Affordable Medan to Lake Toba Bus Tour: Only 70k Per Person

From Medan to Lake Toba, your journey begins at Terminal Amplas in Medan. The scenic route from Medan to Parapat spans 169 kilometers, and the bus fare is 70,000 IDR (about 35 RMB). The final stop is conveniently located right at the pier. Air-conditioned buses depart every hour, with the last one leaving at 17:30 in the afternoon.

We arrived at 7:15 am and had a 45-minute wait ahead of us. Although the bus was scheduled to leave at 8:00 am, it didn’t actually depart until 8:20 am. Be prepared for the strong air conditioning on the bus; if you’re sensitive to cold, bring an extra layer of warm clothing. We ended up taking an older local bus, which took over 4 hours to reach the pier.

From there, we hopped on a boat to the island, with a ticket costing 15,000 IDR (about 7.5 RMB) per person. The scenic boat ride takes about 40 minutes. The entrance fee to the island is 5,000 IDR (about 2.5 RMB), and the return boat ticket is also 15,000 IDR (7.5 RMB). Upon disembarking, we rented a motorcycle for the day for 1,000,000 IDR (50 RMB), which came with a full tank of gas.

The rental shop owner was incredibly friendly and helpful, making our experience even more enjoyable.