Sulawesi liveaboard routes: what operators publish, and what they do not

By Sulawesi Liveaboard Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. Published fares are not our offers, and fees change.

Published Sulawesi liveaboard routes fall into four groups: trips on the Bitung and Lembeh side through Bangka, Sangihe, Bunaken, Halmahera or the Togians; one-way runs down the east coast to Luwuk or Kendari; crossings linking North Sulawesi with Raja Ampat or Ternate; and Southeast Sulawesi trips through Bau-Bau or from Alor. A marketplace listing count proves none of them.

Which Sulawesi routes have a published itinerary?

The table holds only trips named on an operator's own page, checked in November 2026. It records what each operator publishes. It cannot tell you whether a given departure will sail, and none of these boats or dates belongs to this site.

The North Sulawesi end is where nearly every row starts or finishes. A trip name can also mislead: White Manta calls its trip Lembeh and North Manado, yet the stops it names are Lembeh, Biaro, Ruang, Siau, Mahagetang, Para, Nenung and Bangka, and the page did not mention Bunaken when we checked. Only Mikumba's sample carries Bunaken in its title, and the page we read lists no dated sailing of it. Neptune's guide to Bunaken also describes crossings that link Bunaken, Bangka and Lembeh to Halmahera and run on to Sorong, but that is an operator's general picture, not a schedule. If Bunaken is why you are going, start with our page on pairing Bunaken and Lembeh.

Mermaid calls its Togian loop a rarely visited route combining Lembeh, Gorontalo, Bolaang Mongondow and the Togian Islands, and lists whale sharks at Botubarani and the walls of Olele among the stops. Mermaid sails it in February and states that the Gulf of Tomini faces east and escapes the northeast monsoon from November to March. A local guide to the islands, writing about public boats and lodges, reports cancelled small-boat crossings between December and February. Those statements describe different vessels, so neither cancels the other. Mikumba, Dancing Wind and Wallacea Dive Cruise describe one-way Togian routes that finish further down the coast, and our Togian Islands page sets them beside Mermaid's.

La Galigo's trip runs up to Sangihe, close to the Philippine border by its own description. Our Bangka and Sangihe page covers what that trip involves. For the regional choice behind the last two table rows, see North or Southeast Sulawesi. Time in the strait itself is on the Lembeh Strait page, and the Sulawesi liveaboard guide sets all these routes beside season and cost.

How long does each route run, by operator?

Eight days and seven nights is the shortest length in the table, and White Manta and Explorer Ventures both use it for very different journeys. White Manta lists 22 dives over 7 diving days, moving through the islands named above. Explorer Ventures lists 21 to 22 dives on its run to Halmahera and back.

Twelve days and eleven nights is the common long format. La Galigo, Mermaid, Wallacea and Mikumba all publish it, and Oceanic Society also runs 12 days. Wallacea sets a floor of at least 33 dives on its Sorong to Bitung trip, while the 10-day Togian version carries 25 on Mermaid's listing. Oceanic Society describes a snorkelling itinerary, so dive counts do not apply to it.

The same route can change length between years, as Mermaid's Togian trip does in 2029. And a single operator can sell one corridor at several lengths, as White Manta does with its 10, 11 and 12-day crossings. Compare the exact dated trip, not the route name. Mermaid also publishes its schedules boat by boat: the Togian fare in our price table comes from the Mermaid II schedule, and the dates in the route table from the Mermaid I page, so confirm which boat sails your date.

Your available time cuts the list first. Eight days fits the shorter northern trips. Ten to twelve days opens the Togian loop, Sangihe and the crossings. A crossing also needs room at both ends for two sets of flights, so add that before you compare it with a round trip. If one area is all you want, test the boat against a resort stay before you look at dates.

Length also does not convert neatly into money. This page's price table shows published fares for five of these trips, on different years, cabins and bases. Its Neptune row prints a single-cabin figure below the shared one, so check that row on Neptune's page and do not plan from it. Our cost guide explains what to add to any fare before comparing.

Why does a listing count not prove a route operates?

A marketplace page tells you how many boats are tagged to a place. It does not tell you how many dated departures exist on the itinerary you want. Set against the table above, the gap is plain.

Do not add these rows together. One boat can appear on several pages, and the counts move. The two sites also draw their areas differently, so the 3 and the 8 in the last two rows are not a contradiction you can settle by arithmetic.

Our table is not a census either. It is limited to itineraries we could read on an operator's own page, so a boat with no public itinerary page would be missing from it. That cuts both ways, which is why the useful question is never how many boats are listed. Ask which boat, on which date, calling at which sites.

