Benteng Selayar: what the island's main town is like and what is there

By Selayar Island Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. Fares and rates change, and nothing here is medical or legal advice.

Benteng Selayar is the regency seat and main port of Selayar Island, and the district where the regency says most hotels are found. The Ministry of Tourism places a Dutch prison on its square, and one tour operator's guide describes a working market and a beachfront walk. Its real value is as a base for the island's roads and boats.

What is Benteng Selayar like?

Benteng is where the practical business of Selayar Island gets done. Wikipedia gives Benteng as the regency seat, on UTC+8, with area code +62 414. Britannica names it as the main port, and the regency's tourism master plan lists it as the gateway for PELNI ships from Makassar and Bulukumba, on data that runs to 2018, so check PELNI's current schedule. The tourism office also reported DLU's overnight ship from Makassar to Benteng from 2021; our page on how to get to Selayar Island covers it. Benteng is also one of the six districts on the main island.

For atmosphere, the published description is brief. Sulawesi.com, a tour operator's guide, says the town has a beachfront walk and a working market, without market days or hours, so ask where you are staying. Treat the town waterfront and the market as something to fit between transfers. The sources describe no resort strip, and a reader expecting one should look at the coasts instead.

What does the name Benteng refer to?

It refers to the town and to the district around it. Benteng means fort in Indonesian, and Journey Beyond the Horizon, a travel blog dated October 2025, says the Dutch built a fort here that was later destroyed, with almost nothing left. No date for the fort is given.

Two points can prevent confusion. First, the island itself has several names in print: Britannica records Salayar, Selajar and Kabia, and Wikipedia gives the Dutch spelling Saleijer, so older maps and books may look unfamiliar. Second, if you came here looking for an actual fort, the plan describes two elsewhere on the island. Bontobangun fort is coral stone 2.5 m high and 1.5 m wide, with a cannon, a ruined mosque and tombs. The old village of Gantarang has a stone fort wall 70 cm high. Gantarang is about 15 km by road from town, and Bontobangun is the locality in Bontoharu district where the plan also lists Bitombang.

Which old buildings can you see?

Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism says a Dutch prison from the 1890s stands on Benteng's town square, and the regency plan says the prison building has kept its function since Dutch times. If the plan is still right, this is a working institution and not a museum, so look at it from the square and do not expect a tour.

The ministry links that era to cotton. It says the Dutch monopolised Selayar's blue-white cotton and forced it to Fort Rotterdam in Makassar. For the longer story, including spice ships and the coconut trade, read the page on Selayar Island history.

The second piece of Dutch heritage is offshore. The Jakarta Post reported in 2016 that Gusung islet, reached by lepa boat from Benteng, has old copra warehouses of the Dutch administration and beaches to the south. That report is ten years old, so ask about their condition. Pasi Gusung island has its own page.

Whatever else stands around the square, you will have to find it on foot.

Where can you stay and eat in Benteng?

The regency places most hotels in Benteng district, and that concentration is the reason to sleep here. The plan's room table includes Rayhan Square with 68 rooms, Hotel Tanjung Merayu with 35, Selayar Beach Hotel with 30 and Hotel Syafira with 15. Those are the regency's 2022 counts, and the table is not a list of Benteng addresses, so confirm each location. We give no star ratings or review scores because none could be verified.

The price table on this page shows two published bands for rooms in town, wisma and small guesthouses and then mid-range hotels, as given in Sulawesi.travel's undated guide. Both are a tour operator's estimates. The page on where to stay on Selayar Island compares the town with the coasts.

Eating is simple to plan around. The regency plan says restaurants on the main island are only in Benteng and Bontosikuyu districts, on data from 2018 to 2021. Sulawesi.travel names gogos, pisang ijo and grilled fish as typical local food. TurtlePhD, a traveller's blog, mentions warungs and stores along the west coast, so a road day need not mean going hungry. Even so, the sensible habit is to eat before you leave town and carry something for the afternoon.

