Categories: Aceh

12 Top Things To Do in Sabang Indonesia (#No. 1 is Perfectly Beautiful)

The town of Sabang is located off the coast of the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatera. It is a part of the province of Aceh. The city of Sabang is located on Weh Island, of which Sabang is the main town that is located on the northern coast of the island. The name of the island and the town is often used interchangeably.

Literally speaking the town of Sabang administer several smaller islands around Weh Island, including Klah island, Rondo Island, Rubiah Island and Seulako Island. The island where the town of Sabang is located, Weh Island, is the northern most point of the Indonesian archipelago and is often referred to as kilometer 0.

In order to get to Sabang, there are several options. You can fly directly to Maimun Saleh airport of Sabang. There are 3 direct flight from Kuala Namu airport of Medan directly to this airport, which is located on the southeast of the town of Sabang.

Alternatively, you can also catch a fast ferry from Banda Aceh. The fast ferry only runs once a day. It leaves from Ulee Lheue pier of Banda Aceh at 9:30 A.M. to the Balohan pier in Weh Island. The return trip is at 4 P.M. from Balohan to Ulee Lheue.No motorcycles ad cars are allowed on board the fast ferry, but bicycles can be shipped for additional DR 50,000. Ticket to the fast ferry will cost you IDR 80,000 for the economy ticket and IDR 95,000 for the business class ticket. The trip on the fast ferry will take only 1 hour for you to reach the town of Sabang.

There is also a slow ferry that leaves Banda Aceh at 8 A.M. The trip on the slow ferry will take quite a long time, as it will take about 2.5 hours to reach Sabang from Banda Aceh. However, the plus point is this slow ferry allows motorcycles and cars to be taken onboard for a small fee. The ticket of the slow ferry is IDR 25,000 per person.

The town of Sabang itself does not have a lot of attractions for tourist. Actually, the main reason to come here is for the beaches. Therefore the main activities you should be focusing on when you are coming here is for beach and water related activities. You can choose from relaxing and lazing around on the beach, go for a swim or snorkeling and diving. Let us see what are the best tourist objects that Sabang and Weh Island has to offer:

1. Iboih Beach

Weh island is famously known for its many beautiful beaches. Iboih beach is one of the amazing beaches on Weh Island. Here you can see a beautiful beach with the beautiful blue sea water that is very clear and unpolluted.

Iboih beach is about 50 km away from the ferry port of Balohan. This is a popular beach for both locals as well as tourists who come to Sabang. In this beach, you can also rent a motor boat to go further towards the sea for fishing or snorkeling. There are also plenty of dive operators who are operating out of this beach. Hence, it will not be a problem if you want to go for a dive or rent snorkeling equipment.

Along the beach, you can also find plenty of accommodations with varying prices. The accommodations here are mostly geared for backpackers, so do not expect anything fancy, but most of them are clean and well run by the locals. One thing that you should remember is that since Sabang and the whole Weh Island is part of Aceh Special Administrative Region where sharia law is upheld, there are several rules you need to obey. Females are not allowed to wear bikini and swimsuits on the beach. Also the beach is closed for public on Thursdays and Fridays.

2. Aneuk Laot Lake

The locals often called this lake as Danau Air Tawar which literally means Freshwater Lake. In Acehnese language itself, the word aneuk laot means children of the sea.

The lake was named as such because although Weh island is surrounded by the sea but the lake always provide sufficient clean water for the locals. The lake has an astonishing panorama. Around the lake you can see many types of greenery and tall trees. The climate around the lake is cool and pleasant.

One of the thing that makes this lake quite special is because you can also see the sunset. The sea is located right next to the lake. Comes the evening time, lamps will light up from the hill that overlook the town of Sabang which can be seen clearly from the lake.

You may also read: Diving in Indonesia

3. Rubiah Island

This is a small island that is located nearby to Iboih beach. The island is about 26 square hectares in area and it is a paradise for snorkeling and diving. Around the island you can see there are many kind of coral reefs which are colorful and becomes a habitat for the many kind of colorful fish.

Here you can see various kind of sea creatures like gigantic clams, angel fish, parrot fish, lion fish and many more. Rubiah Island can be easily reached from the port of Sabang. The trip to Rubiah island will take around 30 minutes.