I had a three-hour flight, five-hour scenic road trip and two-hour speed boat ride before reaching the Kadidiri Resort Island in Togean (or Togian) Islands, Tomini Bay, which is partly located in Central Sulawesi province in Indonesia.
But, the total 10-hour trip did not include stopovers, which took almost a day in total. Shortly, I used my first day to get to the archipelago, second day to enjoy the beauty of the nature in the resort island, and third day to get back to Jakarta.
It was indeed a long, exhausting trip, but, well … it’s nothing but worth it.
Togean Islands are located in the middle of Tomini Bay, which consists of hundreds of small islands mostly untouched by human’s hands.
The isolated condition is the reason why the islands can preserve the beauty of their natures. White sand and turquoise seawater are among typical views of the islands, flirting anyone to dip their feet in the waters, or simply strolled leisurely, barefootedly on the soft drifting white sands.
What astonished me at utmost was the abundant coral reefs that ones can easily see by merely standing at shallow parts of the beaches, without even having to dive under the water. The very clear water enables eyes to penetrate through it. Just walk a few meters from the coastline, and there your legs are amid the highly-biodiverse coral reefs already. Groups of small fishes are often seen gathering around the reefs.
Some of the islands are conservation areas, which are home to a number of rare species of birds and monkeys (said the ranger).
Subhanallah (God the Most Holy)! That is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. Enchanting turquoise seawater and white sand, and small green islands here and there in the distance were the very view I would see every time I opened the door of my wooden bungalow.
The bungalow, located in the Kadidiri Resort Island, stood in a comfortable few meters from the coastline.
At day time, it was the warm soft breeze singing me a lullaby. At night, it was the sea waves, which moved softly and regularly, that did me so. They brought me an air of peaceful stillness and tranquility I've never found anywhere else.
Indeed, I don’t regret the two days I spent for round trip to and from the island.
Only one thing that is missing, and perhaps taints the image of the island particularly in the eyes of visitors that cannot get away from daily necessities of modern life, such as phone (and cell phone) connections, and, well, electricity.
Not only you can't watch TV nor have air conditioning in the bungalows, you will --from midnight to dawn (that is when they turn off the electricity)-- also have no light but that one radiated by the moon and the stars above. The island is supported by only a single generator, and it is barely sufficient to light out the entire island at night.
But, this will fit adventurous souls who do search for escapes from hectic modern life, I believe. And it is thus a very wonderful place to enjoy the beauty of starry night sky. The night sky looks indeed amazing there; it is so clear, with millions of stars shining so brightly. There's no such things as light pollution there.
For you who cannot stand thick darkness, I suggest that you bring your own flashlight. And for those who cannot entirely get disconnected from phone connection, you can buy Mentari SIM Card provided by local operator while you are still in the main island of Sulawesi; that is the only SIM Card functions at the island. You have to, however, walk to the edge of the jetty directly facing the oceans (see picture) to get phone signals .
Indeed, I’m glad I have this reporting job, which enables me to do such trips for free.
Travel Tips:
To reach Togean Archipelago, you can first fly to Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta International Airport), and then to Hasanuddin Airport in Makasar, South Sulawesi (there is also direct international flight from Singapore to Makassar, if I'm not wrong).
Then you have to take 30-minute flight to Luwuk Airport in Central Sulawesi before continuing with road trip to get to Tojo Una-Una regency harbor. This road trip can take four to six hours, depending on your vehicles’ speed; but I assure you it is not at all a boring one, for all the way along the trip you'll be accompanied by the stunning coastal and oceanic views of the main Sulawesi Island (it is also an adrenaline-riser trip, btw, with the road situated on a quite steep cliff -- the cliff walls on one side and the beaches just down there on the other side).
Last but not least, you have to take a two-hour speed boat ride from the Tojo Una-Una harbor to Kadidiri Resort Island; and this could be very costly if you do the trip with only a partner. There's no public boat regularly traveling to the resort island, as far as I know, thus you have to rent a boat, and if I'm not wrong they charge it about Rp 2 million (approximately US$200) for a round trip. Traveling in groups would surely save money in this case.
I’m not sure if there’s any other resort in Togean Islands other than the Kadidiri Resort Island. You can check the resort island at http://www.visitkadidiriparadise.com/ ... The price is very agreeable I think.
In general, Togean islands are indeed a promising tourist destination, but likely need improvement in facilities, as well as infrastructure and more choices of transportation modes to get to them.
Foods…? Need not to worry. If you have a conservative tongue, you may face problems with the traditional food served there, which mostly consists of seafood. But if your tongue is fairly “avant-garde”, you’ll very likely enjoy the food, like I did 
.
Hope you enjoy the trip! (If you plan to have one , of course).
Every time I want to go somewhere new I do two things: call Alaska Cruises to book a trip with them and google tips from other visitors that just came back from there. People will write about stuff a traveling tour has no idea about.