Buton Island Travel Guide For Sulawesi, Indonesia

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I think Buton is probably one of the most interesting places to visit in Indonesia, together with its neighboring island Muna.

We just spent almost two weeks in Buton and Muna, and still didn’t see everything. This island in Sulawesi has great waterfalls and exotic beaches, and with a bit of trekking you can see creepy caves full of bats and pythons.

That’s not all, though. Buton is also famously home to a group of blue-eyed people from the Kaimbulawa tribe, and I met and photographed two of them during our trip.

This travel guide will explain how to get to Buton, where to stay, and what to see and do on the island!

How To Get To Buton

Buton island is located off the coast of southeast Sulawesi.

The best way to get there is by flying to the main city of Baubau (BUW), or you can take a ferry from one of the neighboring places, such as Muna, Kendari, or Wakatobi.

If you’re flying from Bali or Jakarta, you’ll need to transit in Makassar (UPG) on the way to Buton. You can shop for flights at Skyscanner.

The flight from Makassar to Baubau takes a little over 1 hour and the prices are reasonable, although there aren’t a lot of airline options yet.

The other main way to get to Buton is the fast ferry from Kendari to Baubau, which departs twice daily and takes 6 hours.

 

How To Get Around

Buton is a big island, but a lot of the best sights and activities are concentrated in the southern part of the island, so that helps with transportation.

As with other places in Indonesia, you can get around in Buton by renting a car or motorbike and driving yourself, or hiring a driver with a car. You’ll also need a boat to see some of the smaller islands and secluded beaches on the southern coast of Buton.

I’ll share some contacts for good tour guides later in the article. They can help arrange drivers, boats, and other things for you.

If you choose to drive yourself, the roads are in pretty good condition and there isn’t much traffic outside of town, so it’s not a hard place to drive by Indonesian standards.

For hotel transfers, there are plenty of taxis available at the airport when you arrive in Baubau. You can also use the Grab app for short trips in the city, although Maxim has more drivers here.

 

Best Things To Do In Buton

• Siompu Island Trip

This boat trip was one of the first things I did in Buton.

My guide and I hired a boat in Batuaga, about 30 minutes south of town, and then we set off to see two little islands near Buton: Liwutonkidi and Siompu.

The first stop was Liwutonkidi, which is a deserted island with a white sand beach that wraps around most of the island.

The water here was super calm and nice for swimming, and my guide climbed a tree to get us some fresh coconuts to drink.

The next stop was Siompu island. We went to a beach called Napang Sangia, at the foot of the limestone cliffs.

Surprisingly, there’s a short path from the beach that leads up to the top of the cliff. You can reach the top in 15 minutes, and it’s plenty safe as long as you’re careful.

There’s one wooden ladder you’ll need to climb, but it’s pretty tame. The path to the top is actually pretty ingenious.

       
 
The scenery at the top of the cliffs is so dramatic it reminded me of Nusa Penida in Bali, or Krabi in Thailand.

The main difference is that in Buton, you have the place all to yourself! We didn’t see any other tourists, foreign or local, the whole time we were there.

If you walk for 5 or 10 minutes to the opposite side of the cliff, you can get another view that’s a bit different, but just as impressive.

       

When we were done at Napang Sangia, there was another spot I wanted to check out called Buata beach. I had seen it on Google satellite view, and it looked nice, so we decided to check it out.

Unfortunately, the beach had a lot of trash, but the water was pristine and perfect for swimming. It was bright turquoise water.

There were also several smaller beaches nearby with exotic boulders that reminded me of Uluwatu in Bali. They should be really nice when the tide is lower, but when I was there they were submerged.

Once again, there’s a path from Buata beach to the top of the cliffs if you don’t mind a bit of hiking, although the view didn’t look quite as stunning as the cliff at Napang Sangia.

After we spent hours relaxing, swimming, and flying my drone at the beaches, we took our boat to the main harbor on Siompu island, where we had scheduled a meeting to photograph one of the blue-eyed people from the Kaimbulawa tribe.

He’s an old guy, and he didn’t seem so friendly at first, but I can understand that, because it’s probably not fun to have total strangers showing up to take your picture.

