---
title: "Likupang: Inside Indonesia's Next \"New Bali\" in North Sulawesi"
type: "TravelGuide"
lang: "en"
canonical: "https://www.geokepo.id/en/panduan/likupang-north-sulawesi-travel-guide"
html_url: "https://www.geokepo.id/en/panduan/likupang-north-sulawesi-travel-guide"
category: "Destination Guides"
guide_type: "destination"
summary: "Likupang is North Sulawesi's quietest \"new Bali\" pick: a full destination guide to Paal and Pulisan beaches, Lihaga and Gangga islands, and Minahasan culture."
covers: ["https://www.geokepo.id/en/lokasi/minahasa-utara"]
published: "2026-09-15T00:20:44.620519+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-15T00:20:44.620519+00:00"
author: "GeoKepo Editorial Team"
publisher: "GeoKepo"
license: "Editorial content © GeoKepo. Cite the canonical URL."
---
# Likupang: Inside Indonesia's Next "New Bali" in North Sulawesi

# Likupang: Inside Indonesia's Next "New Bali" in North Sulawesi

Long before Mandalika had a racetrack or Labuan Bajo had a boutique-hotel boom, Indonesia's tourism ministry picked five coastal areas to receive "super-priority destination" status and the funding that comes with it. Likupang, a peninsula on the northeastern tip of North Sulawesi about an hour from Manado, is the quietest of the five by far — and in 2026, as its neighbors get crowded and expensive, that quiet is becoming the whole pitch. This is a destination guide to Likupang as a place, not just a dive site: the beaches, the culture, the islands offshore, and what it actually takes to get there and get around.

## Why the Government Picked Likupang

In 2019, Likupang joined Lake Toba, Borobudur, Mandalika, and Labuan Bajo as one of Indonesia's five original Destinasi Super Prioritas (DSP) — a deliberate attempt to build a handful of "new Balis" and spread tourism revenue beyond Bali and Java. Likupang's case rested on two things Bali can't easily replicate anymore: genuinely uncrowded white-sand beaches and direct proximity to some of the best shallow-reef diving and snorkeling in Southeast Asia, inherited from its position at the edge of the Coral Triangle. Infrastructure investment since then has widened the road from Manado, added a handful of new resorts, and put Likupang firmly on regional tourism-fair circuits, but the peninsula remains dramatically less developed than Bali, Lombok, or even Labuan Bajo.

## The Beaches: Paal and Pulisan

Pantai Paal is Likupang's best-known beach and the most resort-developed stretch so far — a long curve of fine white sand with calm, shallow water that's safe for swimming and popular with families, backed by a growing row of beachfront cafés and a few small resorts. Pulisan Beach, a short drive further north inside Pulisan Nature Reserve, trades development for scenery: rolling savanna hills drop straight into the sea, and the walk up to the reserve's viewpoint over the bay is one of the more striking short hikes in North Sulawesi. Both beaches are easily combined in a single day trip from a Likupang base, but Pulisan's limited facilities mean bringing your own food and water is sensible.

## Lihaga and Gangga: The Offshore Islands

Likupang's real trump card is the pair of small islands just offshore. Lihaga Island is an uninhabited sandbar-and-reef islet reachable by a roughly 30-45 minute boat ride, with shallow, clear water ideal for snorkeling directly off the beach and genuinely close to deserted outside peak weekends. Gangga Island, further north, is larger and has a small number of dive resorts built around its house reef, positioning it as a lower-key, lower-cost alternative to Bunaken for travelers who want a dive base without Bunaken's crowds or prices. Both islands see day-trip boats from Likupang's mainland beaches as well as longer stays for travelers who book resort accommodation directly on the islands.

## Diving and Snorkeling in Context

Likupang sits at the doorstep of the same coral-rich waters that made Bunaken Marine Park internationally famous, and the reefs around Lihaga and Gangga offer comparable biodiversity — hard and soft corals, reef fish, occasional turtles — with noticeably fewer boats and divers in the water. It isn't a replacement for Bunaken's dramatic wall dives, and serious technical divers still base themselves in Manado or on Bunaken itself, but for snorkelers and casual divers, Likupang delivers a genuinely comparable experience at a fraction of the crowd and cost. Most Likupang resorts and homestays can arrange day trips with gear included.

## Culture: A Minahasan Peninsula

Likupang sits within Minahasa Utara (North Minahasa) regency, home to the Minahasan people, whose culture blends Christian tradition (North Sulawesi is Indonesia's most Christian-majority province) with older Austronesian roots. Fishing villages along the peninsula still run on traditional bagan platform fishing, and North Sulawesi's famously fiery cuisine — built on rica-rica chili sauce, woku spice paste, and dishes like tinutuan (vegetable rice porridge) — is easy to find in small local restaurants around Likupang town rather than only in Manado. Sunday church services remain a genuine community fixture across the region, and visitors will notice a markedly different cultural texture here than in Muslim-majority Lombok or Hindu Bali.

