maps, and just told me to go. Without much of a plan or an idea of what to expect, it ended up being the perfect adventure and paradise. After two months in Sulawesi, we reflected that this was actually favorite experience there.
Before coming here, we had tried to do some research but came up empty handed. In the end, the only thing we could find was this Youtube video, which actually did have a pretty detailed account of Selayar and was a good resource. And so now enter this blog – my attempt to bring more information about Selayar to the small world of travelers looking for this adventure :).
P.S. We made our own Youtube video about our experience in Selayar. Check it out here!
Getting to and around Selayar
Getting to Selayar directly from Makassar
If you’re going directly from Makassar to Selayar, it’s a bit of a trek but a straightforward one! The easiest option is to take an overnight bus that will take you directly from the bus terminal in Makassar, to Benteng, the main town of Selayar. It departs every evening from Makassar at 11pm and arrives in Benteng around 11am, with a few breaks during the journey. The bus has very comfortable sleeper seats and costs 300,000 IDR ($19). You’ll ride the bus from from Makassar to Bira, where the bus boards a 2 hour ferry from Bira to Selayar, and then you’ll continue by bus to the main town of Benteng (1 hour drive).
There are two bus operators. To reserve bus tickets, contact the bus company directly via WhatsApp:
Aneka Transport: +62 8114111170
Sejahtera Transport: +62 85398537777
Bus departure address: Terminal Malengkeri, Jalan Malengkeri Raya No. 9, Kota Makassar
Once you arrive in Benteng, you can book your accommodation directly in town and rent a scooter to explore the island. Or, if you’re going to the East Coast, your resort can help arrange a taxi to drive you from Benteng to the east.
Getting to Selayar from Bira
If you’ve already gotten yourself to Bira, you’ve made it most of the way. See my Guide to Bira for information on how to get to Bira from Makassar. From Bira, it’s a 2 hour ferry ride to Selayar, and then a 1 hour drive from the ferry terminal to the main town of Benteng.
The ferry departs from Bira here. The schedule changes daily and there are 2-3 departures per day, usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The ferry operator, ASDP, posts their daily ferry schedule on their instagram story here. They usually post each day’s schedule the evening before.
Ferry tickets cost around 80K IDR ($5) and you can book tickets online here, or purchase them in-person at the ferry terminal. If booking them online, you can only book them day-of or one day before due to the changing schedule. We showed up in-person to buy our tickets and it was easy to do and there was no worry of tickets selling out.
The ferry often arrives late (we experienced an on-time departure, a 1 hour late departure, and a 2 hour late departure), but I’d still recommend arriving to the terminal 15 minutes in advance.
Once you arrive in Bira, you can either have a pre-arranged taxi pick you up, or hitchhike. We did the latter and found it easy to get a ride once we arrived.
Getting your bearings around Selayar
There are two main sides to Selayar - the East Coast and the West Coast. The West Coast is more populated and has a main road that runs all the way down the coast. There’s the main town of Benteng in the center, and small villages scattered throughout. Locals live on the west coast and there are conveniences like warungs and stores. Although the west is more populated, it’s still by no means crowded. Benteng itself is a small, quaint town with very friendly locals, and is a nice place to stay if you want to be in a relatively peaceful area still with conveniences around.
The East Coast is much more wild and untouched, with much of it only accessible by boat (not even roads going through it). The east is mostly comprised of a few modest resorts where tourists go to snorkel, dive, and disconnect from nature. There is not much local life on the east coast, nor much to do besides be in nature and relax.
We stayed 5 nights in Benteng on the west, followed by 4 nights at an eco resort on the east. We absolutely loved our entire experience, and would highly recommend doing it like this. Starting out based out of Benteng, we were able to easily explore the entire west coast of the island by scooter and by boat (to visit another island off of Selayar). Benteng itself was also a nice small town to explore, and locals were very friendly everywhere.
Then, moving to the east coast is where we found true hidden paradise. There’s no cell service and no Wi-Fi, and since most places are only accessible by boat, you’ll only encounter the people staying at the resort with you. It was a beautiful experience to truly disconnect and just be present in the beauty of nature. We found the split between civilization and nature perfect, and would highly recommend it.
Where to stay in Selayar
West Coast
The main town of the West Coast is Benteng, and I would recommend spending a few nights here as a base to explore from. The rest of the West Coast has a handful of homestays, bungalows, and resorts at the beach, but they are a bit more isolated and honestly, not in a very inviting way. If you want more of a nature experience, I’d recommend going to the East Coast.
