u/easylifter

just wrapped up a week in sulawesi and wanted to drop a quick luwuk banggai review. if you think southeast asia is getting too crowded, banggai islands in Indonesia are completely wild and secluded!

the main spot is paisu pok lake where the water is glowing blue and so clear that boats look like they are hovering over the trees at the bottom. we also hiked pulau dua balantak for crazy ridge views that look just like komodo island, and swam at piala waterfall.

getting there takes effort as there are no direct flights from bali, so you have to fly to makassar first then to luwuk. once you arrive, island roads are broken and ferries change schedules constantly. since there is barely any english info online, i just booked a full tour through local luwuk banggai agency called asik travel and they handled all our drivers, private boats, and lake homestays. it completely saved us from getting stranded or stuck dealing with logistics.

definitely go before it gets ruined by overtourism. let me know if you need any info on the routes.

just note that you can do some parts of trip yourself if you are smart in planning ahead and heavy negotiator. just be careful about ferry schedules!

spent a week (6 days to be exact) exploring luwuk banggai in sulawesi and it makes places like bali feel like an amusement park. it is completely wild and empty and i mean in a good way lol

the main spot if you google will be mainly photos of is paisupok lake. it looks photoshopped in person. the water is this bright glowing blue and so clear you see every single fallen tree on the bottom (I am not kidding, just look at the pics). the boats really look like they are hovering in the air!!

we also did the trek out to pulau dua balantak. it had massive green ridges dropping into the ocean that look exactly like komodo island, except we were the only people there. had the whole view to ourselves. also spent an afternoon swimming in the jungle pools at piala waterfall.

a mini warning though, getting there takes some effort. there are no direct flights from bali. you have to fly to makassar first and then catch a second flight to luwuk. once you get to peleng island the roads are pretty broken and public ferries change schedules whenever they feel like it. there is also barely any info online about how to coordinate it.

i didn't want to waste days getting stranded, so i just booked a full luwuk banggai tour through asik travel and they basically handled the whole banggai islands itinerary. they sorted the private boat crossings, the car drivers, and local homestays right by the lake. if you don't speak fluent bahasa (Indonesian?) and want to actually see everything without the logistical headache, using a local crew is a lifesaver.

if you want to see a side of indonesia that hasn't been ruined by overtourism yet, go now.

edit: you can actually do some parts yourself if on budget and can save some. just plan ahead and negotiate hard. your main challenge will be ferries where if you get stuck even for a day it will mess up your whole trip. so if possible plan ahead (add a spare day too) and call homestays and boat rentals way before you even reach there. you can find some contacts on google easily