Visit Tuktuk and Tomok on Samosir Island

A visit to Tuktuk Siadong Village and Tomok Village on Samosir Island is a refreshing treat if visiting Indonesia. Very scenic and undeveloped, there’s a lot of farming on the island.

The coast is dotted with local homes, tourist hotels and shops. It is very peaceful and quite inexpensive. I was surprised to find many Europeans vacationing here as most of the guests we had at Timan Simalem were mostly Indonesian visitors.

Where is Samosir Island?

Samosir Island is in Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake. It’s a caldera formed by a supervolcanic eruption around 75,000 years ago. Some think it was the largest volcanic eruption in the last 25 million years, creating a volcanic winter and killing most of the people, plants, and animals is Asia and the surrounding area.

Where is Lake Toba?

Lake Toba is in northern Sumatra, which is that largest of some 17,000 islands in the Republic of Indonesia.

How big is Samosir Island?

Samosir island is about the same size as Singapore. A strange fact is that it’s the largest island within an island.

My Visit To Samosir Island And What To Do Here

I visited Samosir with 3 other volunteers when I was working as a yoga instructor at The Siman Timalem resort for a month. Not only was this visit encouraged by management, but they also arranged everything and provided us with a driver for the 3 hour transportation to the ferry. At times it was hard to wrap our heads around how nice management was, our vacation to Samosir within our volunteer holiday at Taman Simalem, or kayaking on the biggest volcanic lake along the biggest island within an island, but sometimes, life is just good!

Where To Stay: Tuktuk Siadong

Tuktuk, formally Tuktuk Siadong, is the popular tourist destination on Samosir island and where we stayed. It’s on the eastern side of the island. We stayed at Samosir Cottages, which sits on Lake Toba with lovely views in addition to a pool at a reasonable price. I highly recommend, although there are several places nearby that look equally nice for the price.

Samosir Cottages was built similar to the traditional homes there, so was constructed of wood and was very charming. The resort also had a great restaurant and a pool overlooking the lake. They also made their own coffee, which was amazing!

See Traditional Batak Homes

This island has some of the traditional Batak homes still standing, which are stunning! They are unique as they arch up to steep peaks on either end, like a boat. Many of them were very old and being used for storage, but a few of them are updated, or have additions to make them livable. I would have loved to see them in their prime, painted with bright colors.

This photo shows an old abandoned Batak home (in the back), with a newer home, that is more typical now (right), next to it.

Ride Bicycles Up The Nearby Hill

We rented bicycles and rode on an old mountain path nearby. It was a but muddy, but still fun to explore. We passed water buffalo….

and explored some abandoned Batak houses.

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Visit the Batak Museum in Tomok

Batak Museum, located a short drive away in Tomok, showcases the Batak culture. You can see a replica of the King’s home, wood carvings, traditional costumes, antiques, farming equipment, and more.

Visit The Tomb Of King Sidebutar

Just down the road from the Batak Museum is a complex of royal Batak tombs, including the tomb of King Sidabutar.

Motorbike Around The Island

One of the volunteers befriended a local woman one morning and we hired her to be our guide for a day. She brought 3 motorbikes (2 of us shared a bike) and we rode around the island.

We stopped at one of the beaches on the lake. Our guide suggested that the lake was polluted and that we shouldn’t swim in it. I couldn’t find much information on that, but didn’t want to risk it.

…And kayaked….

Best Time To Visit Samosir Island

The best time to visit Samosir island is the dry season, which is May to September. July and August will be the busiest time with tourists. The temperature is mild all your round, however, making any time good for a visit. You will likely just run into some rain.

How To Get To Tuk Tuk on Samosir Island

In Medan, drive, or hire a driver, to Prapat. There is also a local bus from Medan to Prapet, which is the least expensive option. From Prapat, at Tiga Raja harbor, there is a frequent ferry to Tuktuk. The ferry ride will take about 30-50 minutes.

Since we came from Merek, where the Taman Simalem resort is, our ride to Parapat was 6 hours. All four of us volunteers were crammed in the back seat of a small pickup truck driven by a local driver. We couldn’t all sit with our backs against the seat at the same time, so took turns having two people scoot forward. Watching oncoming trucks swerving in front of us on the narrow windy roads was also an interesting experience. Our drivers never seemed a bit nervous, and we always arrived safely. Just know that the drive here is also part of the adventure!