Public boat at €2.50 or the resort transfer — when each is the right call, and what the dive shops won't tell you about the morning crossing.
The crossing from Manado to Bunaken Island is forty minutes if the water is flat and ninety if it isn't. There are two ways to make it: the daily public boat from Pasar Bersehati, which costs around €2.50 per person and runs once a day, and the resort transfer, which costs roughly twenty times that and runs whenever you ask for it. Most travellers default to the resort transfer without thinking about it. Most travellers spend more than they need to.
This is a short, practical comparison written from the public-boat side of the trade — what each option actually buys you, when each is the right call, and what the dive shops don't tell you about the morning crossing.
The public boat, plainly
The Pasar Bersehati public boat is a wooden kapal motor of about fifteen metres, running once a day from the fish-market jetty in central Manado to Bunaken village on the south side of the island. It departs in the early afternoon — around 14:00, sometimes 15:00 if the cargo is heavy. It returns to Manado at around 08:00 the following morning. There is no second sailing.
The boat carries cargo as well as passengers: market goods, building materials, the occasional motorbike strapped to the deck. It is not designed for tourist comfort. The seating is hardwood benches under a canopy. The crossing is generally smooth in dry season and rougher November–March.
Cost: around €2.50 one way for a foreigner. You pay the captain or his crew on the boat. There are no tickets, no booking, no schedule guarantee — if the captain decides the weather is wrong, the boat doesn't run.
What it buys you: getting across. Nothing else.
The resort transfer, plainly
Every dive resort on Bunaken runs its own speedboat transfer for guests. Modern 7–9 metre fibreglass boats with twin outboards, room for six to twelve passengers, life jackets, a small canopy. The crossing is 25–35 minutes depending on conditions. Transfers run on resort schedule — typically a morning pickup around 09:00–10:00 and an afternoon return around 15:00 — and can be arranged for other times at extra cost.
Cost: typically included in dive packages of three nights or more. As a paid one-off, expect €38–€71 per person return, with significant variation between resorts.
What it buys you: predictability, speed, and a direct landing at the resort's own jetty. Critical for divers carrying equipment, useful for travellers with limited time.
When the public boat is the right call
The public boat is the right answer in three situations:
You're staying in Bunaken village, not at a dive resort. Several budget homestays cluster around the village on the south side of the island — Lorenso, Daniel's, a few smaller places. The public boat lands directly at the village jetty; the resort transfer doesn't go there. If you're staying with a Bunaken family rather than at a resort, the public boat is the only sensible option.
You have time and a tolerance for the schedule. A 14:00 departure and an 08:00 return is a useful pair if your trip allows for it. Arrive in Manado in the morning, get to Pasar Bersehati for lunch, cross in the early afternoon, dive the next morning, return to Manado in time for an evening flight onward. That's a clean itinerary.
Budget matters. €2.50 versus €48 is not a small difference. For solo travellers and backpackers on a longer trip, this is the call.
When it isn't
The public boat is the wrong answer in three situations:
You have heavy dive equipment. The boat's loading deck is rough — concrete, cargo, no dedicated tank rack. Carrying your own kit is doable but uncomfortable. Resort transfers are built around dive gear logistics.
Your trip is short. If you have three days total in North Sulawesi and you want to dive Bunaken, the resort transfer is worth the money. The public boat eats half a day in each direction once you account for getting to Pasar Bersehati and waiting for the departure.
You're travelling between November and March. The afternoon public boat is most likely to be cancelled or delayed in monsoon season. Resort transfers run smaller faster boats and can usually find a weather window the public boat can't. A two-day delay in either direction is a real possibility on the public boat in January or February.
A third option nobody talks about
There is a third boat: the early-morning speedboat from Manado's Marina dock, which runs to Siladen and continues to Bunaken on most days. Fast boat, fibreglass, scheduled for around 08:00. The fare runs €7–€12 per person depending on the operator.
This is a useful middle ground: faster than the public boat, cheaper than the resort transfer, and on a daylight schedule that pairs well with a same-day arrival. The catch is that it's not particularly publicised — most Manado guesthouses know about it but don't volunteer the information unless asked. Ask specifically about the Marina morning boat to Bunaken or Siladen and you'll usually get a phone number.
How do you get from Manado to Bunaken? There are three boat options. The daily public boat from Pasar Bersehati at around 14:00 costs €2.50 and returns the next morning. Dive resorts run their own speedboat transfers at €38–€71 per person, on resort schedules. A morning speedboat from Marina dock at €7–€12 is the cheaper alternative for divers on a short timeline.
Getting to Pasar Bersehati
If you're taking the public boat, you need to get to the Pasar Bersehati fish-market jetty in central Manado. From the airport, the ojek fare is around €4 and the trip is forty minutes. Grab and Gojek both operate in Manado; expect roughly €6–€7 for a four-wheel ride.
Tell the driver "Pelabuhan Bersehati" or "Pasar Bersehati" — both names are used. The boat to Bunaken doesn't leave from the main passenger port nearby; it leaves from the fish-market side. Look for the wooden kapal motor with people loading produce, not for a ticket office.
There is no waiting room. Bring water, food, and patience. The boat leaves when it's ready.
What the dive shops won't tell you: the morning return from Bunaken is the better crossing of the two. Calmer sea, better light, and you'll arrive in Manado with most of the day in front of you. If you only have one direction to do by public boat, do the return.