Pulau Tidore (Tidore Island)

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Charming Tidore makes a refreshing contrast to the bustle of Ternate, its neighbour and implacable historical enemy. Tidore, also a great spice producer, was an independent Islamic sultanate from 1109 until abolished in the Soekarno era. The 36th sultan was reinstated in 1999. The island’s proud volcanic profile looks magnificent viewed from Bastiong in Ternate, while the finest views of Ternate are from the Maftutu-Rum and Gurabunga-Lada-Ake roads on Tidore.

Getting There & Away
Twelve-seater speedboats from Bastiong  ‘First’ port in Ternate depart very frequently until dusk (seven minutes). These arrive at Rum from where bemos run to Tidore’s capital Soasio (30 minutes) via the south coast road. There’s also a Bastiong-Rum car ferry (7am),  and one direct speedboat from Goto to Kota Ternate’s ‘Swering’ jetty at 7am.

Getting Around
Bemos shuttle very frequently from Goto market terminal to old Soasio (10 minutes), with most continuing to Tomalou and some to Rum (30 minutes). On the northern road no bemo goes beyond Maftutu from Soasio/Goto. Bemos to Gurabunga leave infrequently except for busy Tuesday, Friday and Sunday market mornings.

SOASIO
Tidore’s very modest historical heart is at the southernmost edge of Soasio, overlooked by Benteng Tohula. The overgrown remnants of this 17th-century Spanish fort sit on a low ridge reached by a new stairway. Barely a minute’s walk north is the flower-decked Penginapan Saroja where it’s worth having a gritty coffee on the idyllic rear waterfront terrace even if you don’t stay the night. Just beyond is the Sonyine Malige Sultan’s Memorial Museum, displaying the sultan’s sedan chair and giant spittoons, plus the royal crown topped with cassowary feathers. The crown is considered as magical as the Ternate equivalent.
Opening hours are by arrangement; finding the museum’s curator, Umar Muhammad, can be an amusing palaver: mornings try the DIKNAS office in the Dinas Pendidikan dan Kebudayan building, 2km north. Or try his home in the Gamatufgange area. Umar has been known to demand rather outrageous fees and isn’t always keen to bargain.

One block inland from the museum, all that remains of the original kraton royal citadel (Istana Sultan) are the sturdy if overgrown whitewashed-base bastions. However, a new blue-roofed palace-villa is slowly taking shape here which might one day be rather grand.

Sleeping & Eating
Penginapan Seroja(Jl Sultan Hassanuddin) By far Soasio’s most picturesque accommodation option, the Seroja has a lovely little orchid garden and an idyllic waterfront terrace with jetty-sitting room on stilts above the clear waters.
Rooms are clean and very basic, beds are hard and the mandis have a few mosquitoes, but the twin-rooms have air-con. Full board costs double.
Penginapan Sibu (Jl Sultan Hassanuddin) Incredibly basic bare-board rooms. Daily rates by negotiation. It’s unmarked right beside the two tall radio-masts.
Pondok Eky (Jl Tana-apa) An appealing-looking cafe but opens only sporadically.
There’s also a selection of curious local delicacies at the main market beside Goto terminal.

AROUND TIDORE
The most picturesque village in Tidore is tiny Lada-Ake. Set high up a disconcertingly steep road, the village retains a few traditional homes made of split bamboo set on mossy dry-stone bases. Curious guwige basket-poles offer nests to chickens and many women use traditional saloi (conical back-baskets) when foraging in the lush surrounding forest. Locals use the traditional Tidorean language in which sukur dofu means ‘thank you’, saki means ‘delicious’ and sterek (lau) means ‘(very) good’.
Glimpsed views of Ternate are inspiring from the approach road.

The nicest coastal views are between Maftutu and Cobo where Taman Cobo is a popular little park with a two-room hut-hotel under construction.

Most other Tidorean villages are simply strips of homes on either side of the round-island coast road. None of these are out-standing, though several have small ribbons of beach. Pantai Akasahu north of Dowara is popular if underwhelming and a little grubby: notice its natural hot-water pool. From here to Rum the road is quiet and beautiful (best anticlockwise) but poorly maintained. A three-minute speedboat hop from Rum is Pulau Maitara, with clear blue waters for snorkeling and swimming, better than anything Ternate or Tidore proper can offer.

In Tomalou, just beyond the blue house-like Mesjid Darussalam, there is a jetty where you could attempt to charter a boat across to Pulau Mare, famed for its attractive, no-frills pottery.

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