FAQ

Gangga Island Resort & Spa is 70 minutes drive from Sam Ratulangi International Airport, Manado (MDC) to Serei pier and 20 minutes by boat.

If you arrange the transfer with us, there will be a member of our staff to meet you at the airport. They will have a paging board with your name on it.

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry into Indonesia. Please ensure that you also have an onward or return ticket with you. You will also need to ensure that you have at least one completely blank page in your passport for your visa.

Travelers from169 countries are now eligible for a free Visa on Arrival (VoA) when they arrive in Indonesia (you can find the full list of countries here). This visa is valid for 30 days and does not offer the option to extend or transfer to a different type of visa.

If your home country is not on this list or you plan to stay in Indonesia longer than 30 days you will need to pay US$35 for a 30 day VoA that can be extended for up to 60 days.

You can also apply for a 60 day visa from the Indonesian embassy in your home country if you prefer to have it before you travel.

Nb: If you overstay your visa you will be charged Rp300,000 per day and can also be punished with large fines or even jail time.

When traveling to and from most other destinations in the world especially Europe, airlines will impose a weight restriction on your baggage but this can vary from airline to airline. Many airlines have special baggage allowances for scuba diving equipment and you should always check with your airline with regards to this before flying.

Silk Air allows an additional 10kg for scuba diving equipment for persons traveling to and from Manado.
To make sure it’s better to double check with your airline before packing with regards to their baggage policy, specifically check for an additional allowance for scuba diving equipment or sports equipment.

Yes, North Sulawesi is safe area to travel. For up-to-date information regarding travel to the region, please contact us directly via email at info@ganggaisland.com

Gangga Island Resort accepts payments by VISA & MasterCard as well as Indonesian Rupiah, Euros or US Dollars. However, please be advised that foreign notes should be clean, new and crisp. Indonesian banks and money exchangers will not accept old notes or notes which are damaged in any way.

It is generally humid and there are mosquitoes. There are very few cases of malaria and dengue fever in North Sulawesi, but we do recommend you bring plenty of repellent as well as appropriate clothing and that you consult with your doctor before your trip for the most up-to-date advice. All guest room equipped with mosquito net and we provide mosquito repellent for your room. We fumigate the entire resort regularly against all kind of pests, insects and mosquitoes.

All guest rooms include 24 hour electricity, an en-suite bathroom with hot and cold water with complimentary shampoo, conditioner and body wash, hairdryer, air-conditioning, king-size, twin or triple beds, wardrobe, table and chair, complimentary drinking water, complimentary tea & coffee making facilities, a stocked mini-bar and electronic safe.

All rooms are fitted with 2 Round Pin Plug Sockets (European Standard) and the electricity is 220v. We have ample plug socket adapters and also have power strips that can be lent to guest. You needn’t bring your own. The 24 hour power generated at the resort is generated by 3 large generators. Occasionally, we have to manually switch from one generator to another. This will cause a short outage of power and we choose to do this at time which will cause the least disturbance to our guests.

We have wireless internet service around the resort and it is free of charge. Due to our remote location, this is not broadband strength internet and there can be occasional outages, but these are few and far between.

Our team of local chefs serves up a delicious mix of international and local dishes. Breakfast tends to be a buffet of fresh tropical fruits & juices, cereals & yogurts, pastries fresh from the oven & home-made breads, as well as cooked-to-order Western or Indonesian dishes.

Lunch is either a-la-carte or buffet style depending on occupancy. A large selection of a-la-carte dinner menus ensures you have a wide variety of international & Indonesian cuisine. Our menus cater to all tastes, but should you have a special dietary request, our chefs will do their utmost to accommodate you.

Morning & afternoon snacks are served at the pool bar, where tea & coffee is available all day long. Alternatively, relax by the pool between dives and let our staff bring you afternoon tea or a sunset cocktail. Enjoy a bottle of wine from our comprehensive wine selection or take advantage of our well-stocked bar.

Please let us know before your arrival of any special dietary requirements you may have by emailing info@ganggaisland.com. In this way we can request any special items you may need while shopping. We have successfully accommodated many different dietary requirements from Coeliacs to vegetarians to vegans.

We recommend that guests do not drink the water from the taps. However all water served in our restaurants is safe to drink as is the ice we serve in drinks. In every room there is a large 19L water bottle and there is free flowing drinking water in the restaurant and on the dive boats.

Dress is usually informal in Indonesia due to the warm, humid climate and lightweight fabrics are recommended. So normally it is shorts and t-shirt by day (even if it rains because it’s warm tropical rain) and at night the dress code is casual. Light windbreakers, wraps, or sweatshirt should also be considered as it does cool down at night (or in case of the occasional rain storm).

In consideration of local customs as well as of other guests, we kindly ask that our female guests refrain from topless sunbathing by the pool and also that guests are covered when eating in the restaurant.

Yes, we offer an in-house laundry service at the resort, for an additional charge. If you leave laundry in the morning, it is normally return in your room by the next morning.

For the local children, we recommend anything educational or healthy. Note pads, pencils, erasers, maps, rulers, craft supplies, crayons or basic school or coloring books would be greatly appreciated. Please do not bring any sweets such as Candy & chocolate or money.
If you want to donate something for the children in the village, please contact our reception as we have a foundation for helping the village school.

We hope that you do not have to ever use your insurance but we do recommend you purchase, at the least, trip cancellation/interruption insurance to cover any unexpected issues that may occur.
You should also have adequate medical insurance to cover any incidents. We also recommend you consider purchasing supplemental dive insurance, offered by many firms such as Divers Alert Network (DAN), PADI, and Dive Assure. These companies offer specific dive-related policies that often include travel, gear and accident coverage all in one comprehensive policy.

If the resort staff & dive crew have helped to make your trip enjoyable and you have enjoyed a superior level of service then please feel free to leave a tip. We are proud of our team and hope you feel the resort staff and dive guides do an excellent job. We would like to point out that gratuities for the resort and dive operation are the same and at the end of your stay you will be given an envelope for your use. Gratuities may also be charged to your credit card, just ask before you pay your bill to have the gratuity added.

If you leave Indonesia from Manado, an international and domestic departure tax is included in your flight ticket.