Last updated on September 3rd, 2026 at 11:16 am
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Are you planning your next scuba diving trip and looking for inspiration? Introducing Pulau Weh!
This Pulau Weh travel guide covers everything you need to know about diving in Sabang, navigating the ferry schedules, and exploring one of Indonesia’s little-known island paradises.
This year I was departing Australia after 18 months of working and saving, and I was keen to start my travels with some scuba diving, so where better than Indonesia, starting in Raja Ampat.
After Raja Ampat, I wanted to visit Sulawesi and Sumatra, with two weeks in each place. But when I started looking into the logistics, I quickly realised that two weeks wasn’t enough time to explore either of these islands, which are two of Indonesia’s biggest (after Papua and Borneo).
“Pick one”, I said to Joe, who normally has very little to do with the planning stages; he is just happy to be along for the ride. Drawn to the idea of surfing in Sumatra, that was his pick; so I started putting together a 3-week itinerary for Sumatra (which actually ended up rolling into 4 weeks).
When researching the Sumatra trip, the same places kept popping up on various travel blogs: The Mentawai Islands, Bukit Lawang, Lake Toba, and Pulau Weh.
We swapped the Mentawai Islands for more offbeat Nias, and loved it so much we ended up staying longer and skipping Lake Toba. Bukit Lawang was everything we hoped for and more, and Pulau Weh turned out to be the dreamiest of islands, so we ended up extending there too!
So if you’re imagining sleepy days, powdery white sands, sparkling cerulean waters, pristine coral reefs, and very few tourists, Pulau Weh may be your next dive destination.
So here’s how to get there, where to stay, what to expect from Sharia Law in Aceh, things to do, where to dive, and everything else you need to know to plan a scuba-diving trip to Pulau Weh.
CONTENTS
- About Pulau Weh & Aceh Province
- How to Get to Pulau Weh
- Where to Stay on Pulau Weh
- Where to Eat on Pulau Weh
- The Best Dive Sites on Pulau Weh
- Other Things to Do on Pulau Weh
About Pulau Weh & Aceh Province
Just as a heads up, you’ll hear many of the locals refer to Pulau Weh as Sabang, which is the name of the main town on the island – the two names are used interchangeably.
Pulau Weh is a little island off the northern coast of Sumatra, in the province of Aceh. You may have heard of Aceh before, not only because it is the site of the main devastation from the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, but also because it is the only place in Indonesia that imposes Sharia Law.
I’ll talk about the Tsunami first, because roughly 170,000 people out of a total of 230,000 worldwide casualties were in Aceh, and it’s likely that anyone you chat to on your travels through Banda Aceh would have lost someone close to them that day, so it is still a sensitive subject.
While the coral reefs sustained some damage, the unique geography of Pulau Weh miraculously protected the island itself. If you’d like to learn more, the Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh is definitely worth a visit.
Prior to 2004, the Acehnese people had been at war with the central Indonesian government for close to 40 years, fighting for their independence. The tsunami is what eventually stopped this protracted war, and a truce was made to allow aid in.
After that, negotiations were made, and Aceh was given ‘special autonomy’ – so they can impose Sharia law, but mainly so they keep more of the income made from the natural resources found in the province, rather than siphoning off all the profits to Jakarta.
You may hear horror stories of public canings, but it’s important to know that Sharia law is only for muslims; if you are foreigner/non-muslim you are not subject to the same rules. You won’t be able to find beer easily (more on that later), and females should dress conservatively.
In Banda Aceh, long pants and a loose t-shirt or long sleeves are fine; a hijab is only required if you visit the Grand Mosque. On Pulau Weh, it is much more relaxed: local women wear short-sleeved t-shirts, and Chinese and European tourists wear shorts.
Apart from the scarcity of beer and the minor wardrobe adjustments, it doesn’t really feel different from travelling the rest of Sumatra.
Pulau Weh is a 45-minute ferry ride from Banda Aceh, and it’s famous for its scuba diving. The diving here is special because it’s where the Andaman Sea meets the Indian Ocean, and this convergence creates nutrient-rich, deep-water currents that host an extraordinary density of marine life, ranging from rare macro critters to massive pelagics.
This is all without the overwhelming tourist crowds found elsewhere in Indonesia, as I feel many people are put off by big scary Sharia, or they simply haven’t heard of Pulau Weh.
Pulau Weh does see enough tourists that the locals are used to seeing girls in bikinis, and you don’t get any unwanted attention for it. This is acceptable walking from your place of stay to the dive boat, or when swimming, but if you’re venturing further afield I would put on some clothes; shorts and a tank are normal on both Gapang and Iboih beach, which is the main tourist area of the island.
Dive shops also get a little bit of lenience with the alcohol situation, and beer is available, sometimes under the alias of ‘Apple Juice’ – poured into an opaque glass.
