Attractions Nearby Maluku, Day Trips and Excursions

(Maluku / Moluccan Islands, Indonesia)

There are many different islands that make up Maluku, and it would easily take an entire holiday and more to properly explore the main attractions on the islands of Ambon, the Aru Islands, Buru, Halmahera, the Kei Islands (Kai Islands), Seram, Ternate and Tidore.

However, if you would like to explore other attractions outside of the Maluku Islands, then excursions to both Sulawesi and Western Papua are quite possible and popular. Sulawesi is a fairly large and very strangely shaped island, lying to the west of Maluku, while Western Papua lies directly to the east.

Sulawesi

Visitors to Sulawesi will soon find that the island is divided up into four main regions (North, Central, South and South-East), each of which comes with their very own set of attractions. Sulawesi has earned itself quite a reputation for its beautiful national parks and exceptional scuba diving opportunities, which are reputedly amongst the best that Indonesia has to offer, being especially noteworthy at the Pantai Bira resort. In South Sulawesi, Makassar is an important and prominent city, while other much-visited parts of the island include Bau Bau, Bitung, Gorontalo, Kendari, Kolaka, Manado, Tana Toraja, and both the Lore Lindu National Park and the Tangkoko Batuangas Dua Saudara Nature Reserve.

Western Papua

Western Papua really is within reasonable reach of the Maluku Islands and is located on the eastern side of this archipelago. This particular area of Western Papua is famed for its deserted beaches, snorkelling and hiking trails, and is home to a series of remote islands and small towns. Nature lovers often favour Western Papua, since this is where the protected Pegunungan Arfak Reserve is sited, along with its 300+ species of birds. Sorong makes for a good base to explore this area and is a large city with good connections to the Raja Ampat islands. Nearby, Fak Fak has become a leading resort in Western Papua and this charming colonial town stands on scenic coastal foothills, being linked to Maluku's Pulau Ambon and Banda Islands by regular ferries.