Welcome to Arborek Island, the hidden gem nestled in the heart of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. A slice of pure paradise be prepared to be captivated by the pristine beauty of turquoise waters, vibrant coral reefs and the warmth of the local community. In this blog post we share a summary of our 4 days on Arborek island in Raja Ampat including how we got there, where we stayed, the culture and best things to do on Arborek Island to make sure yo have the best time.
You may have read our ‘Beginners guide to Raja Ampat” blog and would love to know more about staying on Arborek Island? Well you have come to the right place! With its overwater bungalows and breathtaking sunsets, offers an escape into tranquility. Arborek iIsland is an unforgettable destination.
What is Arborek Island?
The first island on our Raja Ampat adventure was Arborek island which is small a low flat sand cay Island. The Island is covered by a sea of coconut palms and thanks to the wide stretch of ocean and fresh ground water it is home to a thriving community.
There’s no lush jungle like some of the other islands, no wildlife or Birds of Paradise here. Its main attraction is the open ocean that surrounds it. Arborek Island is also known for its cultural performances. If you’re lucky you might be able to witness the traditional dance and songs of the Papuan people.
When walking though the village you can see the locals working hard building their fishing boats. The Island also has two local shops that sell beer, cold drinks, local hats and bags made by the local ladies and a school.
There is a phone tower located on Arborek which transmits a strong 4G signal. Data connections are good, but quite slow by international 4G standards. Tekumsel seems to be the only service provider that works on the island. The villages electricity supply is on for most of the day how ever is off in the mornings between 0700 and 1000.
How much does it cost to visit Arborek Island?
Boat transfers from Wasai- 1 000 000 IDR
3 nights accommodation on Arborek- 3 x 800 000 IDR= 2 400 000 IDR
Transfer to Kri- 500 000 IDR
Boat tour to Piaynemo Island and Kri- 3 000 000 IDR
Total price for 2 people – 6 900 000 IDR approximately $780 AUD.
Price break down per person – 3 450 000 IDR, approximately $390 AUD
This is just a price break down for our trip. When you stay on Arborek all your food is included in the accommodation price. The only extras you may have to pay for are boat transfers to other islands. Make sure to bring plenty of extra cash to be able to cover the costs.
How to get to Arborek Island.
The long boat transfer from Waisai to Arborek cost 1 000 000 IDR. Its more expensive than most transfers because Arborek is one of the furthest islands from Waisai.
One of our main reasons of choosing Arborek was because of its close proximity to Paiynemo Islands. If you were to google Raja Ampat most of the photos on the internet would have been taken at the famous lookout spot in Paiynemo. The view is incredible it looks over the archipelago of islands. Staying at Arborek and doing a day trip to Paiynemo was the cheapest option. If you go from another island you could pay 6 000 000 and the trip would take much longer. If you stay in Kri there are more boats that depart for Piaynemo, just organise with your home stay in advance.
Im so happy we chose Arborek Island in Raja Ampat, it was just beautiful. Its one of the more quiet less busy islands but it has amazing coral, beautiful clear water, friendly locals, lots of palm trees and beautiful water bungalows.
Where to stay in Arborek Island?
Using the stay Raja Ampat website is a great plat form to view all the home stay in Raja Ampat. You can filter anything from diving, house reefs, pricing, island activities and location features. There are only 10 home stays on Arborek and after going through and reading all the reviews, we chose to spend our 3 nights at Marwar Home stay on Arboek.
Marwar Home stay is owned by Naftali and his family.
A water bungalow for a couple will cost you 80 000 IDR per night and that includes 3 meals a day cooked by his family, unlimited tea, coffee and water.
Breakfast was mainly just donuts and on one morning we were lucky and we got pancakes and fried banana. Lunch is a mixture of rice, noodles, sautéed veggies, fries, tempeh, and eggs. Dinner is similar with rice or noodles, sautéed veggies, eggs and fresh fish (If caught that day).
We would recommend a water bungalow, there is just something so relaxing about falling asleep the sound of the ocean and small waves hitting the sand. Inside the rooms you sleep on a mattress on the floor with a big mosquito net. We didn’t find the mozzies that bad actually. Outside there is a coffee table chairs and a small hammock, perfect to enjoy watching the sunset. Did we mention that Mawar has the BEST VIEWS of the sunsets? We witnessed the most amazing bright colourful sunsets.
To book Mawar Homestay click HERE
Exploring Arborek Island.
