Good For You

There are few places on earth like Misool Eco Resort. Located in the southern part of Raja Ampat, this private resort island of Batbitim lies 240 kilometres away from the nearest resort and half a day’s journey from the nearest village. But it’s not just its remote location that sets it apart from other island hideaways, Misool is unique for a number of reasons and they’re all very good.

Firstly you have the cottages. There are just fourteen of these, ten of which perch on stilts over the tranquil North Bay. Here you can dangle your toes in the unbelievably clear turquoise seas from your very own private veranda. Secondly you have the diving. Misool Eco Resort is pure heaven for scuba fanatics and you’ll spend almost more time underwater here than you will on dry land.

And finally you have Misool’s environmental policy. This resort is ‘eco’ in the truest sense meaning that your holiday will be good for both you and your host community.

Good For Indonesia

Raja Ampat is home to some of the world's richest reefs. However the reefs have been subject to over-fishing, cyanide fishing and bombing, and shark finning in recent years. In order to combat these problems Misool Eco Resort has created a 200sq km Marine protected Area around the resort which they regularly patrol.

The resort has been built from salvaged materials using local builders and craftsmen and actively works to minimise its impact on the environment. Misool works with and employs locals, thereby offering them an alternative income to logging, mining or commercial fishing, which cause environmental damage to the area. The aim of Misool Eco Resort is to demonstrate to locals and local government that tourism can offer a sustainable income.

Rooms

Food

Features & Facilities

• Restaurant
• Ensuite bedrooms
• Dive centre
• Internet

Local Info & Activities

The main draw card here are the phenomenal scuba diving opportunities. All guests to the resort must be certified scuba instructors and guests will be asked to present their certification card. Lessons and courses are not offered at Misool.

Diving

Raja Ampat is home to the world's richest reefs. Located at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the region sprawls over 180,000sq km and boasts the majority of the world's reef-building corals. In fact, in an area the size of two football fields, scientists discovered more than six times as many coral species as live in the entire Caribbean Sea. Raja Ampat has over 700 species of molluscs and 1,200 species of fish. Counted among those is the newly discovered 'walking' epaulette shark, commonly seen on night dives on the house reef.

In 2006, Misool Eco Resort reached an agreement with the local village and secured the rights to 200sq km of sea surrounding the resort island, Batbitim. Inside this Marine Protected area (MPA), all fishing, cyanide fishing, bombing, shark finning, harvesting of turtle eggs and shellfish are prohibited.

Seven additional MPAs were established in 2007 due to the joint efforts of Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, The Coral Reef Alliance, and the local Indonesian government. Raja Ampat is now a Marine Park. Thanks to the extremely remote location, Misool Eco Resort is able to offer the variety and quality of live aboard diving combined with all the comforts of a land based resort. The diversity of Raja Ampat's underwater topography is simply astounding, abounding in all manner of reef systems.

The resort has explored over 60 dive sites within a one-hour boat ride and 20 world-class dive sites within a 10-minute ride from the resort. Some of the more famous dive sites include Fiabacet, Boo, Manta Mountain, and Gorgonian Passage. Visibility is generally 25+ meters, with temperatures around 26-28 degrees Celsius (78-82 degrees Fahrenheit). You can expect to dive a wide selection of coral covered walls, reef flats, caves, gentle sea mounts, placid lagoons, and current-raked pinnacles.

The clear waters surrounding Misool Eco Resort are patrolled by massive schools of hunting fish, manta rays, wobbegong sharks, tawny nurse sharks, guitar sharks, dolphins, whales and turtles. You'll also find blue ringed octopus, schooling bumpheads, Napoleon wrasse, giant clams, Mandarin fish, flame file shells, ghost pipefish, frog fish, a wide variety of nudibranchs, and several species of elusive pygmy seahorses. Epaulette sharks and mobula rays are resident upon our house reef.

Twenty dives are included in the 11-night package and additional dive packages are charged as follows:

20 dives: Air €600

15 dives: €450

10 dives: €325

5 dives: €175

Single dive: €35

In addition to diving and snorkelling guests can visit ancient petroglyphs, enjoy lagoon tours and trips to Jellyfish Lake as well as orchid spotting, bird watching and visits to local villages.

NSIDER TIP/S Misool Eco Resort is located on its own private island and as such guests should bring everything they might need for their holiday, as there are no shopping facilities.

The resort is closed July to Septemebr each year.

Sustainability

Misool Eco Resort is deeply committed to a policy of environmental and social responsibility. The resort seeks to provide exceptional and enriching experiences in a sustainable environment while protecting and revitalising the natural surroundings and the community in which they operate. Misool Eco Resort is committed to demonstrating to the local community, their guests and the local government that tourism can support a local economy with much more favourable terms than mining, logging, overfishing, or shark finning.

Conservation

With the full cooperation of the local community Misool Eco Resort has established a 200sq km Marine Protected Area (no-take zone) surrounding Misool Eco Resort and they regularly patrol the area for illegal fishing and shark finning. The Misool Conservation Centre is being registered as a UK-charity, and will provide a well-equipped, functional base for scientific research and conservation projects, both social and environmental

Building

The resort structures have been designed and built to be as low impact as possible using natural, environmentally appropriate materials. Misool Eco Resort uses sustainable sources of wood. With the exception of a few furniture samples and plywood, all the wood used to build the resort has been salvaged hardwoods. The resort team has excavated driftwood buried under beach sand and then milled every single piece by hand in their portable sawmill. This wood has been purchased directly from the local people rather than logging conglomerates. Most of the fine carpentry work, such as making doors, windows, and furniture, is done locally and the carpenters are supplied with the resorts own ‘eco-lumber’. The resort’s pier has been constructed with salvaged 22-inch metal pipe.

