Advice
Important Information
If you're looking for a holiday where your every whim is catered to in a comfortable, private environment with western standards of food and service, do not consider staying at a homestay. Go to a resort.
Raja Ampat guesthouse accommodation is only suitable if you have an adventurous spirit, are young at heart, culturally sensitive and are looking to experience life as it is lived in the islands. Accommodation is spartan, food is local, and the guesthouse owners and the people who prepare your meals are not hotel staff. While they are extremely friendly and obliging and want you to enjoy yourself, they are not responsible for organising your schedule, keeping you entertained or servicing your every want. Seriously - if that's the kind of holiday you're looking for, you'll be sorely disappointed. Don't ruin your time in this wonderland with unrealistic expectations.
Raja Ampat is a remote frontier region lacking what most tourists would consider basic essentials and shouldn't really be considered a "holiday" destination. Medical care, western consumer items, electricity and access to banks and ATMs are scarce to non-existent. Visiting this untouched jewel is both an adventure and a privilege and you'll be sharing in the rhythm of local life if you stay at a guesthouse. Number one rule? Chill. Relax. Enjoy your time and enjoy the company of village people who may come to visit your homestay. Demanding privacy (demanding anything for that matter) is just plain rude in this environment and will quickly sour your host's natural friendliness, ruining your stay and potentially that of the visitors who come after you.
It's ridiculous to even have to post this really - it seems like common sense - but the sad fact is that the incidence of tourists arriving unprepared and with unrealistic expectations of both homestay facilities and services is already on the rise. Please don't be one of them!
We've tried to provide as much information here as possible for tourists considering staying at a guesthouse in Raja Ampat and will add more as time goes by. Please do read these articles so you know what to expect and feel free to contact us if there's anything else you need to know before deciding to book accommodation at a Raja Ampat homestay.
How to book Raja Ampat accommodation
Raja Ampat is truly a frontier region, remote and wild, and the hospitality industry is a brand new endeavour for the people of the islands. Consequently, communication directly with the guesthouses and guides listed on this site isn't necessarily a straight-forward process.
If you're looking for an easily arranged, completely relaxing holiday in a tropical island paradise, you might want to reconsider staying at local guesthouses and contact the more upmarket, expatriate-owned dive lodges and resorts. If you don't mind a little adventure and can bear the occasional planning hiccup then go for the guesthouses - once you're there you'll have the time of your life!
Check our homestay pages for guesthouse descriptions, locations and contact details, or read on for more information on the booking process...
Raja Ampat accommodation prices
Please visit the homestays pages if you're looking for published accommodation prices - this article is about guesthouse prices in general...
We often hear things like "Why would I pay Raja Ampat prices when for a fraction of that I can holiday in a furnished "real" house in the Bandas? There's great diving there too!"
That's true, but there's some very good reasons why prices in Raja Ampat should be regarded as fair. The last thing the people of Raja Ampat need is another high volume, low return tourism industry. We think Raja Ampat is great value for money. There's precious few places in the world that can offer the experience you'll have among these islands and their people.
If you feel Raja Ampat accommodation prices are too expensive, read on to discover why we think that's not so...
Raja Ampat National Park Entrance Tags
A fee of 500,000 Indonesian Rupiah (~ 58 USD) [250,000 Rp for Indonesian citizens] is levied on all international visitors to the Raja Ampat National Park, with the proceeds earmarked for community development, conservation and patrol programs. The permit takes the form of a non-transferable tag which is valid for one year.
There's a booth at the airport in Sorong where you can purchase the tags if you haven't arranged to have them bought for you. Make sure you get one: In addition to the money helping to preserve Raja Ampat, legislation provides for a pretty hefty fine if the authorities find you in the park without one. Apparently you can buy them on the spot from the park rangers, but there may well still be a fine involved...
Diverajaampat.org has more detailed information on the why and how of the entrance fee as well as a great flowchart showing in detail exactly where the money goes. If you check out the chart, please note that Tim Pengelola is not an individual, but the Bahasa Indonesia expression for "management team" :P
Is it safe to drink the water?
You don't need to worry about your drinking water supply if you're staying at a Raja Ampat Homestay. All of Raja Ampat's inhabited islands have ready access to plentiful fresh water from streams and/or wells.
There is however, a shortage of plumbing - water at most places will be transported by hand. Fresh water for bathing is usually transported in large drums. It can be a lot of work to keep you supplied, so go easy on those ladle baths - especially if your homestay's one of those on a "dry" island where all your water comes in by boat ;-)
Your drinking water will be coming from the same source as the water for bathing, but is properly boiled and placed in recycled plastic bottles or 20 litre containers. It's perfectly safe - we lived on it for two weeks during our last stay with no ill effects at all.
Bottled water
Some guesthouses provide commercial bottled water in 20litre containers. You can also arrange to have bottled water delivered, but you'd be doing everybody a favour by choosing not to. If you really don't want to drink water from recycled bottles it would be much better to bring your own reusable bottles with you for filling.
Quite aside from the negative environmental impact of the manufacture, distribution and disposal of plastic water bottles, transporting water all the way out to the islands uses cargo space and fuel that would be better devoted to bringing goods the local community actually needs.
It'd be really sad to see bottled water use become the norm in Raja Ampat. Living in Bali, we see the end result of going down that path. It's not pretty.
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