Nias is an island off the coast of Sumatra, that over the years has become difficult to access. We stayed on the little island for one week, volunteering through Worldpackers.
Table of Contents
- How to Get There
- How to Get Around
- How Much to Spend
- Where to Stay
- How Many Days
- What to Do
- Volunteering
How to Get There
Getting to Nias requires a bit of preplanning since it can only be accessed via ferry or plane. The port of entry is in Gunungsitoli, the largest city in Nias, but there seems to be a ferry running once a week to Tuluk Dalam in the south.
Plane: Fly from Medan
The only route goes back and forth from Medan to Gunungsitoli four times a day, on a smaller propeller plane (an ATR 72, if anyone asks). Prices can vary quite significantly, depending on the season. We flew for $100 CAD round trip/passenger, but they can be over double. Also, there is limited space for baggage so it is recommended to pack light. However, it is possible to bring surfboards and extra baggage for a fee.
Ferry: From Sibolga
Sibolga is on the other side of Sumatra, and takes 12 hours from Medan - there are night buses available on 12go.asia or BookMeBus, departing at 8pm. Once in Sibolga, there are supposed to be daily speed ferries to Gunungsitoli, and it is recommended to be there before 8am. Additionally, there are overnight ferries to Gunungsitoli, every day except for Sunday, which depart at 8pm (if you would prefer to go direct to Taluk Dalam, there are ferries running once a week on Monday). You can book overnight ferries with the company Wira Jaya Logitama Lines.
⚠ Warning: This is information we acquired through asking around and other travelers, so it may no longer be true!
The majority of people we spoke to (including us) flew into Gunungsitoli. Only one couple took the overnight ferry because they were already near Sibolga. They said it cost them 200,000 IDR per person (approx $17 CAD) plus another 200,000 IDR for a private cabin onboard.
Additionally, from Nias you can get to the Batu Islands by ferry, but unfortunately the only information we were able to find is that it leaves from Taluk Dalam.
How to Get Around
Once on the island, options for getting around are limited. From the airport to the southern tip cost 600,000 IDR when we asked the taxi drivers, and they would not budge. The place we stayed at, Harus Damai Inn offered it for 500,000 IDR.
We decided to try to get there by local bus for only 30,000 IDR per person, which did work, but it quite a process:
- There is one bus per day, leaving at 3pm, but it often leaves late
- Does a loop of Gunungsitoli
- Then heads to Faekhu Bus Terminal where it departs from, but costs 200,000 IDR to get there from airport
- You can hail the bus along the route, which drives past the road leading to the airport
- Takes about 3.5 hours to get to Taluk Dalam
This saved us a bit of money, since our accommodation said they would pick us up from the town, but failed to tell us it would cost an additional 150,000 IDR. So we saved 90,000 IDR by doing this compared to what our accommodation offered. Was it worth it? We’ll let you decide.
On the way back, we had a flight leaving at 6:30am, so we took a shared car back the day before that our accommodation arranged for 150,000 IDR per person plus one night at a homestay for another 150,000 IDR. This was cheaper than the 600,000 IDR we were quoted by someone else at our accommodation to drive us at night (100,000 IDR surcharge because “the road is less busy”).
❕ Note: Some of these prices are for volunteers, so you may get charged more if you are staying as a guest.
Another way to get around is by motorbike, most accommodations offer rentals, and there are rental places available in Gunungsitoli. We tried to rent one from a couple places before we got there, but they all required a deposit beforehand and we did not feel comfortable doing so.
How Much to Spend
Nias is not the most affordable island in Indonesia and information can be limited online. Here is a breakdown of information we were able to find in person.
| Transportation | Motorbike | Surfboard | Food | Accommodation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100-250 CAD roundtrip flight | 70,000-100,000 IDR per day | 100,000-150,000 IDR per day | 150,000-300,000 IDR per day | 25-150 CAD per night |
| $10-15 CAD overnight bus ticket | ||||
| 200,000 IDR overnight ferry ticket | ||||
| 200,000 IDR taxi rides | ||||
| 30,000 IDR local bus trip |
How Many Days
For the amount of work required to get to Nias, we suggest staying at minimum of 5 days. We stayed for 7 and it went by really quick. There are also a couple other spots along the island you can visit, which would add more time to your stay.
Where to Stay
There are a variety of places you can stay on Nias, if you are there to surf, staying at The Point is the best for catching waves. For the rest of us beginners, the Lagoon Taluk is good for learning. There are a few places to stay right on the beach (we stayed at Harus Dami Inn), but you can also stay in Taluk Dalam if you want to stay in town.
What to Do
Surfing: Both beginners looking to learn and experienced surfers would have a great time. Plus the water was nice and warm, so you can be out there for hours without getting cold.
Traditional Villages: Bawömataluo (King’s Village) is the most well known, but charges a fee to foreign visitors (sometimes). There are others scattered throughout the island. We did not end up going unfortunately, so we cannot give a proper review.
Waterfalls: Our host told us about two waterfalls we could swim at, but unfortunately it rained too much and he said the road was washed out and the waterfall would be brown.
Hinako Islands: Just off the West coast of Nias, there is a small archipelago that is accessible by ferry. Your accommodation should be able to help arrange private transfers to the islands.
Volunteering
We found a beach conservation volunteering program at Harus Dami on Worldpackers. We cleaned up the beach each morning for about an hour or so and then we had the whole day to ourselves. They charged a fee of $10 USD per volunteer or $16 USD for a couple, per day. This helped cover food, accommodation, and kept their project going. Just make sure everyone is on the same page when it gets converted into Indonesia Rupiah. They told us they had plans to expand their program to include teaching English to the local kids and surf lessons over the coming year.
The surfboards were offered at a discounted price for 70,000 IDR per day and motorbikes for 100,000 IDR per day, which they had right on the property.
We rented surfboards for 5 of the days we were there, and feel that we have significantly improved! The waves would cycle quite a bit, so the waves weren’t super strong all day in the Lagoon Taluk, but at The Point, the waves are much bigger consistently.
We had a really fun and relaxing time while volunteering, plus we were happy that we helped keep the beach clean.