After I gave him a big tip for his time, he warmed up and the mood changed. He even wanted to take a selfie with me!

Overall, it was a productive trip to Siompu. We had lots of fun and I took lots of pictures.

       

 

• South Buton Boat Trip

The other must do boat trip in Buton takes you to some secluded beaches in the southern part of the island.

This one starts at the little harbor in Jaya Bakti, about 1 hour drive from Baubau, and you get to see four places in mainland Buton that can only be reached by boat.

The first place we went is the Sampolawa river, which meets the ocean near where we hired the boat. We only traveled up the river for about 15 minutes, and then came back the way we came, but it was nice to see.

The river is lined with palm trees, and the water is so colorful it’s almost teal. It’s a beautiful spot, but I’d be too scared of crocodiles to try swimming there.

For our next stop, we traveled around the corner of the peninsula to a hidden spot called Lasoka beach, which is surrounded by huge cliffs.

There’s a little metal shack perched on a rock, where apparently an elderly couple was living, and the beach was highlighted by a super long palm tree stretching out over the shore.

My boat guy climbed one of the very tall palm trees and got coconuts for us to drink, and then we tried snorkeling at the reef.

The fish and coral here looked nice, but it was pretty far from the shore and the water was too deep to be convenient for snorkeling. It might be easier when the tide is down.

From Lasoka, we continued a short distance to the Karamba resto, a fish trap and floating restaurant where the locals like to hang out.

It was crowded and noisy when I was there, but on a weekday it would probably be better. The karamba is floating on calm waters near the cliffs, and I have to say it’s a cool place for a restaurant.

I flew the drone a little bit and then decided to move on.

Our last stop of the day was at Lakadao beach, which is another secluded beach surrounded by steep cliffs, on the far southeast tip of Buton island.

It’s a white sand beach that has a tiny shack perched on a rock, except this one is nicer than at Lasoka. You can use the rock for jumping into the ocean, which some local kids were doing.

Apparently it’s also possible to trek to Lakadao beach by land, but I can’t say what the path would be like, because the cliffs are absolutely massive.

Going by boat was a lot easier, and the waves weren’t too bad when I went, although your experience may vary. I did get soaked on the return journey, and I got so much salt water in my eyes I had to rinse them out later. But the trip never felt dangerous, so I’d rate it a success. 😀

Along the way, we passed a lighthouse on the cape that would’ve been neat to stop and see as well, if I had more time. Overall, it was a good trip and we got to see a bunch of places.

 

• Batu Buti Boat Trip

This is a super short and easy boat trip you can do at Pondok Daeng or Lakeba Beach, just outside of Baubau town.

It’s a 15 minute drive from Baubau, followed by a 2 minute ride in a little fishing boat to a flat rock, where you can get off the boat and take pictures or swim.

There’s no shade at all on the rock, so you might get scorched if you sit there too long, but the water here is gorgeous and it’s so nice for swimming.

Morning is the best time to go for calm waves, although the best lighting for photos is a bit later. I’d say around 10 AM is perfect.

If I went back to Buton, this is the very first place I’d go, because the water is so nice and it’s easy to reach from town. It’s wonderful!

 

• Samparona Waterfall Trek

This trek in the jungle lets you see two big waterfalls and a cave full of bats and pythons.

It starts about a 30 minute drive from Baubau, and the hike takes almost 2.5 hours in each direction if your pace is moderate. I’d highly recommend doing it if you’re able, because it’s such a cool experience.

You can reach the first waterfall (Kantongara) after about 1 hour of hiking, followed by the second waterfall (Samparona) after 1 more hour. It’s then 30 more minutes of steep hiking to reach the bat cave.

I’d say the difficulty of this hike is moderate. There are lots of ups and downs, and awkward, rocky paths. The final ascent to the bat cave is very steep and could be dangerous if you’re not careful.

The cave has swarms of bats flying in all directions. There are thousands of them. It’s crazy, like something from a movie! The pythons come to the cave to feed on bats, and we counted three of them in just a short distance.

The heat and humidity on this hike is almost overpowering at times, so it’s a great idea to go for a swim at the main waterfall. It has a nice turquoise pool that felt great for cooling off after seeing the bat cave.

