Manado

Manado is the largest and capital city in, and main gateway to Northern Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara), Indonesia.

Understand
The capital of the province, the former stronghold of the Dutch (called Menado during Dutch colonial times), and the cultural centre of the Minahasa people, for a long time Manado prospered through trade with the nearby Philippines, and the spice trade with the rest of the world. Alas, the bombings of World War II, and the suppression of a local insurgency in the 1950s flattened most of Manado's older buildings. While by Indonesian standards still relatively prosperous, most visitors will be rather less impressed and head straight to the islands and reefs of nearby Bunaken. Unlike much of the rest of predominantly-Muslim Indonesia, Protestant Christianity is the dominant religion in Manado.

Weather
Mostly sunny throughout the year, the wet season usually starts from September until March or April. During its hottest days, it can reach up to 32 °C. In the highlands of Tomohon, Tondano, Kawangkoan, it is cooler but sunny nonetheless.

Get in
Manado is quite far from the rest of Indonesia, and most visitors arrive by plane.

By plane


There are also frequent flights to Jakarta (Garuda, Lion Air 3 hr, from Rp 600,000) and Makassar (1½ hr). Other flights include Surabaya (east Java), Balikpapan (Kalimantan), Denpasar (Bali), Ternate (North Maluku), and Sorong (Papua).

A taxi from the airport to central Manado takes about 30 minutes and costs Rp 120,000 (bargaining may be necessary). There are also frequent mikrolets leaving from Terminal Paal 2 [paal doo-ah] costing Rp 6,000 that take about the same amount of time (Route Paal 2 - Lapangan, just past the gate of the airport, on main road). Grab has a pick-up zone but it seems gojek pick must be on parking.

Departure tax from Manado is Rp 100,000 for international flights and Rp 30,000 for domestic flights. The terminal has an internet cafe in the public area, and the standard array of restaurants (KFC, Starbucks, Es Teler 77) and gift shops inside, but note that there is nothing once past immigration.

If you need a waiting place (for example arriving at night and going directly to Bunaken with public boat at 14:00), you can either stay at baggage claim (free) or the Starbucks in public space next to International departure (own wifi, some power plug). Else, the public space (just after domestic baggage claim) is all outdoor. Didn’t see water fountain.

Get around
The main ways of getting around are ojek/ompreng, moped taxis that can be a bit scary, or with Mikrolets (mikros), the blue minibuses that you jump on just standing by the street. They all have a certain route, and within a day one should figure out how it works.

By taxi
There are several taxi operators here: Bluebird, Taxi Kokapura, Trust, Celebrity.

By Angkot (Angkutan Kota)
Also known as mikrolets or bemos. Angkot is the typical Indonesia's cheapest way of transportation inside the city. Most of cities in Indonesia have this Angkot, along with Manado. Angkot is a minibus of 8-10 passengers. The cost is charged on per trip basis, which is Rp 6,000 (as of Jun 2024). You may be asked to pay extra seat if your luggages occupy one. Just ensure to keep them on your lap.

Compared to angkots in other cities in Indonesia that have side-facing seats, the ones in Manado are fitted with all front-facing seats. Manadonese are known for being picky, and would only take the good-looking and full music angkots.

Example routes:
 * Pasar 45 - paal 2 (near public boat pier to bunaken - bus terminal)
 * Paal 2 to Karombasan (bus terminal - bus terminal)
 * Paal 2 - Lapangan (Bus terminal paal 2 - Lapangan/airport)
 * Wanea samrat - Coco samrat
 * Perkamil - pasar 45
 * Klapeng - ?
 * Paal 4 - Taas Banjer
 * Malayang - pasar 45

By ojek
Ojek is motorcab taxi (pronounced 'O - jack'). Ojek is also a typical cheap land transportation in Indonesian cities. In Manado, ojek rate is not fixed, and depends on the distance and is by negotiation. For a very short distance of approximately one kilometre, it will be around Rp 4,000.

By transportation-sharing app
Transportation sharing app like Grab and Go-Jek are already a commonplace in Manado. You can even take it to go to Tomohon (give the driver a little bit extra, considering the worst case that the driver needs to go back to Manado without passenger).

See

 * Modoinding. Agro-tourism place, where all kind of vegetables and spices come from, to supply the demands of east part of Indonesia, the area is about 900 to 1200 m above sea level.  The place is cool and you will find Modoinding valley with Moat Lake with Bukit Doa on the east, very beautiful place.  There is also Ambang National Park where you can see Golden Owl as favourite for bird watching activity.  About  from Manado.  You also able to stay in the community house, traditional Minahasan wooden house for Rp 200,000 a night for the small house with western toilet and shower.
 * Modoinding. Agro-tourism place, where all kind of vegetables and spices come from, to supply the demands of east part of Indonesia, the area is about 900 to 1200 m above sea level.  The place is cool and you will find Modoinding valley with Moat Lake with Bukit Doa on the east, very beautiful place.  There is also Ambang National Park where you can see Golden Owl as favourite for bird watching activity.  About  from Manado.  You also able to stay in the community house, traditional Minahasan wooden house for Rp 200,000 a night for the small house with western toilet and shower.
 * Modoinding. Agro-tourism place, where all kind of vegetables and spices come from, to supply the demands of east part of Indonesia, the area is about 900 to 1200 m above sea level.  The place is cool and you will find Modoinding valley with Moat Lake with Bukit Doa on the east, very beautiful place.  There is also Ambang National Park where you can see Golden Owl as favourite for bird watching activity.  About  from Manado.  You also able to stay in the community house, traditional Minahasan wooden house for Rp 200,000 a night for the small house with western toilet and shower.