The Togian row shows the problem most clearly. Ten listed boats suggest a busy route, yet Mermaid calls its loop rarely visited and publishes it in February, and Mikumba sells its Sulawesi trips for November and December only. A boat tagged to a region may simply pass through it on a longer trip.

Which ports do these routes start from?

Bitung dominates the North Sulawesi side, and White Manta names Tandurusa Port there. Mikumba's samples can finish at Manado Harbour or Luwuk Harbour, and Dancing Wind's trip at Kendari. Long crossings start or end at Sorong, and the Oceanic Society expedition uses Ternate and Gorontalo. In the southeast, Neptune's guide treats Bau-Bau as the usual starting point, and its own Neptune One trip comes up from Alor.

Airport transfers, pier names and one-way flight planning get their own treatment on our departure ports page. The short version for route planning is that a crossing commits you to two different airports, so price and time it as such before you settle on it. The departure also has to fit a calm window, so check the month guide for each region before you fix flights.

How do you check that a departure is real?

A date on a page shows what the operator planned when it wrote the page. Run these six checks before you rely on it, then take the wider list in our guide to choosing a boat:

1. Open the operator's own schedule. Find the boat and the date there, not only on a marketplace page. Dates as far out as 2028 and 2029 are plans published early, so ask when the operator will confirm them.
2. Ask for the stop list in writing. Use the trip's named sites, then ask which are firm and which depend on conditions. Oceanic Society, for one, says its Togean stop happens if weather permits.
3. Ask how many cabins remain. A date with one booking and a date close to full carry different risks.
4. Ask what happens if the trip is moved or cancelled. Get the answer before you pay anything, including who covers flights you cannot change.
5. Ask which Indonesian licences and certificates the boat holds. Make this the operator's question to answer, with document names.
6. Match the pier to your flights. Ask for the pier's name and the latest arrival time on embarkation day.

You can also send the route and dates to our desk. An answer from the desk is information, not a booking. If it leads to an offer, the offer may come from a company in our group, so test it the same way, and see who publishes this guide for how that works.

What other questions come up about Sulawesi routes?

Is there one liveaboard route that covers all of Sulawesi?

No, not on any published page we have read. No operator page in our table joins Bunaken, Lembeh, Wakatobi and the Togians on one itinerary, though that does not make such a trip impossible.

Which route has the shortest published length?

Eight days and seven nights in our table. White Manta and Explorer Ventures both publish that length, on different stop lists: White Manta moves through Biaro, Ruang and Siau to Bangka, while Explorer Ventures goes from Lembeh to Halmahera and back.

Is Bunaken on White Manta's North Manado itinerary?

Not on the page we read. Bunaken did not appear there in November 2026, and the named stops include Biaro, Ruang, Siau and Bangka instead. Ask White Manta directly before assuming a call at the park.

Do 23 listed boats mean 23 boats sail Sulawesi routes?

No. That figure is LiveAboard.com's listing count for Sulawesi in November 2026. One boat can appear on several of its regional pages, and a listing does not show a dated departure on the route you want.

Are the dates in this table bookable through this site?

No. Every date here belongs to the operator named beside it, not to this site. Our desk can answer a question about a route, and anything binding would have to come as a written offer.

Which sources support this page?

• Mermaid Liveaboards: Mermaid I schedule and rates
• Mermaid Liveaboards: Mermaid II schedule and rates
• Mermaid: Togian Islands
• Mermaid: Lembeh, Togian itinerary
• La Galigo: Bangka, Lembeh and Sangihe trip
• La Galigo: Sangihe, Bangka and Lembeh route
• White Manta: Lembeh and North Manado trip
• White Manta: Raja Ampat, Halmahera and Lembeh crossings
• Explorer Ventures: Halmahera and North Sulawesi itinerary
• Wallacea Dive Cruise: Raja Ampat, Halmahera, Lembeh, 11 nights
• Oceanic Society: Halmahera to Sulawesi
• Neptune Liveaboards: Wakatobi liveaboard guide
• Neptune Liveaboards: Bunaken diving guide
• Luwuk Banggai guide: Togian or Banggai Islands
• LiveAboard.com: Sulawesi
• LiveAboard.com: Lembeh Strait
• LiveAboard.com: Togian Islands listing
• LiveAboard.com: Bunaken
• LiveAboard.com: Wakatobi listing
• PADI Travel: Southeast Sulawesi
• Mikumba Diving: Sulawesi trip information and sample itineraries
• Dancing Wind: Sulawesi itinerary

How do I reach the desk?

Send the route and month you have in mind on WhatsApp at +62 811-3941-4563 or by email to bd@juaraholding.com. If you already hold an operator's quote, say so and name the boat.