The cottages use natural thatch roofing (alang-alang), a locally made product, and an excellent insulator. The deep verandas and low roof lines of the cottages decrease the amount of solar heat which enters the building and the steeply pitched roofs and open eaves create a natural ventilation system. The cottage cavity walls are insulated with coconut fibres and treated with borax, a natural termite deterrent. No toxic paint has been used as both the exterior and interior walls of the structures have been finished with a plaster made with local sand. Natural finishing products such as teak oil have been used wherever possible.

Energy

The resort is doing what it can to minimise its consumption of fossil fuels. They have sourced low consumption appliances such as air conditioners, fans and lights. They are currently experimenting with a wind turbine and have successfully rigged one small turbine to power the staff bungalows. They are also experimenting with solar panels and now have a small panel powering the Dive Centre in the evenings. The resort is cutting down the number of hours the generator runs and hopes to switch over to biodiesel in the near future made using locally produced coconut oil.

Water

Water is very scarce at Misool Eco Resort, and the resort asks their guests and staff to do their part in minimising its consumption. In order to decrease their dependence on water sources on the island they have drilled their own well, and also installed a desalination unit. They have also installed water-saving showerheads and taps. Grey water will be processed with waste water gardens and then redirected to flush toilets. Linens and towels are washed upon requested rather than daily.

Waste

Misool Eco Resort operates in a very fragile eco-system. In order to minimise waste grey water from the showers goes through their waste water garden cleaning flower beds before being recycled for their gardens. Black water gets moved to their composting area on the far side of the island to make compost. The resort composts all kitchen scraps, which makes great fertiliser for their organic kitchen gardens.

Misool Eco Resort don't use pesticides or herbicides, rather they spray their plants and trees with an unsavoury mix of tobacco and water. Inorganic matter is returned to Sorong for proper recycling and disposal. Misool minimises the amount of toxins released into their waste system by supplying guests and staff with biodegradable soaps and shampoos.

The island is free of disposable plastic water bottles. Guests will be given a sterilised reusable water bottle, refilled at no cost with safe drinking water. Guests are asked to think carefully when they're packing and leave disposable plastic lighters, plastic bags, plastic bottles, etc, at home.

Plans are underway to include a carbon-offsetting option with their holiday packages.

People

The conservation of this delicate ecosystem is critical for a multitude of reasons, including the survival and wellbeing of its human inhabitants. The local community is a subsistence economy, existing on a very slim economic margin. Misool Eco Resort truly believes that the conservation of this area is absolutely vital to the economic and cultural survival of Raja Ampat's indigenous people.

The resort land has been contracted directly from Yellu, the local village 14 miles to the northwest of the island. The majority of staff, including builders involved in the construction of the resort, come from Yellu. Wherever possible the resort buys locally and they offer favourable employment terms, approved by the local department of labour as well as the workers themselves. All staff are offered health insurance for themselves and their families and a number of opportunities for advancement as well as job training and English lessons are provided. Staff are educated on the importance of conservation and the staff educate the management on local remedies, traditions, wildlife patterns, Indonesian language etc..

Misool Eco Resort is also working on a project in conjunction with Conservation International to teach a local village how make rattan furniture. The resort is bringing in Indonesian experts from Bali to train the villagers with the hope that in the future the resort will be able to buy all its furnishings from this village. The resort has also employed several carpenters from Java to help teach the local builders new skills.

Getting There

Misool Eco Resort is located on its own private island of Batbitim and can only be accessed through the resort. Transfer from Sorong to and from Batbitim is included in the package price. Misool Eco Resort recommends transit to Sorong through Singapore or Bali’s Denpasar airport.

Transfers depart Sorong at 9.30am on alternating Sunday mornings arriving at the resort at about 3pm. Transfers depart the island for Sorong on Thursdays.

Visit our Transport section for flights, hybrid car rentals and train bookings.

Rates & Bookings

All prices are in Euro and are per person based on an 11 night diving package.

Reef View Cottage

• 11 nights, unlimited diving Air €1,750 Nitrox €1,960
• 11 nights, 20 dives €1,500 €1,6402
• 11 nights, 10 dives €1,250 €1,320
• 11 nights 11 nights, non-diver €935

Water Cottage

• 11 nights, unlimited diving Air €2,900 Nitrox €3,110
• 11 nights, 20 dives €2,650 €2,790
• 11 nights, 10 dives €2,400 €2,470
• 11 nights 11 nights, non-diver €2090

* Rates are inclusive of accommodation, diving (number dependent on package purchased) food, beverages (not including soft drinks and alcoholic beverages), transfer to and from the resort on scheduled departure dates, and government taxes.

* Unlimited diving packages are for scheduled dives and unguided house reef dives between 7am and 9pm. /li]

booking & cancellation policy

* Children aged 4 – 8, sharing room with parents, charged 25% of adult rate. Children aged 9 – 15, sharing room with parents, charged 50% of adult rate.

* There is a single room surcharge of €25 per night for the Reef View Cottages and €75 per night for the Water Cottages.

* Non-scheduled transfers to/from Sorong, for entire vessel and 6 persons costs from €600 with each additional person costing €50.

* Dive equipment rental, not including wetsuit, €250 for 11 nights.

* Dive equipment rental, not including wetsuit, per day €25

* Nitrox fills €7

* Each guest must also purchase a Raja Ampat Marine Park entry permit (valid one calendar year), €36

* Guests wishing to purchase the Sorong departure package (hotel, transfers, dinner and breakfast) will be charged €50 per person or €75 for double occupancy.

* Misool Eco Resort is closed July to September each year.

Want to avoid cancellation fees? Visit our Insurance section for information on travel insurance.