Where to stay in Bunaken: island, Siladen or mainland

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.

Where to stay in Bunaken comes down to three bases. Bunaken Island puts you close to the walls, Siladen is a low coral-sand island nearby, and Manado trades city comfort for a longer boat run on every outing. Decide by how many boat hours you will accept and how basic a room you can live with.

Where to stay in Bunaken: on the island or in Manado?

Scuba Guide sets the decision up as a swap: a resort beside the walls, or city comfort and more time commuting by boat. Sulawesi.com, which publishes travel articles and also sells tours, puts a number on it: mainland resorts offer more comfort, it says, but sit 40 to 60 minutes by boat from Bunaken sites, and they suit non-diving partners.

Work that number through. A return run at those times is 80 to 120 minutes on the water each day you go out. Over four days, that is between about five and eight hours in a boat before anyone has entered the water. If you plan Bunaken diving or Bunaken snorkeling most days, Bunaken Island or Siladen saves you that time. If you plan one or two reef days around city plans, or if one of you does not dive, the mainland starts to make sense, and a Bunaken day trip may be enough.

An island stay brings its own costs in convenience. Drinking water is one: Wikivoyage reports no natural potable source on the island, and guests rely on bottled water. BackIndo advises bringing cash for the island and for smaller operators. You also still have to make the crossing at each end of the trip, and the boat options from Manado vary a good deal in comfort and reliability.

What kinds of places can you stay in?

There are two views of the top of the market. Wikipedia stretches the range from backpacker cottages up to 5-star resorts. The Indonesia Guide stops lower, at dive resorts above family guesthouses, and finds nothing on the island especially luxurious by international standards. Neither explains whose star scale applies. If you are looking for a Bunaken luxury resort, ask what the room actually has and do not rely on the label.

The examples below are named because their owners or a guide describe them. The list is not a ranking, and the figures are each business's own advertising.

• Village homestays. The Indonesia Guide calls homestays in Bunaken village the most basic option. The homestay guide covers them in detail.
• Budget rooms. Panorama Backpackers advertises rooms at the island's budget end.
• Dive resorts. Two Fish Divers advertises a maximum of 24 divers at its Pangalisang Beach resort and no more than 4 divers per guide. Bunaken Oasis quotes a ratio of 2 divers to each guide and says a boat carries 4 to 6 guests.
• Small villa resorts. Bunaken Cha Cha says it currently welcomes guests in four private villas on the east shore. The same page also refers to a six-villa resort, and Wikivoyage lists 10 cottages, so ask how many are open.

One outside reference point is the North Sulawesi Watersports Association, a trade body whose member list includes Bunaken Oasis and Siladen Resort. Membership tells you a business belongs to the association. It is not a quality grade.

The price table on this page sets The Indonesia Guide's ranges for guesthouses and mid-range dive resorts beside the listed rates of Two Fish Divers and Bunaken Oasis. Those are public figures, not our offers. Read the row labels closely before comparing them, because one row is a general range per night and another is per person with two sharing. If a row looks out of line with the rest, take it to its source and do not base a decision on it here.

How do the island's shores differ?

Wikivoyage gives the clearest outline: south and west resorts sit on coarse yellow sand, the east mixes mangroves with small beaches, and the main village has a sandy beach. Liang Beach has its own page, covering its sand and tides.

Three further points affect the choice of shore. Wikivoyage cautions that high tide can swallow the beach, so a beachfront listing is no promise of sand in front of your room all day. Dive The World, an agent, says the island's curve usually keeps the south side calm on the surface. And Siladen Resort describes the east face as one long wall with usually mild currents, which matters more to divers than to sunbathers.

Ask any property for a photo of the shore in front of the rooms at high tide, and how far guests walk or wade to reach the boat.

What do resort rates tend to include?

Full board is common. Wikivoyage says most resorts offer full-board packages and most take direct online bookings. Bunaken Oasis lists return transfers from Manado and full board as part of its accommodation. Wikivoyage also says most resorts arrange airport transfers for guests, though that does not tell you whether the transfer is inside the rate.

Payment is a question to settle in advance. Siladen Resort accepts Visa, Mastercard and Amex, with charges in IDR, but that is one resort. A village homestay may work quite differently, which is why the cash advice above applies. Before you compare two quotes, line up the following:

• Whether the figure is per room or per person, and for how many sharing.
• Whether meals, drinking water and airport or harbour transfers are inside it.
• Whether dives, equipment and guides are priced separately.
• Who pays the park entrance fee, and whether the rate already allows for it.

When does Siladen make more sense?

UNESCO's Tentative List text describes Siladen as a low-lying coral sand island. The Indonesia Guide places it 2 km from Bunaken, with a wall system of its own and lighter traffic than the main Bunaken sites. That distance is a publisher's figure. Both islands sit in the northern section of Bunaken National Park.

Siladen makes sense if you want fewer boats on your dive sites and are content with a low sand island as your base. Siladen Resort puts the trip from Manado airport to its door at about 90 minutes, with weather and tide able to change that. It also pairs snorkellers with a guide, four guests to each, which helps a mixed group. These are one operator's statements, and the Siladen Island page looks at the island more widely.