How to Get to Pulau Weh
FLY/BUS to BANDA ACEH
To get to Pulau Weh, you’ll need to come through Banda Aceh, the capital of the province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra. You can fly to Banda Aceh directly from Malaysia, or from Medan, the capital of Sumatra.
From Medan, Wings Air is a good choice as an airline, and flights start at £50 one-way (this was during the fuel crisis of 2026, so ordinarily this would be lower). The Wings website can be finicky, so domestic flights in Indonesia are the one and only time I use a 3rd party to book flights – Traveloka being the most popular and reliable.
If you want to travel local style and take the night bus, the journey is around 11 hours by sleeper, and the buses from Harapan Indah are very comfy, with private pods, chargers, blankets, water and snacks provided.
I recommend booking this ticket a week in advance, as we had to fly in the end because when we went to book our night bus two days before, the sleeper tickets had sold out, and we didn’t want to do 11 hours overnight in a chair. Tickets are 350,000, so £15 – a huge saving from the flights.
What’s also good about the bus is it gets you to Banda Aceh early in the morning, so you’ll have ample choice for the ferry to Pulau Weh.
From Banda Aceh airport/bus stand, expect a 30-minute drive to the harbour. If you have time to kill, head to the Tsunami museum (closed between 12pm and 2pm!).
FERRY ULEE LHEYE (Banda Aceh) to BALOHAN (Pulau Weh)
The ferry schedule is subject to change and can be a little bit unreliable, but in June 2026 these were the timings:
Bahari Express: 8am, 10am, 4:15pm – 100k a ticket (£4)
Slow ferry: 8am, 12 noon, 4:30pm – 35k a ticket (£1.50)
*Bring seasickness tablets; it’s wavy, and there is not much outside space for fresh air. (Which AMAZES me considering how much Indonesians smoke cigarettes).
With Friday being the holy day for muslims, this ferry schedule will not be the same.
When we arrived at the port at 11am on a Saturday, the 12noon ferry had been pushed back to 2pm and it was full, so we had to wait around for 5 hours for the 4:30pm fast ferry. Nobody speaks English at the port, and the ticket office opening times are not clear.
If I were you, I would have your accommodation on Pulau Weh book the ticket for the ferry on your behalf, and then one of their representatives will meet you at the port an hour before to hand them to you. I am an experienced traveller, and I thought I could do it myself, but it was really confusing, and the local people were really shy to speak.
If you want to book the fast ferry yourself, you can do so on the Express Bahari Mobile App, but the service does not accept foreign cards.
The fast ferry can sell out in advance during holidays and high season, so if you wait until the day of travel you may be stranded at the port for a while waiting for the slow ferry.
Once you’ve got off the ferry on Pulau Weh, what happens next depends on where you stay. For us, we were staying near the main tourist hub of Gapang and Iboih Beach, so that’s another 30-minute drive from the port.
On the way back from Pulau Weh to Banda Aceh, our dive shop tried to charge us 475K IDR to help us book the ferry tickets, which is a bit cheeky if you ask me, considering the tickets are only 100K IDR. So I downloaded the Express Bahari App and asked a local restaurant owner to pay with his card, and I reimbursed him in cash. He was happy to do so, for no charge (although I paid him a commission anyway).
If you pass through Medan:
Medan City is the gateway to Sumatra, and it’s about an hour’s drive from Kualanamu (KNO) airport to Medan City proper. While Medan itself doesn’t have much tourist appeal, I found it to be a really friendly place and fairly easy to navigate.
We mainly used Medan for a rest break after jungle trekking in Bukit Lawang, and surfing on Nias, before heading up to Pulau Weh. We stayed at the Swiss-Belinn in the west of the city, which we chose because it was sort of close to the Immigration office, where we were extending our visas.
The Swiss-Belinn was pretty crap, so I wouldn’t recommend it; there are plenty of nicer hotels in Medan for half the price. Although, in that area there are some seriously good eats.
The beef satay place opposite the Swiss-Belinn (Sate Matang Bang Nan) is a MUST – 10 sticks of spicy beef satay served with incredible beef soup and rice for 55k (£2.50) – the best satay I’ve ever had in my life. And just a few minutes’ walk away is El’s Pizza, the best pizza I have ever had in Asia (I would go back to Medan just for that pizza).
You can use Grab to get around the city, or walk, as unlike Jakarta, Medan lacks high-rises and flyovers and is a bit more pedestrian-friendly, but it is best you walk on the road instead of the pavement. Like Mysore in India, the crumbling pavements are a menace.
Where to Stay on Pulau Weh
Most of the dive sites on Pulau Weh are concentrated around Iboih and Gapang Beach, so it would make sense to choose your dive shop before you book your accommodation.