## What Likupang Doesn't Have (Yet)

Travelers expecting Bali- or Lombok-level tourism infrastructure should recalibrate. Likupang has a handful of resorts, a growing but still limited restaurant scene concentrated around Paal Beach, and patchy mobile signal in the more remote stretches near Pulisan. ATMs are essentially nonexistent outside Manado, so carrying enough cash for the whole trip is essential. This underdevelopment is precisely what's drawing the current wave of interest — travel-industry coverage increasingly frames Likupang as "what Lombok looked like a decade ago" — but it does mean less flexibility and fewer backup options than more established destinations.

## Where to Stay

Accommodation in Likupang splits into three tiers: a small number of new international-brand resorts built as part of the DSP push, mostly clustered near Paal Beach; independent boutique guesthouses and eco-lodges run by Minahasan families, often with home-cooked meals included; and simple homestays aimed at backpackers and divers, concentrated closer to the boat-launch points for Lihaga and Gangga. Unlike Bali or Lombok, there isn't yet a dense hotel-booking market here — many smaller properties are easiest to book by phone or through a local agent rather than the major booking platforms, so building in a little extra planning time pays off.

## Practical Tips

Bring cash — Likupang has essentially no ATMs of its own, and card acceptance outside the newer resorts is inconsistent. Pack reef-safe sunscreen and a basic first-aid kit, since pharmacies are limited to Manado. Mobile data works reasonably well around Paal Beach and Likupang town but drops out near Pulisan and on the boat crossings to Lihaga and Gangga, so download offline maps before setting out. And because the peninsula's tourism boom is genuinely recent, double-check opening hours and boat schedules locally rather than relying solely on what's posted online, since infrastructure here is still catching up to demand.

## Getting There

All routes to Likupang start at Sam Ratulangi International Airport (MDC) in Manado, which has direct domestic connections to Jakarta, Bali, and other major Indonesian hubs, plus a smaller number of regional international routes. From the airport, Likupang is roughly 60-90 minutes by car or hired driver, with the road passing through increasingly rural Minahasan countryside as it approaches the peninsula. There's no meaningful public transport network built for tourists here — arranging a driver, resort transfer, or rental vehicle in advance is the practical approach, and self-driving is only advisable for travelers comfortable with Indonesian road conditions.

## Best Time to Visit

North Sulawesi's dry season, roughly May through September, brings the calmest seas and best visibility for snorkeling and diving trips out to Lihaga and Gangga, along with the most reliable weather for the Pulisan hike. The wetter months from November through February bring more rain and choppier boat crossings, though temperatures stay warm year-round and Likupang doesn't have the dramatic monsoon extremes of some other Indonesian regions.

## Sample Itinerary

Most first-time visitors build a Likupang trip around three or four days: a day settling in and exploring Paal Beach and the surrounding town, a full day boat trip to Lihaga for snorkeling, a day split between Pulisan's hike and beach, and either a fourth day at Gangga or an extension to Bunaken and Manado city for travelers who want to compare the two destinations directly. Given the short drive from Manado, Likupang also works as an easy two- or three-day add-on to a longer North Sulawesi itinerary built around Bunaken diving and the Tangkoko Nature Reserve's tarsiers and black crested macaques.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Is Likupang better than Bunaken for diving?**
Not for serious wall diving — Bunaken's drop-offs remain the region's headline dive sites. But for snorkeling and casual reef diving with far fewer people in the water, Likupang and its offshore islands are a genuinely strong, lower-cost alternative.

**Do I need to book a resort on Lihaga or Gangga, or can I day-trip?**
Both are possible. Most visitors day-trip to Lihaga from a mainland base near Paal Beach, while Gangga's small dive resorts suit travelers who want to stay on the island itself.

**Is Likupang safe for solo or independent travelers?**
Yes — North Sulawesi generally has a strong reputation for safety and hospitality. The main practical challenges are limited infrastructure and patchy connectivity rather than safety concerns.

**What's the best way to combine Likupang with the rest of North Sulawesi?**
Pair it with Manado and Bunaken for diving, and Tangkoko Nature Reserve for wildlife, using Manado as the transport hub connecting all three legs of the trip.

**How much does a Likupang trip cost compared to Bali or Lombok?**
Meaningfully less, at least for now. Homestays and local guesthouses run well below equivalent Bali beach-town prices, and boat trips to Lihaga or Gangga are typically arranged directly with local operators rather than through marked-up tour agencies, though the handful of international resorts price closer to regional norms.

**Is Likupang worth visiting if I only have a few days in North Sulawesi?**
If diving is the priority, most travelers are better served spending limited time around Bunaken and Manado, where dive infrastructure is denser. If the goal is quiet beaches, a scenic hike, and a genuine sense of a destination still finding its footing, Likupang earns even a short two-day detour.