Gorontalo to the Togeans: the northern way in

In June 2025 I went from Gorontalo to the Togeans by boat, straight across the Gulf of Tomini, instead of taking the more common route through Ampana. I didn't pick it for any clever reason. I was already in the north of Sulawesi, and going round to Ampana by road would have cost me days I didn't have. The northern way in suited the trip in the end, but it asked for more planning around boat days than I'd expected.

Why I came in from Gorontalo

Gorontalo is on the north shore of the Gulf of Tomini, and the Togeans sit out in the gulf to the south. On a map the crossing looks obvious. In practice the main thing to know is that it didn't run every day when I went [TODO: verify current schedule and operator], so the date I arrived in the islands was set by the boat, not by me.

I planned the whole trip backwards from that one departure. It sounds restrictive, and it is, but it also took a lot of decisions off my hands. Once the crossing was fixed, everything else had to fit around it, and there was less to agonise over.

Two nights in Gorontalo

I gave myself two nights in Gorontalo before the boat. One would probably have been enough, but I'd been warned that departures sometimes move [TODO: verify how often sailings change], and I didn't want a delay on the mainland to eat into my time in the islands. I used the spare day for errands.

• Confirm the departure in person the day before [TODO: verify where tickets are sold and departures confirmed]. My guesthouse told me one time and the harbour told me another.
• Take out cash for at least the first week. Ruben's notes on cash and signal in the Togeans explain why; I'd only add that I wish I'd taken more.
• Buy food and water for the crossing. There was some food on board [TODO: verify], but not much choice.
• Bring a sarong or a thin sheet. My crossing was long enough that I wanted to lie down [TODO: verify duration].
• Charge everything, including a power bank.

The crossing

I had a basic ticket [TODO: verify ticket classes and fares] and spent most of the crossing moving between my seat and the rail. The boat was full of cargo and families going home, and there were only a handful of other foreign travellers. The gulf was calm on the day I crossed. I'm told that isn't something to count on [TODO: verify seasonal sea conditions], so if you get seasick, take whatever you usually take before you board, not after.

My phone lost signal soon after we left port. I'd downloaded a couple of books and offline maps, and that was the right call. There isn't much to do on a long crossing except read, sleep and watch the water.

Arriving in Wakai

The boat came into Wakai, the main port village on Batudaka [TODO: verify other ports of call on this route]. It's the same place the ferries from Ampana arrive, so from here the trip looks the same as it does for everyone else: small boats out to wherever you're staying. Ruben's post on getting from Ampana to Kadidiri covers that last hop from Wakai in detail, and it applies whichever direction you came from.

I hadn't booked anything for the first night because I wasn't sure what time the boat would get in. I slept in Wakai [TODO: verify accommodation options in Wakai] and went out to Kadidiri the next morning. With hindsight, I'd have messaged a place on Kadidiri in advance and asked whether they could meet the boat. Wahyu's three nights on Kadidiri is a fair picture of what you find once you get there.

What it did to the rest of my trip

The real effect of coming in from Gorontalo is on the end of the trip, not the start. If you want to leave the way you came, you're on that boat's schedule again, and I wouldn't book a flight out of Gorontalo for the day the boat is due back [TODO: verify arrival times in Gorontalo].

I avoided the problem by leaving a different way. After Kadidiri and a few days on Malenge, I went back to Wakai and took the ferry to Ampana, then carried on overland. In from the north and out to the south meant I only had to plan around the northern crossing once, and I'd suggest the same to anyone with the time.