Ambon travel guide: Ambon Bay diving, old forts and the way to Banda

How Ambon works: the bay, the bridge and getting around

Ambon Bay cuts deep into the island. The city centre is on its south side. Pattimura Airport (AMQ) is on the northern shore at Laha, about 38 km west of the centre by Wikipedia's figure; the Ministry of Tourism says about 36 km. Since the Merah Putih (Red and White) Bridge opened across the inner bay, the drive has become much shorter. The ministry gives its length as 1,140 metres, linking Poka on the north side with Galala on the south side. It describes it as the longest bridge in eastern Indonesia and suggests crossing it at sunset.

In the city, the ministry suggests becak (cycle rickshaws) for short trips downtown, bemo (local minibuses, called angkot) and ojek (motorbike taxis). There are also speedboats across Ambon Bay from the pier where the ferries from the other side dock. Wikivoyage adds that the downtown area is very easy to walk and that Gojek's app-based ojek service operates here. For a day on the coast, a car with a driver is far simpler than linking minibuses.

It helps to know the island's recent past. Wikivoyage describes clashes between Muslims and Christians that broke out after the fall of Suharto in 1998 and killed thousands of people, until a government-mediated agreement in 2002. It reports that the city is much more peaceful as of 2024, and the World Peace Gong in the centre, which the ministry describes as a symbol of post-conflict reconciliation, is a good place to understand that history. According to the 2023 figures cited by Wikipedia, the city is about 57% Protestant and 40% Muslim, so you will see churches and mosques side by side. The ministry describes the Al-Fatah Grand Mosque, built in 1979, as the largest mosque in Maluku.

• City centre (Sirimau): hotels, restaurants, the museum and the monuments; the base for most short stays.
• East coast (Natsepa, Liang, Tulehu): beaches, the hot springs and Tulehu harbour for boats to Pombo and Banda.
• North coast (Hila and Kaitetu): Fort Amsterdam and the Wapauwe mosque, a half-day trip.
• Bay and south-west coast: dive sites, Pintu Kota beach and Ruhatu hill.

Spices and empires: Fort Victoria, Siwalima Museum and the city's monuments

The city grew around a Portuguese fort. Wikipedia's account says the Portuguese arrived in 1513 and began building Nossa Senhora da Anunciada around 1575. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) took it on 23 February 1605 and renamed it Fort Victoria. After an earthquake around 1754 damaged it badly, it was rebuilt as Nieuw Victoria. Pattimura, the Moluccan national hero who led a revolt against the Dutch, was hanged at the fort in 1817. Fort Victoria still stands in Sirimau, in the city centre, and it is still the headquarters of the Pattimura Military Command. Do not assume you can walk around it as you would a museum. Look at the walls from the street and ask at the gate.

Head uphill to the Siwalima Museum, the provincial museum. The Ministry of Tourism's page says it was established on 8 November 1973 and opened on 26 March 1977, and holds more than 5,300 registered objects covering traditional culture, history and natural specimens, including maritime collections. The building stands on a hill with a view over Ambon Bay. Go there early in your stay: it gives context to the forts and the spice trade you will meet later on the island.

Back in the centre, the Pattimura Monument shows the hero with his sword drawn. The ministry notes that it is the focus of national and local commemorations. Wikipedia also lists the Martha Christina Tiahahu statue among the city's historical sights, and Wikivoyage notes that its hilltop site has views over the bay. The Ambon War Cemetery, which Wikipedia says holds the graves of 1,777 Allied soldiers, recalls the Japanese landing on 1 February 1942 and the occupation that followed.

Diving and snorkelling in Ambon Bay

Ambon is best known to divers for muck diving: looking for small, unusual creatures on sand and silt rather than swimming over coral reefs. The Ministry of Tourism describes Ambon Bay as having muck, reef and cave dives. Among the animals it lists are harlequin shrimp, ghost pipefish, mandarin fish, frogfish, cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, pygmy seahorses, stonefish and scorpionfish. Book with a local dive centre, plan for two or three days, and bring a camera with a macro lens if you have one, because most of the subjects are tiny.

Non-divers can snorkel from the shore on the south-west coast. Pintu Kota beach at Airlouw, Nusaniwe, is named after a natural rock arch shaped like a city gate, and the ministry mentions swimming and snorkelling in its clear water. Namalatu beach in the same part of the island has calm water, coral rocks and fish warung (small local eateries), according to the ministry.

For a full day out, Pombo Island is a small, uninhabited coral atoll in a protected marine recreation park. The ministry says to hire a speedboat from Tulehu harbour on the east coast, about 30 minutes each way. There are no facilities and nobody lives there, so take all your food and water and leave nothing behind.

Beaches, Hila and the north coast

The Ministry of Tourism's one-day Ambon plan combines Liang, Natsepa and the Merah Putih Bridge. Natsepa beach at Suli is about 18 km from the city. It is known for rujak Natsepa, a fruit salad dressed with ground peanuts, palm sugar, tamarind and salt and served with slices of sweet potato, which vendors sell along the beach. Liang beach (Pantai Hunimua), in Salahutu district, is about 40 km from the centre, roughly 90 minutes by car. The ministry says UNDP once named it Indonesia's most beautiful beach, in 1990, and calls it safe for swimming, with fine white sand and a wooden jetty that people jump from.

On the north coast, Fort Amsterdam stands on the border of Hila and Kaitetu villages in Leihitu, about 42 km from the city, according to the Indonesian Wikipedia article. It began as a Portuguese post; the Dutch turned it into a fort in 1637, enlarged it in later decades and named it Benteng Amsterdam. The Ministry of Education and Culture restored it between 1991 and 1994. It has a brick ground floor that once held a prison and gunpowder store, wooden upper floors and a watchtower. Close by in Kaitetu, the Wapauwe Old Mosque dates by tradition to 1414. Its wooden joints use no nails or pegs, and its roof is thatched with sago leaves. It is still used for daily prayers, so dress modestly and ask before entering.

Two easier extras: the Tulehu hot springs, about 30 minutes from the city according to the ministry, with pools at different temperatures. And Ruhatu Hill at Airlouw, Nusaniwe, about 15 km and 30 minutes from the city, with views over Ambon Bay and Seri beach. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the ministry listed an entrance fee of IDR 5,000 and said the hill is open around the clock. Paragliding there does not run every day, so contact the managers first if you want to fly.

On to Banda: plan Ambon as your buffer

Ambon is the gateway to the Banda Islands, the original nutmeg islands. The Ministry of Tourism describes three ways there: flights from Pattimura Airport, a sea crossing of about seven hours, or a cruise. It warns that the sea crossing is very unpredictable, that flights are often cancelled because of weather or technical problems, and that round-trip tickets cannot be booked. Book the return once you are in Ambon and keep reconfirming it. Wikipedia's route list for Pattimura Airport shows Smart Aviation flying to Banda Neira on a small pioneer (perintis) route. Wikivoyage describes fast boats from Tulehu harbour that are cancelled in bad weather, and PELNI ships that call at Banda on the way to the Kei Islands.

In practice this means a night in Ambon before Banda and at least one spare night after it, ideally on the Tulehu side if you are going by boat. Use that spare time for the city sights, so a cancellation costs you nothing. Ambon is also your link to the rest of eastern Indonesia: Wikipedia lists flights from Pattimura to Jakarta, Makassar, Surabaya, Sorong (for Raja Ampat), Ternate and the Kei Islands at Langgur.