By Air
FROM BALI: Due to the large amount of tourism in Bali there is often excellent flight prices from many countries to and from Denpassar. They do however tend to go up during the Australian school holiday dates. If you are just transiting through Bali there is a cluster of cheap but comfortable hotels about a 10 minute walk from the airport. The Surya Inn, RakuAya, Manggar and others. Once you exit International Arrivals, then walk straight north through the parking lot and cross the airport road (Jalan Juanda) at the pedestrian crossing and then follow the directions in this Google Maps link. From Denpassar, Lion Air flies to Manado in the shortest time. There are a few direct flights but most stop for an hour in Makassar which makes the total travel time about 3 hours 40 minutes. If you are flying with Lion Air you will need to download their Bookcabin App.
FROM SINGAPORE: Scoot has direct flights to Manado.
FROM JAKARTA: AirAsia Indonesia, Batik, & Citilink have direct flights to Manado.
FROM CHINA: There are direct flights to Manado from Guangzhou with TransNusa & China Southern.
FROM THE PHILIPPINES, JAPAN, MALAYSIA & KOREA: There are no direct flights from these places so we recommend transiting through one of the places described above.
By Passenger Ship
If you have a few days to spare traveling around Indonesia by ship is an excellent option…. particularly if you have been doing some hectic traveling and want some time out to relax and chill. The Government owned shipping line is PELNI and they have numerous routes all over Indonesia. There is on-board entertainment but be sure to download some offline movies from your streaming app and bring some E-books. The ships often stay close to the coast so along the way you will get sporadic mobile phone coverage. Here is the PELNI WEBSITE with a booking form. It can be a little confusing booking on these ships and often you need to deal with a booking officer direct for cabins. Let us know and we can help you through the process.
