UPDATE JANUARY 2022
There are currently no flights to Ampana.
Best option to get to Togian Islands is via flight to the town of Luwuk which you can reach from Jakarta or Makassar. Alternative options are via flight to Poso or Palu. From either city you can take a car, minivan or bus to Ampana from where you can reach Togian Islands on a daily basis.
Alternative route is via flight from Jakarta (or other places of Indonesia) to Gorontalo. There is a ferry from Gorontalo to Togian Islands twice a week (Ferry "Tuna Tomini").
JAKARTA TO TOGIAN ISLANDS
Number ONE option to get to POKI POKI and the islands from Jakarta is via Makassar. There is a weekly flight connection from Makassar to Ampana every wednesday. You can read all about the flight route here. The route makes it possible to get from Jakarta to POKI POKI in one day.
Makassar (UPG) → Ampana (OJU)
Airline: Operated by Citilink
Schedule: Every wednesday, departure 10:20, arrival 11:55
Only "disadvantage" of this route is the frequency. The flight is only available on wednesday. If that does not match your schedule: no worries! There are many other options on how to get to Togians from Jakarta at any day of the week. All options listed below.
OTHER OPTIONS TO GET TO TOGIANS FROM JAKARTA
OPTION 1: JAKARTA TO LUWUK
ACCESS TOGIAN ISLANDS VIA SPEEDBOAT FROM AMPANA
Batik Air just opened a new route which makes the accessibility of the Togian Islands archipelago with its 56 islands even better. The daily flight connection brings you straight from the capital Jakarta to the town of Luwuk, just a couple of hours drive from Ampana. The flight route has a short stop over in Makassar and takes only 4 hours.
The flight departs from Jakarta at 10:30 and you`ll get to Luwuk at 15:40. Enouth time to take the ride from Luwuk to Ampana on the same day. To get from Luwuk to Ampana its best to charter a private car. You can find drivers on the airport which bring you on the five-hour journey to Ampana. After a good night of sleep in Ampana you can continue your trip to the islands on the next morning.
OPTION 2: JAKARTA TO POSO
ACCESS TOGIAN ISLANDS VIA SPEEDBOAT FROM AMPANA
The flight route from Jakarta to Poso (via Makassar) brings you to Central Sulawesi in 4.5 hours. However, the tight connection is only avaialble on selected dates of the week which you can find via search engines like www.traveloka.com. Poso is located just three hours from Ampana which makes it a wonderful option to get to Togians.
OPTION 3: JAKARTA TO GORONTALO
ACCESS TOGIAN ISLANDS VIA NIGHT FERRY TUNA TOMINI
Several daily flights connect the capital Jakarta with the town of Gorontalo which is located north of the Togian Islands. From Gorontalo you will get to the Togian Islands with the ferry Tuna Tomini just on selected dates of the week. Read all about the schedule of Tuna Tomini here.
LUWUK: SMOOTH ALTERNATIVE TO THE GORONTALO ROUTE
If you are planning to get to Togian Islands, Luwuk (and Poso) is getting more and more popular as a main transportation hub. You can fly to Luwuk from Mando in the north, Makassar. This makes Luwuk just as accessible as Gorontalo in the north of Togian Islands. However, many travelers say that the short drive of five hours from Luwuk to Ampana combined with the short speedboat-ride from Ampana to the islands of less than two hours is much more comfortable then the night ferry "Tuna Tomini" which only operates three times a week to the island and takes 12 hours to reach the islands.