Bitung Sulawesi Indonesia
36
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Cunard (31 Cruises)
Queen Anne
19 Cruises
Queen Victoria
12 Cruises
Holland America Line (5 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
At the port of Bitung, on the north coast of Sulawesi, backed by volcanic hills and facing the Lembeh Strait. The town lives off the sea: fishing basins, canneries, warehouses. What makes the call worthwhile lies outside town, not on the pier.
For the spectral tarsier, one of the smallest primates on earth, and for the Lembeh Strait, one of the most celebrated dive sites in the world. Nothing here announces itself: you find it with binoculars or fins.
By road, about an hour from the pier. You need a driver or the ship's excursion; nothing is walkable. Allow a full half-day including the return, because the roads in the region are winding.
Spectral tarsiers and crested black macaques, recognisable by their upright crest and amber gaze. Local guides know which hollow fig trees the tarsiers spend the day in. Early or late-afternoon outings give the best chance of catching them waking up.
A stretch of water with dark bottoms of volcanic sand and shell debris, home to an extraordinary cast: flamboyant cuttlefish, mimic octopus, frogfish, pygmy seahorses. Muck diving is the art of finding the tiny in the sediment. Underwater photographers come back year after year.
Take the local ferry to Lembeh Island: villages, beaches of black and pale sand, and some fine walks for a higher view over the channel. You miss the creatures below, but the island is well worth seeing from the surface.
Yes, by the road climbing to the Minahasa highlands, through coconut groves and market gardens. A short walk leads to the crater rim, where a small sulphur-tinted lake sits. In clear weather the view takes in volcanoes, forest and rice fields all the way to the sea.
One major outing, not two. Tangkoko, Lembeh and Mahawu each fill a well-counted half-day. The winding roads set the pace; trying to do everything means seeing nothing properly.
Minahasa cooking, known across the archipelago for its heat. The markets overflow with glistening tuna, spices and fruit. A stop at a warung for grilled fish with sambal rounds out the day honestly.
The Indonesian rupiah, in cash: outside hotels, cards are poorly accepted in northern Sulawesi. The official language is Indonesian; English is used by guides and at dive centres, rarely elsewhere.