Does Bunaken Island have ATMs, power and phone signal?

The accounts are old, so read each with its date. Remote + Afloat, a travel blog written in 2018 and updated in 2019, says the island has no real amenities and names ATMs among them. The Slow Road, in a 2016 post, says the power supply ran fans but not air conditioning and cut out for several hours a day, with phone reception and internet intermittent. Listings point the other way for some properties: Wikivoyage has Bunaken Cha Cha offering Wi-Fi throughout and air conditioning in superior cottages, and Sunset Guest House listing wifi in a June 2024 entry. No current official statement covers the whole island, so the answer depends on the property and the year. BackIndo's advice to bring cash fits all of these accounts.

Is the water on Bunaken Island fresh?

Drinking water and washing water are separate questions. Wikivoyage reports no natural potable water on the island and says bottled water is the norm. The Slow Road said in 2016 that the island's wells are very brackish, that drinking water arrived from Manado in big jugs, and that showers and sinks ran salt water. That is one account of one stay. Wikivoyage's listings show that terms differ on drinking water: guests at Panorama Resort buy their own, while Raja Laut lists water, coffee and tea as included. Ask each property whether its showers run fresh or brackish water, and whether drinking water is inside the rate.

Where do you eat on Bunaken Island?

The sources disagree, which matters if your rate does not include meals. Travelnania, a travel blog, says there are no restaurants and that accommodations provide all meals. Wikivoyage, as of 2019, says the village has quite a few places to eat. Remote + Afloat sits between them, with a few small shops and eateries in the main village, plus food and souvenir stalls opposite the pier at Liang Beach aimed at day trippers from Manado. Travelnania and Wikivoyage both describe meals or full board at places to stay, and Wikivoyage describes dive-resort meals as buffets, mainly fish and rice.

What should you confirm before you book?

The accounts of ATMs, power and signal above are dated, so put each of these to the property you are considering.

1. Hours of electricity, and whether air conditioning runs all night where a room advertises it.
2. Wi-Fi and phone coverage in the room, if you need to work or stay reachable.
3. Pickup time and place for the transfer. Sulawesi.com says the usual resort transfer collects guests around 09:00 to 10:00 and heads back around 15:00, which can clash with your flights.
4. What happens to the booking if sea conditions stop the boat, and the cancellation terms in writing. Our best time to visit Bunaken page shows which months carry boat warnings.
5. Dietary needs, including vegetarian or halal food, stated before you arrive.
6. Accepted payment methods, and any card surcharge.

What else do people ask about staying on Bunaken?

Are there resorts on Bunaken Island?

Yes. Two Fish Divers on Pangalisang Beach and Bunaken Cha Cha on the east shore describe resorts on the island, and Bunaken Oasis publishes its own resort rates. Rooms are provided by those businesses, so availability and terms come from them.

Where can you stay on Bunaken Island?

The main choices are simple homestays in Bunaken village, budget rooms, and dive resorts on the south, west and east shores. Wikivoyage places south and west resorts on coarse yellow sand, while the east mixes mangroves and small beaches.

Do Bunaken resorts have generators?

No current source covers the whole island. A 2016 blog post reported power cuts of several hours a day, while some resorts advertise air conditioning. Ask each property about its power source and the hours it runs before you book, especially if you depend on air conditioning or charging equipment.

Do Bunaken accommodations have Wi-Fi?

Some list it. Wikivoyage shows Wi-Fi at properties such as Bunaken Cha Cha, while a 2016 blog post found internet access intermittent. If you need a connection for work, ask the property what it offers in the room, whether it is included, and what the fallback is when the service drops.

How far ahead to book Bunaken resorts?

The sources on this page give no booking window. Numbers at some resorts are small, with one advertising a maximum of 24 divers and another four villas in use, so ask as soon as your dates are firm, particularly if you need a specific room.

Which sources support this page?

• Scuba Guide: Bunaken
• Sulawesi.com: Bunaken marine park diving
• Wikivoyage: Bunaken
• BackIndo: Bunaken National Park guide
• Wikipedia: Bunaken National Park
• The Indonesia Guide: where to stay in Bunaken
• Panorama Backpackers
• Two Fish Divers: Bunaken
• Bunaken Oasis: pricing
• Bunaken Cha Cha Nature Resort
• North Sulawesi Watersports Association: member resorts
• Dive The World: Manado and Bunaken
• Siladen Resort: dive sites map
• Siladen Resort: FAQ
• UNESCO Tentative List: Bunaken National Park
• The Indonesia Guide: Bunaken diving
• Siladen Resort: snorkelling
• Sulawesi.com: Manado to Bunaken boat question
• Remote + Afloat: Bunaken National Park travel guide
• The Slow Road: Bunaken Life
• Travelnania: things to do in Bunaken

How do I reach the desk?

Tell the desk your dates, group size, whether anyone dives, and which base you are leaning towards. Write on WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or to bd@juaraholding.com. The desk answers questions, but no room is held by a message or by anything on this page. Only a written offer binds, and it names the property, the price, any fee and the company contracting with you. Requests through the desk can lead to a paid booking, which gives us a commercial interest, as the about page explains.