The Village Bunaken

Location

Price

Nice location, friendly staff.

Very expensive for what it is compared with other similar places. Cost of food and trips way over the top.

Bunaken is part of 5 islands, belonging to the Bunaken National Marine park, a UNESCO World Heritage conservation area. We probably have seen there the most beautiful corals / marine life during our 2.5 weeks trip around Indonesia (Komodo/Seraya/Bali) owing largely to the location/currents swirling around the island. The resort is 10mins by speed boat from Manado (20mins by normal boat), in addition to the 45mins drive from the airport. We got to Bunaken Village directly from the boat, and were greeted by friendly resort operations manager ViVi. Together with Xu Jin (resort owner), the two women team was extremely friendly, and we loved spending time and chatting with them throughout our stay. The resort is nestled within a tropical forest and designed very much in harmony with surroundings. The accommodation itself is very nice, family friendly. Pretty clean bungalows, only 8 rooms in the resort. No air-cons, but a huge fan, which is adequate. At night, just a few meters out of the resort, we witnessed an amazing fireflies lit tree, a natural wonder and a spectacle to match the stars strewn across the night sky. The coral reef is about 150m from the resort, so you need to take into account the water level/currents when snorkelling (Vivi and Xu Jin will help you explaining what is the best way to get to the reef at different times of the day). Our son went diving with the resort instructors. Everyday, we saw amazing marine life in the coral reef; beautiful fish, tonnes of turtles and even dolphins. The colours were amazing. The food was very tasty, mixture of Indonesian/Chinese, we loved eating their breakfast/lunch/dinner. The menu is fixed, but changes everyday, and you just sign up as you go along. The village of Bunaken is 20mins walk away, worth visiting to see the mixed life or Christians and Muslims.

good food (they adapted to vegan and vegetarian), great responsive staff, great location with world class snorkeling already from the house reef. My 12y old had a discovery dive - fantastic experience, thanks to the instructor; super calm and competent

It's a perfect experience to stay here!the host is helpful, the staff is nice and they cooked the delicious foods,cakes. it’s the first time I do the scuba dive,it’s amazing!I would get the certificate next time. Our flight is in the morning,they arranged the transport very well.

we should stay longer next time

The location on the island is perfect, at the best part of the reef for snorkeling. The owners, David and Fu, are very helpful and kind. Their enthusiasm and love for this area is contagious. The dive center is well equipped and all staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The food is varied and portions more than big enough. It’s hard to find anything negative to say about this place. We would return in a heartbeat.

This is not a complaint because we knew when we booked that our room was fan only. But in this climate, I would have been happy with AC because even at night it was still pretty warm. But again, I would still return because the place is pretty much perfect.