Mbuang-Mbuang is a fishing village at the far edge of Banggai Laut in Central Sulawesi, about 80 km south-east of Banggai town, with a salt lake called Paisu Batongan where you can swim among stingless jellyfish. You get there by sea only: a private speedboat takes about 2 hours each way and costs up to IDR 4,000,000 for the boat, and the public slow boat takes 7 to 8 hours.
It is the hardest place to reach in the Banggai Islands and the first thing cancelled when the sea is up. Go with spare days and a calm forecast, or leave it for another trip.
Mbuang-Mbuang at a glance
| Where | Mbuang-Mbuang village, Bokan Kepulauan district, Banggai Laut regency, about 80 km south-east of Banggai town |
| Getting there | Private speedboat from Banggai town, about 2 hours each way; public slow boat 7 to 8 hours |
| Cost | Speedboat up to IDR 4,000,000 per boat (about EUR 200); slow boat about IDR 100,000; lake and Popisi Hill listed at IDR 35,000 each |
| Sleeping | Village homestays, listed from IDR 100,000 to 175,000 a night |
| Best time | May to October; September and October are calmest |
Where Mbuang-Mbuang is
Mbuang-Mbuang is a village in the Bokan Kepulauan district, in the island group also known as Bowokan. Indonesian press reports put the village on Salue Kecil island, but in everyday use people just say Mbuang-Mbuang, and that is the name to give a boatman.
About 430 people lived here according to a 2021 report, most of them fishing for octopus and lobster or farming seaweed, and some now guide visitors. It has been an official tourism village since 2021.
How to get to Mbuang-Mbuang
Every route starts in Luwuk, on the Sulawesi mainland, and passes through Banggai town.
- Luwuk to Banggai town. The overnight ferry usually sails on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 16:00 or 21:00, takes 8 to 9 hours and arrives the next morning. The other way is across Peleng island to the Tobing jetty, then a shared speedboat of about 30 minutes for around IDR 80,000.
- Banggai town to Mbuang-Mbuang. A chartered speedboat takes about 2 hours each way. The public slow boat takes 7 to 8 hours and costs about IDR 100,000, so it cannot be done as a day trip.
- Back to Luwuk. The ferry from Banggai town usually leaves on Tuesday and Thursday at about 08:00. Plan backwards from that.
Ferry days move with the weather. Check our Luwuk ferry schedule page the week you travel.
The speedboat is the biggest single cost of a Banggai trip. Split four ways it is IDR 1,000,000 each. For two people it can double the price of the whole journey, and that is the honest reason many visitors skip it. The other costs are laid out in our Banggai Islands trip cost breakdown.
Paisu Batongan, a jellyfish lake in Sulawesi
Paisu Batongan is a salt lake of roughly 20 hectares ringed by mangroves. Thousands of jellyfish live in it, translucent white, yellow and orange, and none of them sting. They drift close to the surface, so you see them from the floating dock before you get in.
Numbers change through the year. One Indonesian report says the jellyfish can cover most of the surface in the rainy season, which is when the crossing is hardest, so in the dry months expect fewer than the densest photos online. Entry is listed at IDR 35,000 per person.
Rules in the water
An enclosed lake is fragile. The jellyfish have nowhere else to go, and whatever washes off your skin stays in the water with them.
- No sunscreen, lotion or insect repellent before you swim. If you must, use reef-safe only and rinse first. A long-sleeved rash vest is better.
- No fins. The village bans them because they injure the jellyfish.
- Swim slowly with your arms and do not kick near the jellyfish.
- Do not lift a jellyfish out of the water, not even for a second and not for a photo.
Popisi Hill
People come for the lake and go home talking about Popisi Hill. From the top you look over a scatter of small karst islands in Popisi Bay, with shallow pale-blue water between them. Indonesian visitors compare it to Raja Ampat. Popisi means “citrus” in the Banggai language.
You reach the hill by boat, reportedly about 30 minutes from the village. The landing is a small jetty hidden behind mangrove branches, and buoys mark the channel so boats stay off the coral. From there a stairway with handrails, built by the regional government, climbs to the viewpoint in 10 to 15 minutes. Late afternoon has the best light, but that means sleeping on the island.
