When we planned our family trip through Indonesia, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect from Pulau Weh. After spending two days exploring Pulau Weh with kids, it quickly became one of the more memorable stops on our trip, with quiet beaches, excellent snorkelling, dolphin watching and a chance to see a very different side of Indonesia.
Pulau Weh also made our list of our favourite places to visit in Asia with kids, thanks to the variety of experiences we were able to fit into such a short stay. In just two days, we visited black sand beaches, explored the Jaboi Geothermal Area, stopped at Gapang Beach and Iboih Beach, watched spinner dolphins from a boat and went snorkelling in the clear waters around the island.
Getting to Pulau Weh takes a little more effort than reaching many of Indonesia’s more popular family destinations, but for us it was well worth it. Once we arrived, the slower pace and variety of things to do made it easy to enjoy our time without trying to pack too much into each day.
In this post, we share exactly how we spent our two days on Pulau Weh with kids, including our tuk tuk tour, dolphin watching and snorkelling trip, the beaches and attractions we visited, where we stayed and where we ate. If you are considering adding Pulau Weh to your Indonesia family itinerary, this will give you a good idea of what to expect.
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Is Pulau Weh Worth Visiting with Kids?
Pulau Weh is a small Indonesian island off northern Sumatra known for clear tropical water, snorkelling, beaches and volcanic landscapes. Families can explore the island by tuk tuk, visit beaches and geothermal areas, go dolphin watching and snorkel in the waters around Pulau Weh.
While there are beautiful tropical beaches here, it didn’t rank near the top of our favourite beach destinations for families. The variety of non-beach activities more than makes up for this.
Our 2-Day Pulau Weh Itinerary
Arrival Day: Beachcombing at Sumur Tiga
After travelling all morning from Medan, including a flight and ferry ride, we arrived at our Pulau Weh resort in the mid-afternoon. We were tired after the long travel day, so we were happy to stay close to our resort. Thankfully, it was a beachfront resort, so we went down and enjoyed one of our favourite things to do as a family, walking on the beach looking for treasures.
The beach in front of our resort did not disappoint. First of all, the tropical setting was stunning, with tall palm trees overlooking a shallow sea with beautiful turquoise water.
But, for us, the best part was the endless supply of beach treasures. Our daughter was thrilled to see hundreds of little hermit crabs scurrying every which way along the sand. She must have picked up every single one!
Celine, on the other hand, was busy adding to her collection of sea glass. This beach had an abundance of beautifully coloured sea glass.
We also spent time picking up and admiring the many beautiful and interesting seashells along the sand. One of our favourites was a dark black shell with little white stripes across it. We’ve never seen a shell like that before!
Day 1: Tuk Tuk Tour of Pulau Weh
On our first full day in Pulau Weh with kids, we thought it would be a fun idea to take one of the popular tuk tuk tours around the island. It seemed like a good way to see some of the island’s highlights while also getting the lay of the land.
Our tour guide picked us up at our hotel at exactly 9 am. We liked the configuration of his motorcycle tuk tuk with all four seats facing forward. This is much better than a traditional tuk tuk where two seats face backwards.
Anoi Itam Japanese Fort
After introducing ourselves, Happy, our tour guide, had us on our way. A quick drive south of our resort took us to the Anoi Itam Japanese Fort. This interesting fort is a relic from World War II when the Japanese built this strategic outpost.
Today visitors can walk a path through the complex and can go inside the various buildings. Most of the buildings are empty, but there’s still one with a huge cannon to see. The best part of visiting the Japanese bunker was the outstanding view of the coastline. The tropical colours of the water around Pulau Weh were truly amazing.
Anoi Itam Black Sand Beach
The next stop on our tuk tuk tour of Pulau Weh was Anoi Itam Beach. We’ve visited several beaches described as having black sand, but this was one of the darkest we’ve seen outside of our trip to La Palma with kids, in the Canary Islands.
The parts of the sand that were dried in the hot sun were a light gray, but the portions of the sand that were wet from the waves were a true dark black. It’s a very beautiful sight and quite rare to see in nature. If you have the chance on your tuk tuk tour, we would recommend requesting this stop, even just for a few minutes.
Balohan Harbour Viewpoint
From here, our driver turned our tuk tuk west. He was kind enough to stop at a viewing platform, which gave us an amazing elevated view of the Balohan harbour where the ferries come in. Again, the colours of the water on Pulau Weh are very beautiful.
You also get a sense of just how green and lush the island is. After seeing so many palm oil plantations in Sumatra, seeing natural jungle was so nice.
Jaboi Geothermal Area
Prior to coming to Pulau Weh, we had no idea that it was an active volcano. Our third stop on our tuk-tuk tour of the island was to the Jaboi Geothermal Area to see some active volcanic activity.
Crater 1
We started with a short walk through the jungle and it wasn’t long before we could start smelling the sulphur in the air. Before long we had reached the first crater of the four we would visit today.
