Ampana harbour, before the morning boat to Wakai.
In February 2025 I went from Ampana to Kadidiri in a single day, and I'm writing it down mostly because I nearly didn't. The crossing itself was straightforward. What almost cost me the day were the small things around it: getting to the harbour early enough, finding the right boat, and sorting out the last hop from Wakai before the light went.
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Getting to Ampana first
I came in from the east. I flew into Luwuk, which has an airport, and went on to Ampana by road the day before the crossing [TODO: verify road time and shared-car fare]. If you can, arrive in Ampana the afternoon or evening before your boat. I met two people on the ferry who had tried to connect a flight, a long drive and the crossing in one push, and they had spent a night on a bench instead.
Ampana is a working town rather than a place set up for visitors. I stayed at a simple guesthouse near the harbour [TODO: verify name], ate at a warung down the road, and went to bed early. I also took out cash here, which matters more than anything else on this list. My earlier post on cash and signal in the Togeans has the longer version.
The ferry from Ampana to Wakai
There is more than one kind of boat on this route, and the options seem to change from season to season. When I went there was a slower public ferry and a faster boat [TODO: verify which services run, on which days, and their names]. I took the public one. It left in the morning [TODO: verify departure time] and the crossing took most of the day [TODO: verify duration].
A few things I would tell myself before boarding:
- Buy the ticket the day before if you can [TODO: verify where tickets are sold and the fare]. I bought mine on the morning and the queue was slow.
- Get on early and pick a spot out of the sun. The open deck is pleasant for the first hour and much less pleasant after that.
- Carry water and something to eat. There was food for sale on board when I went, but I wouldn't rely on it.
- Keep your passport or ID handy. I was asked for mine when I bought the ticket [TODO: verify whether ID is always required].
I've been told that some boats on this route call at Bomba, a village on the Batudaka side, before carrying on to Wakai [TODO: verify which services stop at Bomba]. Mine didn't, as far as I could tell, but it's worth asking at the ticket window if you're heading somewhere other than Kadidiri.
Arriving in Wakai
Wakai is the main port village on Batudaka, and it's where most people coming from Ampana step off. It's busy for about half an hour after a boat comes in and then goes quiet again. That half hour is when you want to sort out the onward boat.
Kadidiri is a short boat ride from Wakai [TODO: verify duration]. The place I'd booked on Kadidiri sent a boat to meet the ferry [TODO: verify whether accommodation still arranges transfers, and the cost]. There were also local boatmen at the jetty offering the trip, and the people I watched agreed a price before they left [TODO: verify typical fare]. I'd still message ahead. A pick-up you've arranged in advance is one less thing to negotiate when you're tired and carrying everything you own.
Signal around Wakai was patchy when I was there, and it got worse further out [TODO: verify current coverage]. Send any messages about your pick-up from Ampana before you board, not from the jetty.
The last hop to Kadidiri
The boat to Kadidiri was small and sat low in the water, and the bottom of my bag got wet. Pack your electronics in a dry bag before you leave Ampana, not on the jetty in Wakai. I reached Kadidiri in the late afternoon [TODO: verify typical arrival time], with enough light left to find my bungalow and swim before dinner.
That's what I mean by not losing a day. I left Ampana in the morning, I was in the water on Kadidiri before dark, and the next morning was a full day on the island rather than a day of recovering from the trip. What to do with the days after that is covered in Wahyu's three nights on Kadidiri.
What I'd do differently
I'd change two things. First, I'd buy the ferry ticket the afternoon before rather than on the morning. Second, I'd have a back-up plan for a night in Wakai. If the ferry had been late, I'd have arrived too late to cross to Kadidiri in daylight, and I hadn't looked into anywhere to sleep in Wakai [TODO: verify accommodation options in Wakai].
Neither of those is complicated. The whole trip is a chain of short connections, and the only real skill involved is leaving enough room around each one that a delay doesn't knock over the rest. Next time I'll leave a little more.
