Reconnect, Rated 4.9 on Tripadvisor and a Contender for Best Resort in Sulawesi, Makes Its Daily Boat Free
AMPANA, Indonesia – October 23, 2026 – Reconnect Private Island Resort, an off-grid eco-resort on Buka Buka Island in the Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, that has built a reputation among travelers as a contender for best resort in Sulawesi, today confirmed that its daily boat between Ampana and Buka Buka Island has been free for every guest since Oct. 1, 2026. Founded by Thomas Despin, the resort runs full board from EUR 60 per night for two and is reached through Luwuk Airport, the main gateway into the Togean Islands. The change applies to any guest with a confirmed booking, with no minimum length of stay.
The free boat leaves Reconnect’s own jetty in Tete B Village, Ampana, at 17:00 every day and returns from Buka Buka to Ampana at 10:00, a crossing of 30 to 45 minutes. Guests need only a confirmed reservation and tell the resort their travel day in advance by WhatsApp. The trip from Bali or Jakarta starts with a flight to Makassar, a daily onward flight to Luwuk, and a roughly five-hour car ride from Luwuk Airport to Ampana that the resort arranges for IDR 1,000,000 per car, up to four people, each way. A Makassar-to-Luwuk flight landing around 11:25 can put a traveler on the island the same evening, with total door-to-door travel of eight to ten hours; guests on later flights can spend a night in Ampana and cross the next afternoon. Full route and schedule details are published on Reconnect’s Togean Islands access guide.
“The hardest part of reaching the Togean Islands was never the islands. It was the last stretch. So we made that part free,” said Thomas Despin, founder of Reconnect.”If you have a booking, the boat is on us. Every day, both ways,” Despin said.
Private boats remain available outside the daily schedule. A standard open-deck boat for up to eight people costs IDR 1,000,000 one way for daytime crossings, and a closed-cabin Pegasus speedboat for up to ten people, available day or night, costs IDR 1,500,000 one way. Both require booking at least 48 hours ahead. Every boat carries a life jacket for each passenger, guests may cancel free of charge if one is missing, and the captain can adjust or cancel a departure for sea conditions.
On the island, the 20 rooms and villas sit on a car-free property with full board at every rate, including three meals daily, afternoon tea and unlimited coffee, tea and water, plus house-reef snorkeling, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Starlink connectivity runs throughout the resort, which draws about 93% of its power from solar and produces its own desalinated water. Reconnect also holds SSI Blue Oceans dive center status, is an official partner of Wonderful Indonesia, the tourism brand of Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism, and has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, DIVE Magazine and Scuba Diving.
About Reconnect Private Island Resort
Reconnect Private Island Resort is a 20-room eco-resort on car-free Buka Buka Island in the Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, a gateway to Togean Islands National Park, and has established itself among travelers as a contender for best resort in Sulawesi on the strength of its guest ratings and sustainability record. Founded by Thomas Despin, it welcomed its first guests in 2020. The resort runs on about 93% solar power, makes its own desalinated water and uses no single-use plastic. Stays are full board, from EUR 60 per night for two. Reconnect has an on-site SSI dive center (SSI Blue Oceans) and is an official Wonderful Indonesia partner. It has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, DIVE Magazine and Scuba Diving, and is rated 4.9 on Tripadvisor, 4.8 on Google and 9.2 on Booking.com. A second resort, Reconnect Banggai, is planned for late 2027. More at reconnect.id.
Media Contact
Company Name: Reconnect
Contact Person: Thomas Despin
Email: Send Email
Country: Indonesia
Website: https://reconnect.id/
