TOTAL PRICE: Complete the form to calculate price
Features
- Good phone signal
- English speaking
- Good house reef
- Quiet hideaway
- Sandy Beach
- Western style toilet
- IDR 400,000 to 500,000
- Has private bungalows
Details
Black Swiss Homestay occupies a beachfront location on the north coast of Birie Island, a small island which lies off the north coast of Batanta.
A great couples hideaway, Black Swiss offers a single private bungalow nestled in the shade of beachside trees. Bedding includes the usual mosquito net, pillows, sheets, bolsters. Meals are served on the bungalow verandah which has views across the Dampier Strait to the northern islands. Drinking water, tea and coffee making supplies are supplied free of charge..
A separate 2 room bathroom building provides bucket bathing in one room and a western style toilet in the other.
Electricity is provided at night by generator for lighting and charging devices.
English is spoken at Black Swiss Homestay, and a good 4G phone signal is usually available from the nearby tower at Arefi village.
Basic supplies are available at the village of Arefi which is about a fifteen minute boat ride away. Be sure to bring anything you absolutely can’t do without with you though. Please also be sure to take away any inorganic rubbish you create because, as with the rest of Raja Ampat, there’s no safe waste disposal available on Birie and inorganic waste left there will inevitably result in pollution.
Transport / Getting there
Transport from Waisai to Black Swiss Homestay costs IDR 1,000,000 each way. A longboat capable of carrying up to 6 people is used and the cost is shared by passengers.
Transport between Black Swiss Homestay and Arefi (where the cargo boat docks) costs IDR 300,000 each way. A longboat capable of carrying 5 passengers is used.
Read more about Raja Ampat boat transport prices here.
Public Boat to Batanta
If you have plenty of time, you don’t mind a bit of discomfort, and you want spend as little as possible on transport costs, then there are cargo boats that you can use to get to Batanta. (Obviously, if you are going to arrive on the cargo boat, then you don’t need to request a Waisai pickup when submitting the booking form above.)
Here’s what you need to know about getting the cargo boat to Batanta.
Activities
The lush forests of Pulau Birie are a birdwatcher’s paradise and the island’s north shore are has rich reefs and seagrass meadows where dugongs can often be seen. The nearby village of Arefi is also extremely picturesque and well worth visiting.
Batanta is one of only two places in the world where you can see Wilson’s Bird of Paradise: Black Swiss Homestay can take you to see this amazing bird and can also arrange tours to any other local areas of interest.
The table below lists some of the available options. Tours are by longboat capable of carrying up to 6 people and the trip cost is shared by passengers. Be sure to bring your snorkelling gear! Black Swiss Homestay Tours
| TRIP | PRICE |
|---|
| Snorkelling: Pulau Urun | 550,000 |
| Snorkelling: Pulau Wai | 600,000 |
| Snorkelling: Pulau Dua Kri | 600,000 |
| Snorkelling: Pulau You | 400,000 |
| Snorkelling: West Arefi | 300,000 |
| Snorkelling: Pulau Ayof | 300,000 |
| Wilson’s Bird of Paradise tour | 700,000 |
| Batanta Waterfall tour | 500,000 |
Batanta
See our Batanta page for an overview of Batanta, its neighbouring islands, and their attractions.