This volcanic crater was unlike any we had seen anywhere in the world, with countless little steam vent holes poking out of the rocks. Each of the vent holes was covered in a bright, yellow, sulphur coating, and burning hot steam was coming out of them. As we got closer to the main steam vents of this crater, we could really feel the intense heat from these vents.
Crater 2
A short walk later, we were at the second crater. The unique feature from this crater was that the steam holes were much larger. From a distance, you can hear bubbling coming from the direction of the steam holes.
When you get up close, you’re treated to an amazing view of pools of boiling muddy water. Personally, I never get tired of displays of mother nature’s power such as this. We saw many amazing thermal attractions during our trips to Iceland with kids, but this was turning out to be on par with many of those experiences.
Crater 3
The third crater was also interesting, but it was pretty similar to the first, so we kept walking and entered the jungle again. We walked through the dense jungle for about five minutes until we emerged at crater four.
Crater 4
From a distance, you can immediately see a huge steam vent in the centre of the area. As you get closer, hundreds of smaller steam vents come into view, along with a striking stream of dense black mud. I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere in the world.
When we reached the biggest steam vent, we were treated to an incredible sight. At the surface, there was a giant pool of muddy water that was violently boiling, sending dark muddy water high into the air. Such a demonstration of mother nature’s power, it’s quite humbling and a thrill to see. It’s something you and your kids won’t ever forget.
Gapang Beach
From the Jaboi Geothermal Area, our guide took our tuk tuk to the north side of the island to Gapang Beach. This was a beautiful tropical beach lined with palm trees and a large area of beautiful turquoise water.
It was early afternoon, and our guide took us to one of his favourite restaurants in the area where we enjoyed a delicious lunch with a beautiful view of the ocean.
Iboih Beach
The final stop on our tuk tuk tour of Pulau Weh was at Iboih Beach. This beach is enormously popular for diving and snorkeling, but we still got to enjoy it from the coastline. It wasn’t a typical sandy beach and area was very busy with boats, but you could see what a beautiful tropical setting this beach has.
Driving Through Pulau Weh Villages
We saw many memorable places on our tuk tuk tour around Pulau Weh, but for me, one of the highlights was simply driving through the small villages. The locals here are so friendly and the kids are always happy to see you and wave and say hello.
They also offer these sightseeing tours with taxis, but if you are visiting Pulau Weh with kids, we highly recommend you take a tuk tuk tour. On a hot day, the canopy protects you from the sun and the wind is so cooling and refreshing. Being in the open makes it fun and easy to interact with the locals, especially the kids.
Day 2: Dolphin Watching and Snorkelling
The first thing we noticed as our ferry arrived in Pulau Weh was the incredible colour of the water here. It’s the colour you immediately associate with a tropical paradise. We had already planned on spending a day out on the water, but now we were very excited about it!
Dolphin Watching
The first half of our day tour was dedicated to dolphin watching. Our guides picked us up right on the beach of our hotel. The boat couldn’t come in all the way, so they transported us to the boat via a stand-up paddleboard. What a fun way to get to a boat!
Before long, we were off in search of dolphins. Oddly, they call it “dolphin hunting” here, so we were relieved when it turned out to be a classic dolphin watching tour.
Our guides didn’t speak much English, but they knew the local waters very well. It took roughly fifteen minutes to track down a giant pod of dolphins.
It’s always exciting to see dolphins in the wild, but this encounter was next level. First of all, it was likely the largest pod of dolphins we’ve ever seen in our travels. We stopped near the front of the pod, and they just kept coming, swimming very close right past our boat. What a thrill!
Secondly, it turns out this species of dolphins were spinner dolphins. If you’ve never heard of them before, these playful dolphins love to jump out of the water and perform a dramatic spin of their bodies.
It all happens so fast, but it seems like they complete a full rotation before re-entering the water. When one of the dolphins performs a spin jump, it takes something that’s already exciting and makes it even more so!
We followed the pod for quite some time. At one point, the waves got quite large, and we got to see around ten dolphins swimming in the crest of the wave. We’ve seen this behaviour on nature documentaries, but what a thrill to see it in real life!
We could have watched the Pulau Weh dolphins for hours, but eventually we had to say goodbye, so we could begin the snorkeling portion of our day trip.
Snorkelling on Pulau Weh
We had a speedy boat and our guides took us on a fun boat ride in the general direction of Ibioh Beach, which we had seen the day before on our tuk tuk tour. We were afraid they were going to make us snorkel there, as it looked like an awful experience, with many people standing in the water in a small roped off area.
But it was just a quick pit stop to make a phone call. Then we were on our way to a nearby dive shop to get fitted into our snorkel gear. The staff there were very friendly and super helpful getting us properly sized snorkel gear for the kids.
We transferred to a new boat, with a new guide, who specializes in snorkeling in the area. He took us to three separate snorkelling spots in the area, each had their own unique characteristics and marine life.