In Benteng, we stayed at 3 accommodations.
Rumah Teman – There’s a very cozy and inviting feel to the homestay and a good breakfast included. The room was quite small though, so it felt a little stuffy after 4 nights there.
I-Yu Homestay – The room is nice and the overall property is very well maintained, but no breakfast included and the overall feel isn’t very cozy.
Wisma Reyhan 2 – We really did not like this place. I would highly not recommend!
East Coast
On the East Coast, we stayed at Selayar Eco Resort, and we simply loved it and would highly recommend it. It’s probably our favorite place we stayed at in our entire 2 months in Sulawesi. The property is small with only 3 bungalows and during high season, a few glamping tents that are all right along the beach. We stayed at a few resorts throughout our trip in Sulawesi and what we loved most about this place, was how much of a family feel it had. Since it only has 3 bungalows, there were very few guests, and all the guests, along with an extremely kind owner and staff, all were able to have a cozy, family feel together.
The bungalows themselves are a nice blend of modern and rustic. There were nice touches and finishes, but it was also a structure that blended in nicely to the outdoors. They were more like spacious 3-sided tents, with the side facing the ocean only having a thick curtain. We really liked how this allowed it to feel more like we were in nature, while still having modern comforts within the bungalow.
What to do in Selayar
Visit Pulau Gusung
Pulau Gusung is an island across from Benteng. It was truly like we found an undiscovered paradise here, and it’s one of my favorite memories of Sulawesi. You can take a private boat tour around the island, and the captain will take you to a few recommended spots. A local in Benteng had recommended a few spots to us, so we asked the captain to take us specifically to them. We loved all of these spots and I would recommend the same route!
Pantai Liang Kareta – a cute, small cove beach with a covered shaded area
Bone Malea Beach – a large, wide open beach where pristine blue waters meet palm trees and wild jungle
Liang Tarrusu – a small cove beach with rock arch formations you can jump off of and swim around
Gua Balojaha – a 20 minute walk through the jungle to reach an amazing hidden cave with crystal clear waters that you can take a refreshing swim in
We asked around several people to try and find someone who could take us out on a boat and they all pointed to the same captain. We’re pretty sure he’s the only, or main, boat captain of Benteng for tourists. His name is Talli and you can contact him directly on WhatsApp at +62 815-2602-6823.
Bone Malea Beach
Pantai Liang Kareta
Visit Pulau Bahuluang
Pulau Bahuluang is another must visit! It’s a very unique, small island made up entirely of dried coral, and they also call this the Coral Island. There’s also great marine life for snorkeling here. We went as part of a day trip with Selayar Eco Resort when we were staying in the east, but from what I’ve read, if you’re staying in the west, you can also make your way to Appatanah at the south of the island, and charter a boat from there.
As part of the day trip with Selayar Eco Resort, we stopped at the Coral Island, another island where lunch was set up for us, and a third island with the most bright turquoise water I’ve ever seen. It was a wonderful day trip, and I’d highly recommend it. Even if you are not staying with them, you can contact the owner Denis at +62 821-9295-7195 to see if there’s a trip you can join.
Pulau Bahuluang
The most turquoise waters at a nearby island
Do a scooter day trip along the West Coast
Driving along the west coast of Selayar is absolutely beautiful and a great adventure. We rented a scooter from our hostel in Benteng for 50K IDR per day ($3). We made several stops along the coast - some at actual beaches, and others at beaches we thought existed on Google Maps, but actually led us to dead end jungles.
Our first stop was at Sunari Beach, a small beach at a beach resort. Honestly it was just an okay stop, but still nice to see. Then we had a handful of off-roading jungle adventures, and finally we stopped for food at Cafe Marina, a really nice, cute cafe with typical Indonesian food along the water. We drove south for a bit longer before finally turning around to make our way back to Benteng, and it was perfectly sunset time so we found this nice spot to stop at to watch the sunset.
What to eat in Selayar
Funny enough, we found a place our first night in Benteng that we absolutely loved, and we continued to go there every single night we were there! It’s called RM Panorama and is a nice local spot with outdoor seating right on the water. They have a typical Indonesian menu including many seafood options, and everything we got was delicious and cheap.
There’s also a small market with several food stalls nearby along this street. It’s also nice to walk along here and see if any of the food tickles your fancy!