I rarely return to the same resort location twice, but the tiny Indonesian island of Siladen keeps calling me back. One of five islands within Bunaken National Marine Park, it has easy access to great dive sites and incredible snorkeling — with healthy corals, tiny sea creatures, and thousands of fish — right from shore. The house reef is just one of many reasons to consider staying on Siladen Island.

When I say that the island is tiny, I mean it: at 31.25 hectares (or 0.013 square miles, for those of you in the US), you can walk the length of the island in less than 20 minutes at a slow stroll. The population in the small village checks in at just under 200 people. Add to this three fairly small resorts, and you have a pretty pocket-sized place.

The reef fringes the entire island, and I’ve spent countless hours snorkeling it over multiple trips. For a sense of what you might see, I’ve written about my daytime snorkel adventures (in 2023 and 2025), as well as night snorkeling, encounters with clownfish, and the area’s giant clams.

Staying at Bobocha Siladen Resort

I always stay at Bobocha Siladen, the resort in the middle of the island. It’s small — it can accommodate a maximum of 18 guests — but it had everything we might have wanted: out-of-this-world food …

… sea and mountain views …

… soft sand …

…. a perfect plunge pool …

… and truly spectacular snorkeling at the house reef (definitely the best reef situation on the island).

Bobocha also deserves a shout-out for its great staff, especially our hostess, Sarah, and our snorkel guide, Andreas.

If there’s a downside to staying here, it’s that the entire island loses electricity from seven in the morning until five-thirty in the afternoon every day. This means no hot showers to rinse off in the middle of the day, which is manageable — but wow, do you miss hot showers when you don’t have them.

Daily Life on Siladen Island

The other great part about staying on Siladen is that you have the opportunity to see life in an island village.

The economy relies pretty much 100% on two things: fishing and tourism (this translates to a shore lined with fishing boats and dive boats).

A walk through the village led us past the grand town church …

… the local boat-building area …

… and laundry spread out both on lines and higgledy-piggledy wherever the sun could dry it.

New Year’s Traditions on Siladen

I’ve visited Siladen multiple times, once at the New Year — which is when you’ll find the island at its most joyful (and loudest). Just before New Year’s Eve, you’ll see giant speaker situations spring up on people’s front porches.

On New Year’s Eve itself, anyone who owns one of these setups will begin blasting music the minute the electricity goes on in the early evening.

The music continues unabated until the wee hours on New Year’s Eve (this music extravaganza is repeated all over again on the night of New Year’s Day, but with an earlier end time).

Then, just before midnight, a terrific blaze of fireworks begins.

There are so many fireworks across the channel in Manado that it looks like the hills are dancing.

The island’s New Year’s Day tradition is by far the most fun. Once church and lunch are over, neighbors gather and go door-to-door singing, playing instruments, eating, drinking, and dancing.

Homemade instruments feature prominently in these celebrations, including the ukuleles …

… many of which have been carved to look like mini-electric guitars …

… and this fabulous one-stringed bass (which you hit rather than bowing). It can be wheeled all around town.

I don’t know if visitors can see this kind of a music scene at any other time of year, but you might get lucky. And whether you’re here for three days or three weeks — and whether you’re here for the holidays or at a quieter time of year — Siladen is a great place to be.

If you have time to explore beyond Siladen, nearby Bangka Island offers a great place to stay and a different underwater world.