What is close to Benteng?

The table sets out what sources place near town, in order of distance. Most figures come from the regency plan, and the exceptions are marked.

Getting around is mostly up to you. TurtlePhD reports renting a scooter in Benteng and driving the west-coast road, and the price table on this page carries that traveller's undated figure. It is a single report, so confirm that hire is still offered when you arrive.

Why use Benteng as a base?

Three reasons appear in the sources. Sulawesi.com says most visitors stay in Benteng and that local dive operators run trips to wall and reef sites on the south coast. TurtlePhD suggests going to Benteng first and then to the east coast. And it is the transport junction: the airport is close, the port is here, and the road from the Pamatata ferry port leads here.

That road has two published durations. Sulawesi.com says 90 minutes by hired car or shared bemo from Pamatata, while TurtlePhD reports about one hour. The same blog describes an overnight sleeper bus leaving Makassar's Malengkeri terminal around 11pm and reaching Benteng around 11am, boarding the ferry on the way. A reader arriving that way should keep the first afternoon free.

On length of stay, our Selayar Island itinerary works from one operator's recommendation. The public hospital on the Health Ministry's register is in neighbouring Bontoharu district, which is one more practical argument for sleeping near town if anyone in your group has a medical concern; our page on whether Selayar Island is safe names it.

Benteng is the wrong base if your plan is a week of diving at an east-coast resort such as Selayar Dive Resort, which states its own speedboat transfers from Bira, or if you want to wake up on a beach. It suits people who want to move around: a village one day, a boat to an islet the next, with a room and a meal waiting in between.

What else do people ask about Benteng?

Where is Benteng town?

It is on Selayar Island, off South Sulawesi. The regency plan puts it 40 km from Pamatata, the ferry port, and Wikipedia puts the airport about 7 km away. Britannica mentions Benteng, the main port, with Padang on the western coast.

Where can you eat in Benteng?

The regency plan says restaurants on the main island are found only in Benteng and Bontosikuyu districts, on data from 2018 to 2021. Sulawesi.travel lists gogos, pisang ijo and grilled fish as typical.

What can you do around Benteng?

Walk the beachfront and the market, as Sulawesi.com describes them, see the Dutch prison on the square from outside, then use the town as a start point for Bitombang, Gantarang, Baloiya or a boat to Gusung islet.

Is Benteng Selayar worth visiting?

It is worth using more than seeking out. The regency places most hotels here, and the airport, port and ferry road all connect to it. If you want a beach holiday with little movement, go straight to a coast; if you want villages and history, base yourself here.

Can you rent a motorbike in Benteng?

TurtlePhD, a traveller's blog, reports renting a scooter there and driving the west-coast road. It is a single undated report and no rental business is named, so ask at your lodging once you arrive.

Which sources support this page?

• Wikipedia: Selayar Islands Regency
• Wikipedia: Selayar Islands
• Wikipedia: H. Aroeppala Airport
• Britannica: Selayar
• Regency tourism master plan (RIPPARKAB 2023-2025)
• Indonesia Ministry of Tourism: Selayar
• The Jakarta Post: Selayar Islands, 2016
• Sulawesi.com: Selayar Island (tour operator's guide)
• Sulawesi.com: Selayar travel guide (tour operator's guide)
• Sulawesi.travel: Selayar travel guide (tour operator)
• TurtlePhD: Selayar (traveller's blog)
• Tata Loka study on Gantarang
• Health Ministry hospital register: RSUD KH Hayyung
• Selayar Dive Resort: rates and transfers
• Selayar tourism office, May 2021: KM Dharma Kartika III
• Journey Beyond the Horizon (travel blog, October 2025): Selayar Island guide

How do I reach the desk?

For a question about staying in town or moving on from it, write to WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or bd@juaraholding.com with your dates and arrival route. The desk replies with what it can confirm, and a written offer is the only thing that commits anyone to a booking. About this guide explains its commercial interest.