How to travel from Lake Toba to Medan, Indonesia

There are several options for getting from Lake Toba to Medan by ferry, car, train and bus. The cheapest option is to take a ferry and then take the bus which costs around IDR 179,735 ($12) and will take around 5h 40m. If you need to get there more quickly, you can take a ferry and then drive and arrive in approximately 3h 30m, though it is a bit more costly at approximately IDR 179,735 ($12).

The distance between Lake Toba and Medan is around 188km (117 miles). In a direct line (as the crow flies), the distance is 1,318km (819 miles)

It takes around 5h 35m to get from Lake Toba and Medan by ferry, car and train.

The quickest way to get from Lake Toba to Medan is to take a ferry and then drive which takes around 3h 30m and will set you back approx IDR 179,735 ($12).

The cheapest way to travel between Lake Toba and Medan is to take a ferry and then take the bus which will typically cost around IDR 179,735 ($12) for a standard one-way ticket.

There is no train service that runs between Lake Toba and Medan. We recommend that you take a ferry to Ajibata then drive to Medan. instead which will take 3h 30m.

Sorry, looks like there is no bus service that runs between Lake Toba and Medan. We recommend that you take a ferry to Ajibata then drive to Medan. instead which will take 3h 30m.

It doesn't look like you can fly directly from Lake Toba to Medan. We recommend that you take a ferry to Ajibata then drive to Siantar then take the train to Medan. instead which will take 5h 35m.

The closest major airport to Medan is Halim Perdanakusuma Airport (HLP) (HLP) which is approximately 19km (12 miles) from Medan. Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK) (CGK) and Husein Sastranegara International Airport (BDO) (BDO) are also nearby and might be a better alternative airport depending on where you are flying from.

No, its not really possible or feasible to drive from Lake Toba to Medan. We recommend that you take a ferry to Ajibata then drive to Siantar then take the train to Medan. instead which will take 5h 35m.

If you don't have a car, the easiest way to get from Lake Toba to Medan is to take a ferry, then drive and then take the train which takes, on average, 5h 35m and will usually cost around IDR 239,645 ($16).