Bitung

Bitung is the main deep-water port of Northern Sulawesi. Located on the eastern side of the province, Bitung provides easy access to volcanoes, parks, and diving.

Get in

By plane

The nearest airport is Sam Ratulangi International Airport (MDC ^IATA), about 35 km to the west near Manado. Take a taxi or rent a car from the airport to get in here.

Get a rental car direct from the airport on arrival. Cost around Rp. 500,000 per day Included Driver, or Self Drive approximately Rp.300,000.- per day, can be used for around Bitung, north minahasa and manado. For Central Information tel [phone] or [phone]

Get around

• By Rental Car

Cost around Rp. 500,000 per day Included Driver, or Self Drive approximately Rp.300,000.- per day, can be used for around Bitung, north minahasa and manado. For Central Information tel [phone] or [phone]

• Bitung Rental Car (Coorporated with Manado Rental Car) cost around Rp. 500,000 per day, already included Driver and Gasoline, or Self Drive approximately Rp.300,000.- per day. For Central Information tel [phone] or [phone] it will make you easier to traveling around bitung and get out to manado or another city in North Sulawesy.
• Public buses to Manado operate very often with cheap price, but it's far from convenient. Buses are not airconditioned with many and long stops to wait for passengers.
• Taxis are also easy to find in Bitung. They are usually taxis from Manado, waiting for passengers from Bitung going to Manado. A few of them will use meters, but most of them will charge on negotiation basis. Depending on your negotiation skill level, the fare could be various between Rp. 200,000 - Rp. 500,000 for one trip to Manado.
• The most convenient way is to charter a car from Bitung to Manado from your hotel. The rate is between Rp. 450,000 - Rp. 500,000 per day, depending on the hotel tariff.

See

• Tangkoko National Park, around 2 hours from Bitung City. You can use cheap public transportation, but it will be very difficult as you have to change several cars. The most efficient and easiest way is to rent a car, which cost around Rp. 450,000 - Rp. 500,000 per day. Here you must stay one night, as there are many resorts and small hotels in this place. At night you can hire a guide to take you to the forest to see the smallest primate in the world called as "Tarsius".
• If a travel to Tangkoko national Park is impossible due to your time, there's a mini zoo in Bitung, only 10 minutes from Bitung's downtown. This mini park has collection of tarsius, birds, anoa, babi hutan, crocodile, etc. They will charge for your volunteerally donation to feed those animals. Usually it's around Rp. 20,000 - Rp. 50,000 depending on the numbers of the visitors in your group.
• Lembeh Strait: 30 minutes nfrom Bitung. It's a diving heaven for divers, but it's quite expensive, because the resort is managed by westerners.

Do

Buy

Eat

• Pork is common in this majority Christian populated city. You can find many many small restaurants. If you are a Muslim, you'd better confirm whether the restaurant is halal or not.
• Bats, dogs and mice are common meat sold in this city. Go to some traditional markets in this city, and you can find them easily. If you're not convenient with this kind of food, you'd better ask first.

Drink

• Beer is easy to find in all restaurants and even small shops.
• Saguer is the traditional alcoholic beverage made of palm.

A highly recommended Chinese seafood restaurant is in a small side street directly across the road from Texas Chicken and next to the Bitungs main fuel depot. It is a small family run place, with ordinary decor, but don't be deterred, the food is terrific ( and cheap, by western standards).

Sleep

Five stars

• Lembeh Resort
• Bastianos Lembeh Diving Resort
• tangkoko lodge batu putih putih

Three stars

• Wisma Pelaut International, pakadonan, Bitung. Phone: [phone]. A dormitory mainly for seafarers but is open to public.

Budget hotels

• Nalendra Hotel: Address: S. Languyu Street 5A, Bitung Phone: [phone]
• Other small hotels are easy to find but you must be very selective due to the activities of prostitutes.

Connect

• Bitung Rental Car Airmadidi tel [phone]

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