Raja Ampat: where we stayed and food

Instead of daily recap since everyday we follow similar schedule, I’ll post by theme: where we stayed and food, our daily schedules and activities, and my favorite moments.

We stayed in two resorts: 4 nights at Biodiversity, family style resort owned by a Spanish couple. Amenities are basic: no AC, hot water is limited and dependent on sun. Otherwise it’s a nice resort, pretty popular among foreigners. Most of the other guests stay 10+ days, almost all divers. They have divers package which include daily morning dives, meals, and stay. They didn’t have snorkeling package so we paid for our snorkeling excursions. Meals are served as family style with other guests, usually 4 dishes, two vegetables dish, one protein, and one fried item. Desserts are fruit for lunch and some very sweet dessert for dinner. They also serve snack at 5pm, churros, donuts, cakes.

Snorkeling in front of our room was great! Plenty of corrals, fish, even a sizable shark that scared daddy one day.

The girls had great time playing with other kids. Lizzy went around by herself with her friends and I had nothing to worry about. The resort is so small, with only 10 cottages and 40+ staff.

The lack of AC was not fun but bearable after the first day. The lack of hot water for shower was not enjoyable at first, but it invigorated me few minutes later.

Food was good, especially the large amount of fruit and vegetables everyday. Overall we enjoyed our stay there but would not go back as we enjoyed 10 times more the next hotel, the paradise.

Our second hotel is Cove Eco Resort. It’s in a small island with nothing else but the resort, in the middle of the ocean. It’s surreal to be there. The moment we were picked up by the boat the crew handled us with personal water bottle and cold towel. We were all blowed away by the little luxury after 4 days staying in the jungle. hahah…

The jetty was big with many lounge beds that I spent quite some time every day

The resort has 10 cottages, 7 double bed rooms that are suitable for couples, 3 large rooms that can fit up to 3 single beds in addition to the king bed, which is what we got.

the bathroom is gigantic!

our deck has plenty of sitting area

the view from our room to the restaurant and jetty

the view in the afternoon is so peaceful and warm. We love to spend at the jetty between 5:30 to 6:30pm

entertainment in the resort is minimum which includes pool and ping pong and books.

the restaurant is small and cozy, facing the ocean

For everyday we stayed there, I ran 1 hr around the beach, which is around 1 mile per loop. It was not the best route to run, but I went very slow and enjoyed it.

especially witnessing the beautiful sunrise every morning

The food served by the resort was wonderful. They have a set menu everyday, written down in the blackboard by dinner time the day before. we can have the set menu or ask for changes or completely different dish. They were very accommodative. Whatever we ask, their response was: yes sure!

rice beef curry with vegetables and fried something

Christmas Eve dinner featured lobster and ribs.

pancake with fruits for breakfast

My typical breakfast was veggies, rice, and eggs. I am liking savory breakfast!

one night the girls requested fried rice instead of the menu item

and I requested tofu with veggies.

grilled chicken with veggies. I always ask for second serving of vegetables.

grilled chicken sandwich

desert featured chocolate ice cream

churros

afternoon snack sample: puffs

We all loved this resort so much. I explained to Sofia that this is called a boutique hotel, small and a bit luxurious, especially given its remote location. The staff, from manager to snorkeling guides, to servers and chef, all super friendly, accommodative, with genuine intention to make guests to have the best time during the stay. We had a little bump on the way back as our flight scheduled changed from afternoon to morning, which means we won’t make it unless we leave the resort the night before. When I presented the issue to the manager, she immediately assured me that she’ll find a way to fix it. At the end, we didn’t lose one night at the resort but to stay one night at Sorong instead to catch the following morning flight.

Their hospitality, the location of the resort, the way they schedule our day, and the food, make it the perfect place to stay if you ever plan to visit Raja Ampat. It is not the most luxurious one, but value for money I’ll give it 10/10.

EDIT: Logistics and travel

Getting to Raja Ampat is not difficult. We took an overnight flight from Jakarta to Sorong, 4 hrs. Staff from the resort picked us up to go to a hotel for 1.5 hrs rest/breakfast, before taking the ferry at 9am. The resort arranged the car to move around, bought us ticket to the public ferry, and showed us where are our seats. Once we got to Waisai, 2 hrs later, resort picked us up from the ferry, helped to transfer our luggage to their speed boat, and then the boat took us and other guests to the resort. Depending on the location of the resort, the second boat ride could be from 1.5 hrs. to 4 hrs. On the way back, the resort arranged everything as well. Super easy. For international travelers, they fly to Jakarta and then take the flight to Sorong. Most of the travelers we met spent 2 days getting to Raja Ampat.