About Sabang (Pulau Weh)

Why Sabang

Being on the very edge of Indonesia, Sabang is relatively unknown as a tourist destination, even among Indonesian people. This makes Sabang a great holiday destination for those seeking a traditional alternative to heavily-commercialised holiday places. In Sabang you’ll find clear seawater, spectacular marine life, and affordable prices. You won’t find overly pushy vendors or traffic jam.

Billboard promoting Sabang diving in the airport of
Banda Aceh, the capital of the Aceh province,
of which Sabang is a part.

Things to Do

Swim, snorkel or dive in Sabang and you’ll encounter an amazing variety of sea creatures, from the colourful dory fish, the playful dolphin to the majestic whale shark. In addition to its breathtaking marine life, Sabang also has an underwater volcano, offering you a chance to experience a unique dive.

Iboih Beach

Iboih Beach and the small Rubiah Island located 100 metres across from it are Sabang’s most popular tourist destination. It is also a nature conservation area.

Rubiah Island seen from Iboih Beach

Things to See

The 0 kilometre monument

The monument is on the western tip of Sabang, 29 kms away from the city centre, marking the westernmost point of Indonesia’s land. Coming to Sabang without seeing this monument is like going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower.

As at April 2015 the 0 kilometre monument was
in the middle of a renovation

Must Eat

One of the benefits of a small city is that many kinds of food are still made by hand at home (simply because factories that mass-produce them don’t exist). Also seafood in Sabang is produced locally, which means that it doesn’t have to go through preservation and refrigeration processes. Similarly, fruits you see in the market are grown organically and come straight from a local farm.

Despite its freshness and quality, there’s a lack of information on food in Sabang. We hope our list below helps you find your favourite Sabang food.

Fresh homemade noodles

Getting Here

Typically foreign visitors reach Sabang through another (bigger) Indonesian city. The stop over options are:

Stop-over city	City info	How
Banda Aceh	Banda Aceh is the capital city of the Aceh province, of which Sabang is a part	Direct ferry to Sabang
Medan	Medan is the capital city of the North Sumatra province, which neighbours the Aceh province	Direct flight to Sabang

Accommodation

Given that Sabang’s main attraction is gorgeous beaches, it’s only natural that its more popular accommodations are beachside resorts. In general staying by the beach works better for foreign tourists as activities are right at the door step and communication tends to be easier – locals at the beach and resort employees are much more likely to speak English.

Casa Nemo in Sumur Tiga

Getting Around

Sabang doesn’t have the usual kinds of transportation that developed places have, such as proper bus network or licensed taxis. Not to worry though, there are plenty of traditional alternatives that you can choose from.

Taxi

Sabang’s taxis are really just individuals who own a car and offer to drive people. The taxis don’t look any different from a normal car. For instance they don’t have vacant/occupied light. A taxi is either a sedan or Kijang minivan.

Drivers and their cars waiting for potential customers at
Balohan Port. You can hire one of these drivers as
a single-trip taxi or as a drive cum guide.

You will find taxis awaiting for you when you land at Balohan Port or Maimun Saleh Airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it called Sabang or Pulau Weh?

The city of Sabang encompasses 5 islands, the biggest of which is Pulau Weh (Weh Island). In day to day conversations local residents and citizens all over Indonesia refer to this entire area as ‘Sabang’ and rarely say ‘Pulau Weh’. This is also true for many Sabang tourism websites authored by Indonesians.

However numerous foreign resources seem to prefer using ‘Pulau Weh’ for the entire main island and ‘Sabang’ only for its city centre. Keep this difference in mind when researching your trip to Sabang in order to avoid confusion.

Sabang is Indonesia's western most city
(see the red pin in the top left corner)

What is the best time to visit?

The wind and waves around Sabang are calmest:

Sabang Travel Map

You can collect free Sabang travel map from a tourist information centre, such as the one inside the waiting hall of Banda Aceh's Ulee Lheue sea port. Sometimes the map runs out, so we provide a printable high-resolution map here for your use. You can print it or download a copy to your phone or tablet. You may want to bookmark this page as well.

Right click on the thumbnail above, then choose
'Save image as...' (about 4MB)