 

• Wameo Traditional Market

The Wameo traditional market in Baubau is one of the best markets I’ve seen in Indonesia.

It’s not quite as crazy as the one in Tomohon, in North Sulawesi, but you can see a little bit of everything in it. The fish market has all kinds of creatures, including some things I had never seen before.

The fruit market didn’t have as much variety as we’ve seen at some other markets in Sulawesi, but there’s still enough to be interesting.

All the vendors were friendly and happy to let us take photos, and they even let me hold one of the 20 kilogram tuna fish for a picture. Very impressive!

 

• Bahari Beach

This is a small beach in south Buton, about 1.5 hours drive from Baubau.

The beach has shallow, beautiful water, and exotic jungle-covered rocks. It looks like a place you’d find in Raja Ampat.

We spent hours swimming there, and I was even able to take our 1 year old baby for a swim with me too. It was great!

       

 

• Malige Palace

This is a historical palace that belonged to the Sultan of Buton XXXVII. It’s a four-story building that was made entirely of wood, and they apparently didn’t even use metal nails.

It’s free to photograph from outside, but you might have to pay a fee to go inside. We chatted with one of the owners a bit, but didn’t have time to go inside.

Malige palace is located in the center of Baubau town, near the harbor, so it’s super easy to visit.

 

• Buton Sultanate Fortress (Benteng Keraton)

This is a 16th century fort built by the Sultan of Buton III, and it’s free to wander. It sits on a hill and has great views of Baubau town.

I’ve seen some claims that this fortress was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest fortress in the world, but I can’t confirm that. It’s definitely big, though.

We only visited a couple of the main ramparts, but there are other walls and gates spread out across the hill if you want to do some exploring.

 

• Other Things To See In Buton

There are lots of great waterfalls and other things to see in Buton.

We planned to go to some of these ourselves, but unfortunately we had to shorten our trip because it was just too dry for seeing waterfalls when we went in late April.

Here are some extra places I hope to visit in Buton next time I’m there:

• Kandawu Ndawuna Waterfall — A huge waterfall with multiple layers. It’s a 2 hour drive from town, and it took me almost an hour to trek to the waterfall. It was already dry in late April, but in an earlier month it would be very impressive and nice for swimming.
• Lantangahi Waterfall — Another big waterfall in northern Buton, 2 hours from Baubau. It takes 1 hour of hiking to reach it, and the path is mostly uphill. This one was also dry when I went.
• Lapangan Waterfall — This is like a natural waterslide. Very fun and unique! It’s located near Kandawu Ndawuna, but you need to do some trekking to reach it.
• Lambusango Forest — A jungle where you can do guided treks to see animals like tarsiers, cuscus, monkeys, and hornbill birds.
• Bumbula Waterfall — A nice waterfall that’s only a 30 minute drive from Baubau, and some guides know how to access it easily, without any trekking.
• Tirta Rimba Waterfall — One of the easiest waterfalls to reach in Buton, just a 10 minute drive from Baubau town. Unfortunately, that also means it has more issues with crowds, trash, and unnecessary development.
• Gua Moko — A small cave with an open ceiling and blue water, near Nirwana beach. We tried to go to it on a weekday, but it was closed. I think it’s only open on weekends.
• Gua Lakasa — This is another cave near Nirwana beach that has some beautiful stalactites and a natural swimming pool. However, the locals don’t go there anymore and our guide was concerned it might collapse because of recent construction in the area nearby, so I’m not sure how safe it is now. Proceed at your own risk.
• Gua Walupi — This is another cave we visited near Sampolawa that has lots of bats and pythons, but the hike is much easier than the one at Samparona Waterfall. We reached the cave in less than 15 minutes of hiking from the road. It’s a secret spot most people don’t know about, and the cave hasn’t been fully explored yet.
• Kogawuna Waterfall — Another waterfall that’s just a 20 minute drive from Baubau.
• Kalimalima Waterfall — This looked like an interesting waterfall in northern Buton, but it’s a 3 hour drive from town.