Do

 * Day trip to Bunaken: Manado is famous throughout the region for its diving areas.  Bunaken is one of the well-known national marine park in Indonesia.  30 minutes boat ride.  See its Wikivoyage article for more information.
 * Day trip to Tangkoko Nature Reserve: home of tarsiers and macaques, about  from Manado.  1-2 hours ride.  See its Wikivoyage article for more information.

Eat
Manadonese food is famous throughout Indonesia for two things: the Minahasa eat absolutely anything, and the flavour of choice is very spicy. Sugar is used little if at all, with flavour added through lemon and herbs. Being Christian, the Minahasa also often marinate meat in alcohol and favour pork. More exotic protein options include cats, forest rats, fruit bats, and dogs, the last of which is the obligatory centrepiece of any wedding ceremony or Christmas feast. Classic dishes include:
 * ikan mas bakar rica, grilled spicy fish cooked in traditional style, using a piece of coconut shell as a way of cooking. Grilled together with chilli, that poured in the fish while cooking.
 * ikan mas goreng, fish fried till the soft bone is crunchy.
 * ayam rica-rica, grilled chicken topped with a fiery red chilli-and-onion paste
 * ikan mas woku balanga, fish simmered in herbs
 * babi tore, fried pork until crunched with a lot of chilli
 * perkedel milu, corn fritters
 * tinutuan (or bubur manado), a goopy porridge of rice, pumpkin, noodles and random vegetables; doesn't look very attractive, but it can be tasty and, for once, not spicy.
 * miedal, very similar to tinutuan (same sauce), but using noodles instead of rice.
 * biapong, a Chinese-style bun dumpling, what is called 'bao' in Chinese, is called biapong here. Different fillings are available.

Dutch settlement here has also brought in a few surprising influences, notably:
 * brenebon (bruine bonesoep), a rich red kidney bean soup, comes in two versions, savoury (as a side dish) and sweet (for desserts).
 * klappertaart, a western-style coconut cake.

Budget

 * Fresh grilled fish is served every morning in a small warung near the harbour dock to Bunaken. The place is very basic, but don't mind the look.  Just ask around for warung ikan bakar and hope someone helps you.

Drink
These two kind of drinks are made from Palm trees: Please drink responsibly, some locals have a bad habit of drinking irresponsibly. A major crime problem in town is caused by drunkards.
 * saguer,
 * cap tikus

There are also some coffee shops.

Sleep
Manado is Sulawesi's other bustling centre of business and tourism. And with demand to match, the prices here are higher than elsewhere in Sulawesi. However, if you are willing to pay up, luxury options that you haven't seen since Makassar are available here.

Mobile
There are three main providers of GSM cellular services in Manado: Telkomsel, Indosat/Satelindo, and XL (Axiata co). As per November 2010, Telkomsel provides EDGE, 3G WCDMA, 3.5G HSDPA. Indosat only GPRS, EDGE. XL up to 3G. High bandwidth cell service mainly works in the downtown area of Manado. All three carry Blackberry services.

Prepaid GSM SIM cards and CDMA RUIM cards can be cheaply purchased (approx US$1) at almost every supermarket along with their reload vouchers, ranging from Rp 5,000 to Rp 100,000.

Internet cafe
If you want to go online cheaply then go to Ocean internet cafe, at the 3rd floor of Samudera minimarket located in the Megamas shopping centre area on the Manado boulevard. The rate is approximately Rp 5,000 hourly, and the bandwidth speed is good. It is open from 10:00 to 22:00.

Go next

 * Bunaken National Park — a diver's paradise. Many small bungalows are available on this small but beautiful island.
 * Tangkoko Nature Reserve near Bitung — home of the big-eyed Tarsius monkey (the smallest monkey in the world).
 * Tomohon — a small city, surrounded by three active volcanoes: Mount Lokon, Mount Mahawu, and Mount Masarang. 45 minutes from Manado, Tomohon is a very nice place to stay for its cold climate (around 20 degrees Celsius).
 * Tumbak for snorkelling and diving, south of Manado and Tomohon.
 * Gorontalo to watch whale sharks, and then a boat ride to the Togian Islands.
 * Ambon — the centre of Maluku (what used to be the Spice Islands).
 * Ternate — a volcanic island with a vibrant city, beautiful lakes, several snorkelling spots, fortress, and sultanate sites. 1 hr by plane.