Pulau Tidore (Tidore Island) is a popular tourist destination in North Maluku, eastern Indonesia. It is just south of neighboring Ternate and has a large extinct volcano and interesting beaches and countryside.
The island occupies just over 100 square kilometers and was part of the kingdom of Tidore in the pre-colonial era, rivaling that of nearby Ternate. Today Pulau Tidore is well-connected to Ternate by bridge in the northwest and its 1,730-meter volcanic peak, Mount Kiematabu, in the south dominates the island.
The northern part of Pulau Tidore also has some nice hilly trekking countryside, far removed from the busy tourist haunts of Java and Bali. There are also some lovely strips of coast and white sandy beaches. Soasio (Soa-siu) is quite interesting and lies in the southeast of the island just under the capital Tidore. You can get here directly from the harbor in Ternate by boat or catch a bus down via the bridge.
Getting There & Away
Visitors can arrive on Pulau Tidore direct from Pulau Ternate by car, via bridge, or by boat from Ternate harbor. Ternate City is the main gateway, with Sultan Babullah Airport receiving flights from Makassar in South Sulawesi, host to the nearest large airport and several hundred kilometers to the west. Flight time is 3 hours or 5 hours when coming from Jakarta, via Makassar.