What It’s Like to Swim With Stingless Jellyfish in the Togean Islands

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Swimming with stingless jellyfish has been at the top of my bucket list for ages. Finally, in 2019 I planned a trip to the Togean Islands of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here lies one of the few jellyfish lakes in the world.

The most popular jellyfish lake is in Palau, a small country in Oceania. There are actually a few more in Indonesia, one off of Kalimantan (Borneo), and one in Raja Ampat, and a guy working at our hotel said there are more that have yet to be discovered, or that are too difficult to get to. Although I’d spent years living in South East Asia in the past, I never made it out to one because they are all super difficult to get to. Each one is located on a remote island that takes days to get to. But finally, I made it out to the one in the Togean Islands.

So why are the jellyfish stingless? Well the lake was once connected to the ocean, but over many years, land shifted and it closed off. Without any natural predators, the jellyfish have lost their ability to sting. Technically, they can still sting, but their ability has gotten so weak that humans can’t feel it.

Swimming with them was absolutely amazing, their movement was so mesmerizing to watch! They seemed so calm, just blooping away, in whatever direction they felt. Some were super small; some were the size of my palm. There weren’t as many as I had seen in photos of other lakes, but this was fine. I’m so happy I finally got to see them.

Jellyfish near the surface of the water create a cool reflection.

Some were so tiny!

And some were blue!

17 Photos That Prove Bunaken Island Is a Snorkeler’s Dream

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Bunaken Island is a small island in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is well known as one of the best diving and snorkeling sites in the world. I’m not a diver and so I can’t speak to that, but I’m a huge fan of snorkeling and was extremely impressed with Bunaken’s reef.

In October 2019, I spent a couple nights on the island. I stayed at Panorama Backpackers, a great little hostel that I’d highly recommend. All their rooms are private, with some perched on a hill overlooking the ocean. Like many places on the island, the nightly rate (about $30 USD, at the time of writing) includes three meals a day. This is because there are no restaurants nearby. What a bargain! Meals are served family style, which makes it a great time to get to know others.

But the main reason I recommend Panorama Backpackers is because their house reef is absolutely stunning! Most of the photos below were taken there. If you swim a couple hundred meters out from shore, you’ll reach a beautiful, colorful, reef wall.

Panorama Dive Resort is next door and they usually have a morning and afternoon boat trip to different reefs. Snorkelers can join the boat for the equivalent of about $5. Compared to what you’d pay for a snorkeling trip in other places around the world, this is as cheap as it gets! The dive boat will also come and pick you up whenever you are done or when it’s time to go. This way you don’t have to worry about the current taking you away or sticking close to the boat. You are very free to snorkel as you please.

Everyday I went out on the boat I saw countless giant turtles, huge schools of fish, and beautiful coral. Large, colorful coral is my favorite thing to see and so that’s mainly what I took photos of, but I really wish I took more of the fish because they were super cool as well. Enjoy the photos and I hope you have the opportunity to visit one day!

Many orange starfish in the shallow waters of the beach.

Beautiful sunset in front of Panorama Backpackers.

All the stars and a lightning storm in the distance, super cool!