We chose Lumba Lumba, due to it being a 5* Instructor Development Centre, and we wanted to do our Rescue Diver Course. Considering how sleepy Pulau Weh is, it is a great place to continue your dive education, as there is very little to do in the evenings, so there is plenty of opportunity for studying.
Budget: Apollo Bungalows, Iboih
Luxury: Lumba Lumba Living Room Cottage, Gapang
We stayed in the Living Room Cottage at Lumba Lumba, which is normally out of our price range, but we felt like a treat, and it was very comfortable!
If I were to do the trip again, I would stay in a local homestay and rent a moped, and commute to Lumba Lumba each day to dive.
Where to Eat on Pulau Weh
There are a handful of restaurants along Gapang Beach (and more in Iboih, a 45-minute walk away), and they all have a similar offering.
Barracuda Restaurant is connected to Lumba Lumba, and you can pre-order meals and set up tabs there. We also liked Limbo Restaurant, a little farther down, and Chill-Out Cafe is a nice place to spend time, but the menu is far more expensive than others around.
However, the ABSOLUTE BEST place to eat on Pulau Weh is Nizam Restaurant in Iboih Village, a 15-minute walk up the hill from Gapang Beach. These were some of my favourite meals in all of Indonesia. The prawns are incredible, and it’s run by a lovely family with amazing hospitality. We ate there 5 out of our 10 nights on Pulau Weh.
On the way to Nizam, there is also a cute little juice shack at the top of the hill, with incredible views (see pic).
Typical prices for food and drink on Pulau Weh:
- Fresh juice: 15K (60p)
- Banana Pancakes: 25K (£1)
- Fried Rice with Chicken & Veg: 35K (£1.40)
- Tuna Steak with Salad & Chips: 70K (£2.80)
So you can see it’s pretty affordable. I don’t find Indonesian food the most exciting cuisine in the world, but we stayed on Pulau Weh for 10 days, and found there was enough variety.
The Best Dive Sites on Pulau Weh
Lumba Lumba is a big, well-established dive centre, where you can go with the flow and sign up for the dives you want to join the following day. It works out to be around £25 per dive if you need to borrow all equipment, which is very reasonable; I think it is the cheapest diving I have ever come across on my travels.
They have a few very unique dive sites, such as the Underwater Volcano (Pria Laot) – which they call ‘Hot Springs’.
This is a surreal, shallow dive where you can watch warm, sulfur-scented bubbles rise directly from the volcanic sand. It’s a completely unique experience swimming through shimmering thermoclines followed closely by the family of resident Pufferfish, who don’t leave you alone!
There’s also Sophie Rickmers Wreck; A massive 134-meter Dutch steamship sunk during WWII, resting between 37 and 55 meters. It is a challenging deep dive covered in spectacular coral, but you’ll need 100 dives under your belt to qualify (I am only on 75, so I didn’t manage to see it!)
My absolute favourite dive was The Canyon, located on the island’s northeastern tip. This world-famous advanced dive is characterised by dramatic rock formations, deep canyon channels, and walls covered in giant sea fans. Another great dive site is Batee Tekong – which is a fish frenzy!
Arus Balee is another dive site that tested my grit (like Kape Kri in Raja Ampat).
‘Arus Balee’ means ‘Bastard Current’. I think it’s the first time I have actually been really scared on a dive, as the currents kept switching (down and up) and we essentially had to crawl across the rocks to make it to a safe place to do a safety stop, coming up on very little air. A valuable learning experience!
Other Things to do on Pulau Weh
There is not much to do on Pulau Weh aside from diving, but somehow, time slips by easily. Here are a few things we did between dives:
- Snorkel the House Reef outside Lumba Lumba
- Kayak the shores of Gapang Beach
- Rent a moped and head to a few lookout points: Kilometre Zero, which marks the beginning of Indonesia (at 5000km+ long, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago) – Journey Coffee – Waterfall – Other lookout – Secret Beach for sunset
Overall, I really loved the vibe of Pulau Weh, and if you’re looking for affordable diving at uncrowded dive sites and some serious chill-out time, then I couldn’t think of a better place!
Travel Insurance
Perhaps the most important precaution you can take as a traveller to Indonesia and beyond is to get reliable travel insurance. For my adventures, I have put my trust in SafetyWing, and I use their 4-week rolling policy as it is affordable and covers almost every country.
Having travelled for 10+ years now, I have sort of done it all when it comes to travel insurance (even historically not using it at all) – but now I only ever use SafetyWing.
They first came to my attention because I needed to buy insurance mid-travel, and not many insurance companies offer this. Making a claim is super easy, and the payout is quick (read about the times I have claimed with SafetyWing here).
Thank you for reading my travel guide for scuba diving in Pulau Weh!
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Happy Travels! xx