 

• Muna Island

People usually visit Buton in conjunction with its neighboring island, Muna, which is slightly smaller, but still a pretty good sized island with some great things to see and do.

Muna has spectacular caves, and you can swim in blue water sinkholes like the cenotes of Mexico, except without the crowds. There’s even a lake where you can swim with thousands of stingless jellyfish!

Buton and Muna are well connected by a short 30 minute ferry ride that can bring cars and motorbikes, so it’s easy to go back and forth between the two islands.

Don’t miss Muna! I’m working on a separate article for it that should be ready soon.
 

Map Of Sights In Buton & Muna

Here’s an interactive map of the main sights on Buton and Muna islands. You can use this to plan your trip.

The blue icons on the map are things you can see by driving, and the purple icons are things to see by boat.

 

Travel Itinerary For Buton & Muna

Here’s a sample 9-day itinerary you can use for your trip to Buton and Muna.

This matches our own itinerary pretty closely, with a few tweaks and improvements based on our experience:

• Day 1 – If you arrive at Buton in the morning, you can spend the day seeing things in and near Baubau town, like the Wameo traditional market, Malige palace, and Sultanate fortress. Then visit Lakeba beach, which is just outside of town, and do a short boat trip to the Batu Buti rock. If you’re still up for more activities, you can end the day by seeing Tirta Rimba waterfall or watching the sunset close to town.
• Day 2 – Do a boat trip to Siompu and Liwutonkidi islands. Relax on the beach at Napa Sangia and do the short hike up to the viewpoint on the cliff. Do a short detour by boat to Buata beach for more swimming.
• Day 3 – Spend the day doing a boat trip in southern Buton to see the Sampolawa river, Lasoka beach, Karamba floating restaurant, and Lakadao beach.
• Day 4 – Do the Samparona waterfall trek, which has two big waterfalls and a bat cave. You can swim at the waterfall after hiking. If you make it back in good time, it might be possible to do some other activities after the trek as well.
• Day 5 – Drive 2 hours to northern Buton to see more waterfalls: Lantangahi, Lapangan, and/or Kandawu Ndawuna. Some trekking and route finding is needed, so you’ll probably have to pick just two of the waterfalls to see in a day. On the drive out of Baubau, you can also enjoy some wonderful views of rice fields in the Balinese village.
• Day 6 – Visit the hilltop viewpoint at Bukit Wakoea, and the traditional village at Rongi. Then go for a swim at Bahari beach. On the drive back to Baubau, stop at Nirwana beach.
• Day 7 – Take the morning ferry from Baubau (Buton) to Wamengkoli (Muna). Make a quick stop to see Bidadari cave and Kotaeono cave in southern Muna, then drive north to the Moko lakes, where you can swim in clear blue water at the sinkholes.
• Day 8 – Drive to Napabale lake, and then take a short boat ride and trek to the jellyfish lake, where you can swim with thousands of stingless jellyfish. Next, drive to the caves at Liang Kabori to see prehistoric art. If you still have time, you can end the day by seeing the natural swimming pool at Wakumoro.
• Day 9 – Drive to Ko’o cave and do a short trek to the blue pools at the bottom of the cave. Alternatively, you can do the more extreme trek at Inoli Lalibo cave, which also has a stunning blue pool at the bottom. After that, go see Laumehe cave, which is more visitor friendly and has some of the best stalactites and stalagmites. You can also make a quick stop at Wantopi beach, which is close to the cave. When you’re done in Muna, take the ferry back to Baubau to finish your trip.

 

Driver & Guide Contacts For Buton

Here are some useful contacts for your trip to Buton and Muna. I can recommend all of these people from my own personal experience:

• Aspin Chatilombuz — Aspin was the main contact for our trip to Buton and Muna. He was a big help and answered lots of my questions before our trip. We were traveling with our 1 year old baby, and he was able to advise us which activities would be good with our baby, and which things would be safer for me to do alone with him, like trekking.
  
