Have you ever heard of the Togian Islands? Nope. Great! Then you are about to discover the most unique destination in Indonesia. The Togian archipelago consists of 56 islands and islets ‘tiny paradise-lik’e clusters of land with white sand beaches, coconut palms and turquoise warm waves that you usually see on pictures from Maledives.

This post is part of the series called ‘Sleep less, dream more’ in which we share uncommon sleeping places and circumstances travelers encountered during their trip.

Written by Elena.

Getting there may be somewhat tough – a 14+ hour bus journey + a 5-hour ferry (but hey, you can nap on the deck!), but the whole long ride is so worth it! You can live here for just 20$ a day and wake up to an amazing sunrise. One evening, my friends and I approached the eldest son of our home-stay owner.

“Udding, you remember we passed that amazing islet earlier today on a boat? Can we spend a night there? Just the four of us?

“ If you take me as a company, sure!”

So, we crashed for that night at an amazing beach with no one else around. Getting firewood to cook was a bit tricky. It rains so much at the Equator and everything stays moist all the time.

But, did you know that coconut coir works great for kindling fire? ☺

We made a simple, yet delicious dinner of rice and fish, bought earlier from the Sea Gypsies at the nearby village. The Sea Gypsies are a small community of drifters recently settled down at the Togians which is pretty rare as the Bajau people spend most of their lives living on boats following herds of fish and seafood they sell.

Near the fire. ©Elena
Near the fire. ©Elena’s Travelgram

The night sky over the equator was fascinating. I had never seen so many shining constellations and the Milky Way was sparkling right above my head!

Yet the best thing had yet to come.

After finishing the meal, taking a few sips of whiskey (just to warm up) we went for another round of midnight swimming in the warm tropical waves. The water was shimmering too!

It was the first time in my life to see glowing plankton. Each move I made in the water left a bright yellow trail behind me! I can’t even say how insanely beautiful that is. Just come to the Togian Islands one day and see for yourself!

The next morning we woke up with the first glimpse of sun, under a bunch of coconut palms, whispering the song of the wind. The night was magnificent. Yet, the morning wasn’t bad either.

Pure turquoise water and a huge white sand beach with no one else around. Seriously, you don’t need to spend a fortune for a private island at the Maldives when you can enjoy pretty much the same for cheap in Indonesia ☺

Tropical Sky. ©Elena
Tropical Sky. ©Elena’s Travelgram

About the author

Bio ImageElena is a travel planning ninja, knows how to have awesome adventures on a tight budget and what to do when you got lost in the jungles. You can check out here guide to the Togian Islands at her blog ElenasTravelgram.com. For the latest inspiring tales and pictures, follow her on Facebook.

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