Lihaga Island, Bad Experience

Good Friday, 2022. A day of supposed peace, shattered by the absolute incompetence we witnessed on Lihaga Island. We escorted a family of thirteen, hailing from Surabaya, Ambon, and Papua, for a meticulously planned getaway. Two hours of driving, a mere fifteen-minute boat ride – all seemed perfect until we hit the jetty at 12:30 PM.

A security guard, with a sickeningly sweet, yet utterly useless grin, informed us the island was closed. Closed! Despite their own social media proclaiming the Lihaga Beach Club was open. We smelled a rat, a big, festering rat. But, foolishly, we remained optimistic.

As our group disembarked, the same guard, with that same infuriating grin, reiterated the club’s closure, citing the manager’s orders. Fine. We asked to see this paragon of ineptitude.

Then he arrived. A white-shirted, hat-wearing thug. His face screamed of a man ready to brawl, not manage a tourist destination. No greeting, no courtesy – just a barrage of shouted orders to leave immediately. Leave! How dare he! What kind of animal manages a tourist spot with such a volcanic temper? Two weeks of planning, down the drain. Not a single word of warning about this supposed closure. And then, he had the gall to lecture us about respecting religious holidays, while their social media lied through its teeth!

Our tour guide, a board member and the president of the North Sulawesi Tour Guide Association, tried to reason. Phone calls were made, connections were attempted. The boat captain even got through to someone, who seemed reasonable. But this manager? He was busy shooing away guests like stray dogs!

Finally, our guide confronted him, accompanied by two of our bewildered guests. This cretin compared our daytime arrival to visitors showing up at midnight. Midnight! And then, one of our clients revealed she'd contacted three other travel agents, all confirming the island was open. 

This manager, lost in his own delusional world, insisted he’d informed everyone. He then insulted us, dismissing our efforts as a “small amount” of money, unworthy of their “blessing.” Does he have any concept of the logistics, the energy, the sheer effort we put into this trip? We are Christians too! Our guide attended Good Friday mass at 4 AM, so he could work! Our guests did the same!

Let me ask you, is this how a Christian behaves? Arrogant, uneducated, and utterly disrespectful? And shooing people like dogs? Is that your idea of hospitality? What about delegating to people who actually have the ability to do the job.

The Jakarta office, thankfully, saw reason and granted us permission to stay. For that, we are very grateful.

Our guests enjoyed the island, eventually. But we, as travel agents, are seething. Our efforts, our reputation, tarnished by one man’s ego. We will review this establishment on every platform. We will steer our clients towards other, more welcoming islands. And we will ensure this nightmare becomes a cautionary tale for anyone considering Lihaga Island.

They wanted paradise? They got hell first.