Indonesia's national line still runs the long routes. What to bring, what class to book, and the one thing nobody warns you about on the Tilongkabila.
Pelni — Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia — still runs the long routes nobody else wants. The fleet of large white passenger ships connects every regional port across the archipelago, sailing on a published schedule that slips by a day or two but holds the broad shape of itself. For travellers crossing the eastern islands, Pelni is sometimes the only sensible way through; for travellers with time, it is the slow and rewarding way. This is what you need to know to survive a two-night Pelni passage without losing the trip to discomfort. The ship I have in mind for the examples is KM Tilongkabila, the workhorse boat that connects Bitung in North Sulawesi to the Wakatobi group and on to Bau-Bau, but the rules apply to any of the medium-class Pelni vessels.
What class to book
Pelni ships sell five or six classes. The honest answer for the visitor: book Class 2, occasionally Class 1, and never Ekonomi.
Class 1. A two-berth cabin with a private bathroom, locked door, air conditioning, breakfast included. The closest Pelni gets to a hotel room. €62–€86 per person for a Bitung–Bau-Bau passage in 2026, depending on season. Two berths means you share with one other passenger if you book a single; book both berths if you can afford it.
Class 2. A four-berth cabin with a shared bathroom on the corridor, air conditioning, locked door. The standard recommendation for travellers. €36–€45 per person. The four berths mean three roommates; the door locks and your bag is safe behind it.
Ekonomi. A numbered place on an open deck with a thin mat. Air conditioning is a fan and a window. The crowd is constant, the noise is constant, and the bag-watching is your job for the entire trip. Avoid it. The cost saving (€17-ish) does not justify a sleepless forty-eight hours.
Buy at the Pelni office in your departure port or online via the official Pelni app (which works better than its reputation suggests). Tickets are sold by passport number and the system rejects duplicates, so you don't need to worry about scalpers.
What to bring
A short kit will get you through a forty-eight-hour passage in much better condition than the average passenger.
- Water. Three litres per person. The ship sells water at marked-up prices but runs out by day two.
- Snacks. The ship canteen exists but is not generous. Bring instant noodles, biscuits, a few pieces of fruit. Hot water for noodles is available on every deck.
- A small padlock. For your cabin door from the inside and for any locker you find on the deck if you're in Ekonomi.
- A sarong or thin blanket. Even in Class 2, the air conditioning runs hard and the issued sheet is thin.
- Earplugs. The engine noise is constant and the announcements are loud.
- A torch. Power cuts happen, briefly but often, especially at the port transitions.
- Toilet paper. The shared bathrooms have none.
- Sea-sickness pills if you're susceptible. The Tomini and Banda crossings can be rough.
What not to bring: anything in glass, anything that smells strongly, your laptop unless you can lock it.
What the ship is like
A medium-class Pelni passenger ship holds 1,200 to 1,500 people across the various classes. The decks are stratified: cabins on the upper levels, Ekonomi on the lower decks, a mosque on each ship, a small clinic, two or three canteens, an outdoor deck at the stern where most of the social life happens.
Most of your time will pass on the outdoor deck or in your cabin. The pace is slow. You will see flying fish during the day, the occasional dolphin pod near the small islands, and at night the stars are remarkable because the ship's deck lights are dim and the horizon is empty. Bring a book or two; the wifi exists in theory and reaches Class 1 in fact, but slowly.
A practical rhythm: breakfast on the deck at 06:30 before the sun is high, a slow morning of reading and walking the decks, lunch in the cabin from your supplies, an afternoon nap, sunset on the deck, dinner from a canteen, an evening on the stern deck talking with other passengers, asleep by 22:00.
What's the best Pelni ferry class for visitors? Class 2 (four-berth shared cabin with corridor bathroom, air conditioning, locked door) is the working sweet spot for visitors on a Pelni passage of one or two nights — around €36–€45 per person on a typical 48-hour route in 2026. Class 1 costs roughly double and gives you a two-berth cabin with a private bathroom. Avoid Ekonomi unless absolutely necessary; the open-deck conditions are difficult for first-time travellers.
The one thing nobody warns you about
The shower situation. Class 2 cabins share two bathrooms per corridor, with around twenty passengers per bathroom. The hot water is unreliable and the queue at 07:00 is long. The working solution is to shower in the late morning, around 10:00, when most passengers are on the deck and the corridors are empty.
Class 1 cabins have a private bathroom but the water pressure drops noticeably when the ship is in port loading passengers. Time your shower for at-sea hours rather than port stops.
Schedule reliability
Pelni publishes a schedule that is broadly held to within a day or two. The Tilongkabila route from Bitung to Bau-Bau is scheduled at 48 hours and runs anywhere from 46 to 54. Port stops vary: a planned three-hour Wakatobi call can become a six-hour call if a cargo issue surfaces.
Book your onward travel with at least a 24-hour buffer after the scheduled arrival. The crew will not apologise for a slow run; they will simply arrive when they arrive.
When to take a Pelni
The right time is when you are crossing eastern Indonesia on a route that flights serve badly. Bitung to Wakatobi is a strong example — the flight requires a Makassar transit and costs more than the Class 1 ticket; the ferry is direct and gives you two nights of forced rest at sea. The Wakatobi to Bau-Bau leg, similarly, is faster by ferry than by the routed flights.
The wrong time: when you have a tight inland connection at the other end, when the season is monsoon, or when you have any medical condition that doesn't travel well. A Pelni ship is not a place to be sick.