Maluku Travel Information - Tual & Langgur

Tual & Langgur: The Twin Capitals of Kei

Technically two cities on two islands, majority Muslim Tual on Dullah and Majority Catholic Langgur on Kei Kecil are in fact joined by a bridge, connected by the city angkot that run right through from one to the other, and betwen them share the Kei Islands main port (in Tual) and airport (in Langgur). As such, they really form a single practical unit that should be treated as one. The two cities have pretty much everything visitors might need in the Keis such as supermarkets, internet cafes, travel agencies and a range of accommodation, so even though they have little in the way of actual tourist attractions, chances are you will be popping into them every now and then.

Attractions Shopping Local Culture Getting There Accommodation Food

Main Attractions

Tourist Office

The tourist office in Langgur is one of the most helpful in Maluku. It has plenty of friendly staff who are used to seeing visitors, and a nice, glossy booklet about the various tourist attractions of the Keis.

Hanging Bridge

One of the few "sights" worth looking at in the cities themselves is the hanging bridge connecting Langgur to Fair Island. The views from the bridge are pretty good, both across to Tual and down into the clear sea alive with fish.

Taman Ziarah Uskup Johanis Aerts

Dedicated to the memory of a Dutch bishop executed by the occupying Japanese forces in World War II, this walled garden in Langgur is worth visiting for the murals decorting its walls. The reliefs show the history of Christianity in the Kei Islands.

Shopping

There is nothing in the way of local handicrafts made for tourists in the Keis, so local souvenir shops sell items made in Ambon.
More typically local buys are pearls, cultivated both in the Keis and in the Arus.
If that's too expensive for you, the most popular local products seem to be bottled peanuts of various tastes sold at several stalls around the harbour area.

Local Culture

Getting There and Around

There are frequent minibuses serving routes around Tual-Langgur itself. They mostly run between the main markets in those cities, following either the more direct route via central Tual, or making the detour to the UN neighbourhood uphill.
Minibuses to various villages on Dullah and Kei Kecil islands run from various terminals in Tual and Langgur respectively.
There are also plenty of ojeks around.

Accommodation

Most tourists prefer to stay on one of the beaches, less than half an hour from Tual or Langgur. This is perfectly understandable. But if you decide to stay in town, perhaps to catch an early ship or flight or to be able to better tour the islands by public transport, Tual and Langgur have a good range of places to choose from.

Budget travellers will probably prefer to stay in busy Tual, as it has more budget places, and they are close to the port, the main market and the shops.

Upmarket options are mostly in quieter Langgur. Note that if you stay here, you will need to ride some kind of transport pretty much everywhere you might want to go, as everything in Langgur seems to be spaced far apart from everything else.

Food

The towns have the usual assortment of warungs serving the standard Indonesian dishes. The Chinese-run hotels are probably your best bet for something better.  More interesting is buying your dinner from the night markets that also sell traditional Keiese meals, including the local staple, embal.