What else is here
If you stay the night, there is enough for a second day. Pasir Panjang beach has hard and soft coral to snorkel over, calmest from morning to midday, and Pingo is a quiet white-sand beach near the lake. Off the village pier is Taman Laut Kima, a giant clam garden you can swim to from shore. On land, Pangaan Cave is about 10 minutes away by motorbike, with bats and a small salt-water pool. Bring a head torch.
How it compares with Kakaban, the best-known jellyfish lake in Indonesia
Kakaban, in the Derawan Islands off East Kalimantan, is the bigger and better-studied of the two. Indonesian reports give it an area of about 400 hectares and four jellyfish species. Paisu Batongan is around 20 hectares, and we have not found a published species list for it.
Kakaban also shows what can go wrong. Its jellyfish all but vanished in 2023, the island closed to visitors in late December that year, and officials pointed to sunscreen and cosmetics from swimmers as a likely cause. It reopened in early 2025, at first with swimming banned; by July 2025 the state news agency reported snorkelling again in small groups, with no sunscreen and no fins. Check its current status before you plan around it.
The two are different trips. Kakaban has a ranger post, a forest boardwalk and boats from Berau that take 2.5 to 3 hours. Mbuang-Mbuang has a remote village and two floating docks, with far fewer eyes on what swimmers do. That is the reason to follow the rules above without being asked.
Banggai Islands Tour: Reefs, Cardinalfish & the Blue Lake
Homestay, food and power on Mbuang-Mbuang
There is no resort. The tourism ministry’s village platform lists a homestay from IDR 175,000 a night with a shared bathroom, a fan and breakfast, and a second at Pasir Panjang beach from IDR 100,000. On the ground, expect one basic guesthouse that includes meals, with no menu.
Reports on electricity disagree. One says the village has run on a solar plant since 2018, another says power comes from a generator at night only. Phone signal is weak to absent. Bring a power bank and carry enough cash; do not count on an ATM.
Plan a night in Banggai town either side. Rooms there are covered in our guide to where to stay in Banggai.
Best time and weather
May to October is the sailing season in Banggai Laut, and September and October are the calmest months. From December to February Mbuang-Mbuang is usually out of reach. Two hours in an open speedboat in a big swell is dangerous, and even in the dry season a good boatman will cancel if the sea is up that morning.
Keep one spare day: if the weather turns you wait on the island, and the Luwuk ferry does not wait.
Practical tips
- Look at the wave forecast before you pay for the speedboat, and agree up front what happens to the deposit if the weather cancels the trip.
- Add two days to your Banggai Laut plan. A same-day return by speedboat is possible but rushed.
- Pack a dry bag, a hat, drinking water and seasickness tablets.
Our trips are private, so we can find the speedboat, watch the forecast with the boatman and fit the days around your ferry. Our five-day Banggai Islands tour does not go this far; ask us whether it can be added.
The nine-day plan in our Banggai Islands itinerary shows where those two days sit. If the sea or the budget says no, the beaches and reefs closer to town are in our Banggai Laut travel guide.
From Luwuk, take the overnight ferry to Banggai town, or cross Peleng to the Tobing jetty and ride the shared speedboat. From Banggai town a chartered speedboat takes about two hours each way and costs up to IDR 4,000,000 for the boat. The public slow boat takes seven to eight hours.
Yes, more than one. Paisu Batongan at Mbuang-Mbuang in Banggai Laut, Central Sulawesi, is a salt lake of about 20 hectares with stingless jellyfish you can swim among. Indonesian travel media also list Mariona in the Togean Islands and a lake at Lohia on Muna. Paisu Batongan is the one reachable from Luwuk.
Yes. The jellyfish in Paisu Batongan do not sting, and swimming is allowed for an entry fee listed at IDR 35,000. The village bans sunscreen and fins because both harm the jellyfish. Swim slowly, keep your feet still near them, and never lift one out of the water for a photograph.
May to October, with September and October the calmest months. From December to February the swell often makes the crossing impossible, and even in the dry season the boatman will cancel if the sea is rough that morning. Build in one spare day so a delay does not cost you the ferry home.
Yes, a simple one. The tourism ministry lists a village homestay from IDR 175,000 a night with a shared bathroom, fan and breakfast, and another at Pasir Panjang beach from IDR 100,000. Electricity is limited and phone signal is weak, so bring a power bank and enough cash for your whole stay.
