Bunaken entrance fee: who pays, and per day or per visit?

By Bunaken Island Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and date. Fees and fares change, and they are third-party figures, not our offers.

The Bunaken entrance fee applies to both Indonesian and foreign visitors, charged per person. For foreigners the sources split: the park portal says per visit, while a national tariff table says per day. Divers can expect an added daily activity charge. The amounts are in the price table on this page, and the practical advice is to budget per day.

Who has to pay the Bunaken entrance fee?

Visitors of both kinds. The park booking portal lists one entry line for Indonesian visitors and another for foreign visitors, each per person. The price table on this page carries the amounts, with the month each was checked, so that you can see them beside their sources. The entry rows do not separate snorkellers, swimmers or day visitors, so expect the same visitor line to apply on a Bunaken day trip or a Bunaken snorkeling outing. Ask your boat operator whether any separate snorkelling charge applies before you hand over money.

Three questions cause most of the confusion: how often the fee applies, what divers add on top, and who collects it. Each has a section below, and official sources conflict on the first.

Is the fee charged per day or per visit?

For foreign visitors, official sources point in two directions. The portal says per person per visit. A national tariff table published by a regional conservation office says per person per day for Class 3 national parks. That table does not name Bunaken, but its amount matches the one on the portal, so the two appear to describe the same charge.

The resort's wording is the most telling part. An operator explaining the charge to its guests had to add a time limit, which suggests the question is live on the ground and not only on paper.

For a day trip the argument makes no difference: one day and one visit come to the same charge. It matters on an overnight stay. On the per-visit reading you pay once however long you stay. On the per-day reading you pay once for each day in the park. Ask too whether leaving the park and coming back counts as a new visit. Spare days held for the boat delays on our best time to visit Bunaken page would cost more on the per-day reading.

A sensible way to handle it:

1. Budget for the per-day reading. If the per-visit reading applies, you come out ahead.
2. Ask your resort, homestay or boat operator how many days it expects you to be charged for your exact dates.
3. Ask for that answer in a message, not only in conversation.
4. Keep any receipt or proof of payment until you have left the island.

Is there an extra charge for scuba diving?

Probably, yes. The same national table adds a scuba diving activity charge per person per day, and its row is in the price table here. Bunaken Cha Cha Nature Resort also tells guests that divers pay an extra daily charge, which is one operator confirming the pattern at Bunaken specifically.

The tariffs come from Government Regulation 36 of 2024 on non-tax state revenue at the Environment and Forestry ministry. You may see it called a Bunaken diving permit fee, but the table's wording is an activity charge. How that charge reaches you on a dive trip depends on your operator, so ask whether it is on the invoice or settled separately. For the diving itself, see our Bunaken diving guide.

Where do you pay?

The portal lists three ticket points: Dermaga Baru-Bunaken Timur, Mainland Gate and Pantai Liang. It also offers online ordering. The Bunaken National Park office says an entrance counter stands on Bunaken Island itself. If you arrive with a resort or a dive operator, the payment may be handled for you: Scuba Guide says operators handle the tag. If you come by public boat, ask at the jetty or at your homestay which point applies, and do not assume the boat fare covers it. Our Manado to Bunaken guide covers the boats.

Is it included in a resort's room rate? There is no general answer, whichever base you pick under where to stay in Bunaken. Some operators spell out what their rate covers, and a fee line may or may not be among those items. Do not assume either way. Ask for the fee to appear as its own line in any written quote, including who pays it and on which days.

Do you still get a tag?

Possibly. Wikivoyage describes a waterproof plastic tag as proof of payment and says patrol boats make spot checks, but that text dates to 2008. Scuba Guide, in the present tense, says rangers do check the tag. The portal does not describe one, so whether a physical tag is still issued could not be confirmed. Either way, carry whatever proof you were given when you are on the water, and ask your operator what form it takes now.

What does the fee help fund?

The history is clearer than the present. A co-management paper from around 2002 describes a decentralised system with 80% of entrance revenue earmarked for park management programmes. The Equator Initiative describes a user fee funding joint patrols and community projects, and calls the arrangement a landmark case of local co-management.

Do not read the 80% as a current rule. The present tariffs sit under a 2024 national regulation on state revenue, so ask the park office how that money now flows back to Bunaken. The wider story of who patrols and who decides is on our Bunaken conservation page, and the park's legal basis is on our national park page.

What else do visitors ask about the fee?

Does Bunaken have an entrance fee?

Yes. The park booking portal lists a per-person entry charge for Indonesian visitors and another for foreign visitors. Amounts are in the price table on this page.

Is the Bunaken entrance fee included in a resort price?

There is no general rule. Ask the resort to show the fee as its own line in a written quote, and to say how many days it expects you to be charged.

How do you pay the Bunaken park fee?

The portal lists online ordering and three ticket points: Dermaga Baru-Bunaken Timur, Mainland Gate and Pantai Liang. Scuba Guide says operators handle the tag for divers.

How are Bunaken conservation fees used?

A paper from around 2002 describes 80% of revenue earmarked for park management programmes, but that is historic. Ask the park office how revenue flows under the 2024 national regulation.

What environmental rules apply in Bunaken?

Sulawesi.com, a travel publisher that also sells tours, says plastic, anchoring outside buoy zones and fishing inside the park are formal offences. Ask your operator about any local rules for your trip.

Which sources support this page?

• Park booking portal
• National conservation tariff table, regional conservation office
• Bunaken Cha Cha Nature Resort
• Government Regulation 36 of 2024
• Scuba Guide: Bunaken
• Wikivoyage: Bunaken
• Co-management paper on Bunaken (PDF)
• Equator Initiative
• Sulawesi.com: Bunaken marine park diving
• Bunaken National Park office: Pulau Bunaken

How do I reach the desk?

If you were charged at Bunaken recently and can say how it was worked out, a note to WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or bd@juaraholding.com helps keep this page accurate. Leave out card details and photos of your passport. Trip requests can lead to a paid booking, a commercial interest explained on our disclaimer page.