Getting around in Sumatra, Indonesia is not that easy. The roads are in bad condition and smaller accidents appear, which will cause massive traffic jams. Also, there is almost no information about public transportation available on the internet.
In this article, I will show you how you can get from Berastagi to Singkil. In Singkil you can take a ferry to the Banyak Islands (Pulau Banyak).
Options for transportation in North Sumatra
There are no train lines in North Sumatra and few airports, so you need to take a vehicle to get from one place to another. You have three options:
- Hire a private driver
- Share a tourist taxi ( up to 4 people )
- Take the local bus ( sampri )
From Berastagi to Singkil
Hire a private driver or share a tourist taxi
The most convenient but also most expensive option is to hire a private driver. This will cost you around 1.000.000 IDR and will take you at least 6 hours. If you are a group of 3-4 people you should consider this option. Usually, you will be driving in a big SUV with enough space for 4 passengers and your luggage.
If you travel with two people, you could try to share the ride (usually an SUV) with another tourist to reduce your share of the cost. You should plan some days before your planned departure because Singkil is not a very touristy area.
Take a local bus
This option is the cheapest but takes around 7-8 hours to get to Singkil. The overall cost is 300.000 IDR. In the following section, I will explain how to get to Singkil.
In Berastagi, there is usually no direct bus connection to Singkil. You will make at least one stop to change the bus. The buses will stop for a lunch break for 30 minutes so you can have lunch at a local cafeteria.
Note: There is one company that offers a direct connection for 300.000 leaving at 15:00 every day. Our accommodation Keasa Homestay did not recommend us using this because we would arrive after sunset (around 10 pm) and the roads are not so good.
Departure from Berastagi
Go to the Bus Stop of the company Sampri in the city center (See Google Maps). You need to ask for connections to Sidikalang. The buses to Sidikalang leave every 30 minutes and take around 3 hours. The ticket can be purchased on the bus and at the bus stop with cash only. Note that the bus will be a Minivan with normal seats facing the front. The cost is 50.000 IDR per person.
Tell the driver that you want to go to Sidikalang so you will not miss the bus stop in Sidikalang and they tell you where to transfer buses.
Sidikalang to Subulussalam
Get off the bus in Sidikalang and take the next bus to Subulussalam. You will likely have to wait for the next bus but you can just wait at the bus stop (Google Maps) that has a restaurant and a small shop. There is also a supermarket nearby, in case you want to buy something to eat there.
The bus from Sidikalang to Subulussalam takes 2 hours and it costs 35.000 IDR per person.
(!) Tell the driver your final destination because sometimes you can get a direct connection to Rimo (closer to Singkil) or even to Singkil. If not, you will need to change in Subulussalam to get the bus to Singkil, which is what we did.
Subulussalam to Singkil
We had informed the driver about our final destination so he arranged the transfer in Subulussalam without having to wait for the bus.
The ride from Subulussalam to Singkil takes 2 hours and costs 50.000 IDR per person. At this point, you cannot call it a „bus“ anymore. It is more like a truck with only 6 seats.