Malenge, first thing in the morning.
This was my second time staying on Malenge. The first was a short stop in June 2025, mostly so I could walk to Pulau Papan. In April 2026 I went back for five nights and did very little, on purpose. Malenge is quieter than Kadidiri, with fewer places to stay [TODO: verify] and fewer boats coming and going, and that was what I was after.
Getting there this time
Last time I came into the islands from Gorontalo. This time I took the ferry from Ampana to Wakai, spent a night on Kadidiri, and went on to Malenge by boat the next day [TODO: verify transfer options and cost from Kadidiri to Malenge]. The place I stayed arranged the boat for me after a few messages back and forth, which took a couple of days because the signal at their end was patchy.
Where I slept
I stayed at a small family-run place on the water [TODO: verify name and that it is still operating]. My room was a wooden bungalow on stilts over the edge of the water, with a mosquito net, a fan that worked when the generator was on [TODO: verify power hours], and a veranda where I spent most of my waking hours.
The bathroom was basic: a toilet and a mandi, the tank of water you scoop from with a bucket. Meals were included and eaten with the family and the other guests, of whom there were never more than four while I was there [TODO: verify the nightly rate and what it includes].
What I'd check before booking
- Whether meals are included, and whether they can cater for what you don't eat. I mentioned I don't eat much meat and they adjusted without any fuss.
- How you will get there from Wakai or Kadidiri, and what the boat costs [TODO: verify].
- Power hours, if you need to charge camera batteries or do any work.
- How you will pay. Mine took cash only, and I suspect most places on Malenge are the same [TODO: verify].
How the days went
Mornings started early, because the light came through the gaps in the walls. I'd swim off the jetty before breakfast, read until it got too hot, and then either go back in the water or sleep. In the late afternoon I usually walked. Evenings ran on generator hours: charge everything, eat, talk to whoever was at the table, and go to bed early, because there wasn't much light to do anything else by.
The forest walk
Behind the village there's a path into the forest that one of the family showed me on my second day [TODO: verify whether a guide is needed]. It was steep in places and muddy after rain. I heard far more birds than I saw, and I came back muddy to the knees with very little sense of where I'd been. I'd go with someone who knows the path. I wouldn't try it alone.
Pulau Papan again
I walked the bridge to Pulau Papan again, early on a Sunday. It was as I remembered it, with a few new planks and a few new gaps. I didn't take many photos this time. I already had them from the first visit, and it was nicer to just walk.
Not diving
I didn't dive on this trip. Ruben's post on diving Una-Una made me want to, but the trip he did ran from Kadidiri, and I wasn't going to give up a day on Malenge for a long boat ride. If you want both, I'd do the diving first and come to Malenge afterwards.
Why I'd go back
Mostly because nothing much happens. On Kadidiri there's a steady rhythm of boats and arrivals and dive trips, and that's part of its appeal. On Malenge the main events of my day were meals and the tide. After a few days I stopped checking my phone, partly because I'd lost interest and partly because there was rarely any signal to check it with.
I'd also go back for the people I stayed with, who were kind without being in the way, and who seemed to like having guests rather than putting up with them. I can't promise you'll find the same, and I'd rather not oversell it. But it's the main reason I'd book the same place again.
If I do it a third time, I'll stay a week and bring more books.