  Once we got to Buton, Aspin arranged drivers, boat tours, and other activities for us based on what I wanted to see and do. You can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 823-7286-6231 or on his Facebook page.
• Laode Ibnu Rajab — Laode is affiliated with Aspin, and he was the main guide during our trip, since Aspin got sick a few days after we arrived. Laode is very friendly and helpful, and he knows all the good places to see in Buton and Muna. He also joined me for trekking to a bunch of different caves and waterfalls. You can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 822-3921-1302 or on his Facebook page.
• Mario Kojongian (Sulawesi Eco Adventure) — Mario’s company offers tours for all the nice places in southeast Sulawesi: Buton, Muna, Wakatobi, Labengki, and Sombori. He speaks good English, and he was happy to answer a bunch of our questions about Buton and Muna.
  
  Unfortunately, he was busy traveling in Sumatra when we came to Buton, so we weren’t able to line up our schedules, but that wasn’t his fault. His company is high rated and he was a helpful contact, so I’d happily recommend him for a trip to Buton and Muna. You can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 821-9590-1528, or on his company’s Facebook page.
• Dudy — This is a trekking guide in Buton who can arrange wildlife tours in Lambusango forest. I didn’t end up doing that with him because I ran out of time, but he was responsive and easy to chat with on WhatsApp. You can contact him at ☎ +62 822-6128-5600.

 

Where To Stay

Most of the accommodation in Buton is in Baubau town, on the south end of the island.

Here are some recommended places to stay:

• Zenith Premiere Hotel — This is currently the best hotel in Baubau, as of 2026. It’s a little pricey, but we decided to stay there since we were traveling with our 1 year old baby, and we wanted a place completely safe from mosquitoes. They have an indoor restaurant, and it was nice to be able to order food easily to the room.
• The Galton Hotel — This would probably be my top choice if I was solo traveling in Baubau. It has free breakfast and the location is close to the harbor.
• Hotel Galaxy Inn — Another budget friendly option in town.
• RedDoorz @ Green Homestay — A super budget friendly option that should be good for solo travelers.

 

Other Tips For Buton Island

• Credit Cards — You’ll want cash for most things on the island like drivers, boat tours, guides, and entrance fees. Cards are only accepted at higher end hotels and restaurants.
• ATM — There are plenty of ATMs in Baubau with good withdrawal limits. We used BNI and other ATMs multiple times during our trip, and didn’t have any issues.
• WiFi — I can’t speak for every hotel in Baubau, but the bigger ones have good, fast WiFi. Ours was great at Zenith Premiere.
• Cell Service — Local SIM providers like Telkomsel have good reception all across the island. I was even able to send texts while island hopping in the south, and trekking to waterfalls in the north.
• Apps — Grab and Maxim are available in Baubau for short rides or even food delivery to your hotel. I normally prefer Grab, but Maxim has more drivers in this city.
• Malaria — According to this Lancet study from 2018, malaria has been majorly reduced or eliminated in most of Buton island, which is great. We didn’t take Malaria pills and we saw almost no mosquitoes during our trip, although it was pretty dry when we went.

       
 
 

Best Time To Visit Buton

Normally the best time to travel in Sulawesi is during the dry season, especially from May to October.

We went to Buton in mid to late April, and the weather was perfect for beaches, but it was already very dry for waterfalls, which was one of the main things we wanted to see there.

Based on our experience, I’d say the start or middle of March would be the perfect time to visit Buton if you want the best of both worlds: sunny enough for beaches, but plenty of flow left at the waterfalls.

Of course, if you don’t really care about the waterfalls then you can go to Buton in any month of the year, but keep in mind the boat trips would be harder to do in Indonesia’s rainiest months, which are typically December through February.

 

More Indonesia Travel Guides

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this guide for visiting Buton island in Sulawesi. I’m currently working on a guide for Muna island as well.

Don’t forget to check out my other travel guides for Indonesia before you go!
 

• Most Beautiful Indonesian Islands – Best Places To Visit In Indonesia
• Best Hikes In Indonesia – Volcanoes, Jungles, & Waterfalls
• Indonesia Waterfall Guide – Best Waterfalls In Indonesia
• Indonesia Beach Guide – Best Beaches In Indonesia
• Best Things To Do In Indonesia – What To Do In The Islands
• Indonesia Travel Guide – Tips, Info, & Photos