Gorontolo

Gateway to the Togean Islands from the north, but a not particularly inspiring town of Sulawesi

Contents

Getting to Gorontolo

What to do in Gorontolo

How long to spend in Gorontolo

Where to stay in Gorontolo

How to get to Gorontolo

From Tomohon/Manado

1. Private car – The fastest, most convenient option, and can also be economical if you have 4 people to share the cost with. It costs ~1,300K IDR ($80) for a private car, which can be shared by up to 4 people. The drive takes around 9-10 hours. You can make arrangements through your accommodation in Gorontolo or Tomohon/Manado.

2. Public car – This is a car that you’ll share with others also departing from Tomohon/Manado and going to Tomohon. It costs around 350K ($22) per person and takes around 10 hours. It departs daily from Manado at 9am, 12pm, and 8pm. You can make arrangements through your accommodation.

3. Bus – The bus ride takes around 12 hours and leaves Manado at 7pm, arriving Gorontolo at 7am. It costs around 300K IDR per person ($19). You can book tickets through your accommodation or online. If going overnight, I would recommend this option.

From the Togeans

To get to Gorontolo from the Togeans, you have to take a 13 hour overnight ferry from Wakai, the main town of the Togeans.

• Schedule: The ferry is called Tuna Tomini and only runs every Monday and Thursday at 4:00pm from Wakai to Gorontolo, arriving in Gorontolo the next morning. Be sure to plan accordingly! The schedule is subject to change – check here for the latest ferry schedule.

• Tickets: We purchased tickets through Harry & Mimin Homestay in Gorontolo. They can help you purchase tickets going either direction even if you are not staying with them. It’s quite confusing to try and purchase them on your own, so I would recommend going through them.

• Ticket type: The ferry ride is a long overnight journey. There are 3 classes: VIP, regular, and sitting-only. I would highly recommend VIP class, an AC room with small, individual side-by-side mattresses (240K IDR / $15). Normal class does not have AC and has even smaller mattresses. Sitting-only class is above deck and has seats similar to half-reclining bus seats.

What to do in Gorontolo

Go swimming with the whale sharks

Swimming with whale sharks is what Gorontolo is the most (and possibly the only) notable thing to do in Gorontolo. Tours can be arranged through your homestay. While other travelers we were with really enjoyed the experience and highly recommended it, we ultimately decided not to do it. We read that while it’s not necessarily unethical, that they feed the whale sharks to keep them in the area for tourists, which affects their ecosystem and we personally preferred to see them only in a more natural way, without human influence. If you do decide to see them, which others really enjoyed, make sure to check with your homestay hosts about what time is good, as certain times of day have a best chance at seeing them.

Take a cooking class through Harry & Mimin Homestay

We stayed at Harry & Mimin Homestay, and a local cooking class is one of the experiences they offered. We did it with the others also staying at the homestay, and it was a lovely experience that I would definitely recommend! It was a bit expensive, but we curated our own menu and got to shop for groceries at the local market with a local (our cooking instructor), and cooked at the Harry & Mimin Sunset Homestay location overlooking beautiful rice fields.

Visit Benteng Otanaha for a nice view

We took a tuktuk up to Benteng Otanaha, which is an old fortress on a hill with beautiful views over the city and surrounding nature. There are quite some stairs to climb, so prepare for a bit of exercise! I’d recommend going at sunset when it’s a bit cooler, and it makes for a great spot to catch the sunset over the town and rice fields.

Go snorkeling in Olele

We didn’t do this, but our homestay recommended Olele, about 20 minutes south of Gorontolo along the coast, as a nice swimming and snorkeling spot to visit if we wanted to snorkel without the whale shark experience.

How long to spend in Gorontolo

Gorontolo is a town you have to pass through to go between the Togean Islands and North Sulawesi. Most people stay 1 night to explore a little bit and snorkel with whale sharks, and just to recover between the arduous journey you have on either end. Some people skip it altogether. We ended up feeling like we needed a rest and stayed 3 nights. While 3 nights was good for us because we were simply exhausted from traveling and needed a break before we could really explore and enjoy another place, I would not recommend staying there that long if you are intending to see things.

To me, Gorontolo was probably the least inspiring and my least favorite place we went in Sulawesi. It’s one of the most Muslim cities in all of Indonesia, and we learned about a lot of political issues that and issues around conservativeness that was caused by this. While there were a few beautiful spots and nice experiences we had, I would overall recommend only staying 1 night here, as it’s not a particularly beautiful or interesting place to see.

Where to stay in Gorontolo

We stayed at Harry & Mimin Homestay. While it was fairly basic, it was affordable, convenient, and had what you needed. Good enough for a night or two. The best part of staying here though, were the hosts, husband and wife Harry and Mimin. They are incredibly kind people and we really enjoyed spending hours chatting with them over lunch, learning more about the culture and their involvement in the community. They can also help you arrange your transportation either north or south of Gorontolo.

For just 1 or 2 nights, I would recommend staying here not for the facilities, but for the incredibly kind and helpful hosts!