🇮🇩 Lake Toba: Parapat to Samosir by ferry

#2024wish I spent one night at Gapura Hotel in Parapat, a small town in North Sumatra on the edge of Lake Toba, before taking a ferry to Samosir Island. As a solo backpacker, transport is an issue when there is no public transport or ride hailing services like Grab and Gojek in Lake Toba area. As my hotel was about 5 km from the ferry terminal, I asked the front desk of Gapura Hotel if they could send me to the ferry terminal. Thankfully the staff was kind enough to send me to the terminal on motorbike. I offered to pay but the staff refused. There are a few ferry terminals in Parapat offering ferry services to different locations in Samosir Island. The hotel staff dropped me off at the newly built Pelabuhan Ajibata. The new ferry terminal seemed to offer higher-end ferry services to tourists and I was told that there was no ferry available that day. The staff I approached at the new ferry terminal directed me to a small port next to it. That's the port where locals take local ferries to and fro Samosir. And so I boarded the local ferry from Pelabuhan Ajibata to Tomok (Rp 12,000). The ferry runs regularly so there is no need to buy tickets in advance. The ferry conductor will collect ticket fees from the passengers one by one. The ferry looked quite old and rundown but no complaints since the fare was so cheap. There was no air-conditioning too. There were also vendors selling snacks on the ferry. I sat at the open deck to immerse myself in the beauty of Lake Toba and took lots of pictures! It's definitely an eye-opening experience for me. One should try to take the local ferry instead of the premium ferry for a truly local experience in Lake Toba regions! #laketoba #samosir #volcano #crater #medan #budgetfriendly #budgettravel #lake #solotravel #backpacking #lakeview #toba #tripblazers