What we had planned for the next 3 days consisted of just snorkeling, swimming, enjoying the beach, visiting the locals and taking in the beauty of Arborek. Looking back and thats definitely what we did. We tried to fit in as much of it as we could. Every day we were up early, planning on where we were going to snorkel for the day.
If you want to organise a day trip to any of the islands just speak to your home stay owner. They can organise any snorkeling, diving or site seeing tours for you. Most have access to a small boat.
Nearby Attractions
- Mansuar Island
- Pianemo Island
- Gam Island
Best things to do on Arborek Island.
Go snorkelling off the local jetties and beaches.
The best snorkelling off Aborek is off the main jetty, we seen so many different coloured fish. Some we have never seen in our life before. Make sure you bring your own snorkel gear with you as some islands do not provide any to hire. Arborek jetty is famous for the huge schools of fish that swim around it, and also for the colourful soft corals that grow onto the jetty. There’s good snorkelling from almost anywhere on the island, but the reefs around the island’s eastern end are particularly rich.
Go Diving in Arborek Island.
Arborek Dive Shop has a good reputation and provides diving for all Arborek homestay guests. But dont worry if your like us and dont yet have your dive ticket, you can still see amazing underwater wildlife and coral just out near the house reef just off the islands door step.
Spend the day relaxing.
This is hard not to do when your on a secluded island away from civilization. There are many nice sandy spots with wooden deck chairs to relax in the sun or read a good book.
Want to read more about other Islands to visit in Raja Ampat? Check out our blog on Kri Island here.
Take a day trip to Piaynemo and Rufus Island.
A day trip to Piaynemo and Rufus Island is a MUST Do when you visit Raja Ampat. For a whole day boat trip to Piaynemo and back costs approximately 3.000.000 IDR. The more people you have on the boat trip the cheaper is it.
We were in awe on the whole boat trip. Huge limestone cliffs stick out of the ocean, covered by green trees and surround by the most clearest waters. It was more beautiful than what we could have imagined. It was a mixture of the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand but this was better.
Once at Piaynemo to get to the view point just follow the wooden stairs up through the forest. The view from the top in just insane! Being up high at the look out you really get to see how beautiful mother nature is in forming all these islands. This view made the rough boat trip all worth it.
Next Island on the trip was Rufus Island which was just a short 20 minute boat trip away. What makes Rufus so unique is that its an island in the middle of no where and in the middle is a huge lagoon, protected from the rough seas. There is an old wooden lookout out you can climb up to take in the full view of the lagoon. Just make sure you wear shoes because you’re climbing on rocks.
The view was just surreal and the lagoon was a beautiful blue colour and the wooden jetty and water bungalows gave it is a tropical island feeling. We spent a few hours here just chilling out, swimming and snorkelling before we ate lunch and head back to Arborek Island.
Explore Arborek Island
Arborek is a pretty small Island, you can walk around the whole Island in just under half an hour. We highly recommend doing this. It’s great to check out different beaches, talk to the locals and see the other homestay. There are 7 other homestay on Arborek. If you do wish to have the sunset side then you’re looking at staying at Mawar homestay or Manta Homestay.
Watch the local women make hand crafts.
The local village women of Arborek have become successful in selling traditional souvenirs . You may see them hand making Noken (traditional Papuan woven sling bags), Bayay (woven baskets) and colourful manta ray shaped hats. The hats are woven from 100% natural dyed pandanus and are sold for between IDR 200,000 and 300,000. When we arrived we could see the lady sitting on the beach hand making the beautiful bags.
Check out some other Islands in Raja Ampat.
You can visit any Islands you want but boat transfers are not cheap. The cost of boat transfers is what seems to make Raja Ampat seem expensive . The fuel here is what is the most expensive and you are not able to dispute the price down. To make it cheaper its better to get more people to share your boat transfer or to join you on a tour. The set prices are per boat not per person.
See you next time Arborek Island.
Raja Ampat isn’t like anywhere else on the planet that we have been. The views above and below water are breathtakingly stunning. Its the closest thing to untouched paradise that we have found.
Unfortunately our time on Arborek has come to an end, but we will be back again very soon. Now its onto the next island Kri 🙂
The time we had exploring the pristine waters, swimming with incredible underwater animals, seeing a variety of different coloured coral and learning about the culture of the West Papua people has been an experience we will never forget.
We hope you enjoyed reading our blog about Arborek Island. Dont forget to check out our other blog on Kri Island – Raja Ampats Best Island” .
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