I am not a marine biologist, so I cannot tell you the names of all the fish we saw today, but some of the highlights included seeing clownfish (the Little Nemo fish) swimming in anemone coral. I’d never seen clownfish in the wild before. Watching them dart in and out of the swaying anemone tentacles was truly amazing.
Another highlight was the overall health of the coral reefs. In most tourist snorkeling spots around the world, the reefs have been mistreated and damaged, but here they were in very good shape. The amount of tropical fish was amongst the most we’ve ever seen.
Perhaps the best part was having every snorkelling spot to ourselves. This was a huge treat as we are used to sharing popular snorkeling areas with many other tourists. Not having to jostle for space in the water made the whole experience so relaxing and enjoyable.
As with the tuk tuk tour, this dolphin watching and snorkeling tour on Pulau Weh genuinely surprised us on the upside. We didn’t know what to expect, and the entire experience exceeded our expectations.
We would highly recommend this tour to families visiting Pulau Weh with kids.
Booking Tours on Pulau Weh
As of today, there are no Pulau Weh tours offered on booking platforms such as GetYourGuide or Viator. We arranged all of our tours through the reception desk at our resort.
Where We Stayed on Pulau Weh with Kids
During our time on the island, we did not see many western-style hotel options for families wishing to visit Pulau Weh with kids. For our three nights in Pulau Weh, we stayed at Freddies Santai Sumurtiga, just outside the main town of Sabang.
Freddies Santai Sumurtiga has an incredible oceanfront location on the eastern coast, with expansive views of the ocean. It’s on the beach, but the beach is better for snorkeling than playing in the surf.
We were originally booked into a 2-bedroom beachfront villa at Freddies Villas, just south of the main resort. While this sounded like an amazing setup for our family, it lacked air conditioning.
After five very sweaty nights in an eco lodge in Bukit Lawang with kids, we were seeking a little comfort, so we asked Freddie to move us to one of his air conditioned units across the street from the main resort. We gave up the beachfront villa, but we gained three really good nights sleep in air conditioned luxury.
Freddies Santai Sumurtiga has its quirks, but overall I’d recommend it to families visiting Pulau Weh with kids. The staff are friendly and helpful, they have great room options for families, and the ocean views are spectacular.
Where We Ate in Pulau Weh with Kids
As with hotels, there are not many dining options with western standards around Pulau Weh. Here are the restaurants we enjoyed during our family trip to Pulau Weh:
Aceh Heritage Village
On our final night in Pulau Weh with kids we ate at Aceh Heritage Village, which was an easy five minute walk from our hotel. We’re lucky we like to eat early as we arrived at 5 PM and were told we needed to finish before 6:30 as all the tables were reserved.
We can see why Aceh Heritage Village is so popular as it has a stunning setting within the Casa Nemo resort. It’s a classy Italian & Indonesian restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio overlooking a lush garden and the ocean beyond. While we were there, several groups of young influencers were busy taking pictures of their beautiful selves.
The food was really good too. Our kids each got a pizza, which was better than the pizza at Freddie’s. Celine and I each got fried noodles with vegetables, and it was delicious. All told, this was our favourite restaurant during our trip to Pulau Weh with kids.
Orbit
During our tuk tuk tour of Pulau Weh, our guide pointed out the Orbit restaurant. He said it was brand new and had excellent food. We arranged for his brother to pick us up at Freddies and take us there for dinner.
Orbit was a really fun family restaurant in Pulau Weh. It has an outer space theme which was a lot of fun, but the best part was the truly outstanding ocean views. Orbit is perched way up high on a hill, and that vantage point gave one of the best ocean views of our family trip to Pulau Weh.
The food was good too. They had a small kids menu, with some familiar favourites for western kids. Our son got a chicken nugget and sausage combo, while the rest of us ordered Indonesian fare.
Freddies Santai Sumurtiga Restaurant
Breakfast was included in our stay at Freddie’s. We enjoyed good, filling breakfasts every day of our stay. The banana pancakes were the best option, and the fruit smoothies were a great way to get everyone hydrated prior to heading out into the humid heat of the day.
We also ate dinner here on our arrival day. The menu had more western food options than Indonesian options, which was good for our kids. They each ordered a margherita pizza, while Celine and I ordered fried noodle dishes. Overall, the food was okay, but it was far from the best food we’ve had in Indonesia.
It was an easy option for our first family dinner on Pulau Weh and the ocean views were epic.
Follow Along on our Indonesian Family Holiday
Our journey to Indonesia began with a long flight from Canada to Singapore. We elected to spend a few days in Singapore with kids before beginning our family trip to Indonesia.
Prior to coming to Pulau Weh, we visited Bukit Lawang with kids in northern Sumatra, enjoying a wide variety of jungle-based activities including an elephant encounter and hiking to see orangutans.
After two highly enjoyable days on Pulau Weh with kids, we flew to Bali for the next leg of our Indonesian family adventure. See what we got up to in Bali with kids.