Nyanse Homestay - Raja Ampat

Lovely family. Very welcoming. Sunset. Tours. Food.

Everything was great

The view of the sunset and the Dampier straight is amazing. You are right across from Manta’s and Gam bay, and have easy access to the villages with small basic shops. Ferdi’s familly is a big highlight, they are kind and welcoming, the food is really delicious. We changed bungalows after the first night to be less bothered by the night creatures. Two bungalows have raised beds and are a bit better equiped than the others.

The toilet and shower facility need a refresh. Also they have built more bungalows, now there are 5 so they will have to build more showers to accommodate more guests comfortably. There are some rats in the Mangrove so avoid keeping snacks in your room. That part takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s nature so not sure the family can do anything about that.

The beautiful location and the friendliness and helpfulness of the hosts unfortunately cannot disguise all the shortcomings during our

We were supposed to be taken from Waisai to Nyanse Homestay, Pulau Gam in the homestay's boat. We had originally booked in Pulau Mansuar (crossing 800k) but when I asked, Ferri wrote to me that the crossing to his homestay costs 1 million. In fact, we paid 1.5 million for the crossing. No matter what long treatises about costs and depreciation of materials are written on the official Raja Ambat website, everyone, including us, thinks the prices are a rip-off. Instead of doing the shopping in Waisai beforehand, they make us wait under the sun and go shopping. The boat also transports the students and other errands, but the price is 50% more expensive than stated and the tourists pay it alone. We arrive late at the homestay. Ferri says "sorry, we're overbooked" and sends us not far away to the Binnbetew Homestay. The accommodation is supposed to be similar to the one we booked, and it is. Unfortunately without a fan, which made us sweat quite a bit at night. We were dropped off there and left behind in an otherwise empty homestay. The next morning, no contact, no information about tours or things to do. When we asked, we were unable to be picked up from the tour; the boat was in Waisai for shopping. Luckily, we were in contact with a guest who was able to stay in the Nyanse Homestay, and through him another guest had organized the tours and included us. Without this help, we would have been left alone in an otherwise empty homestay. The hosts at Binnbetew Homestay were actually nice and offered us three meals a day, but the clean toilets and showers were accessed via a staircase on a hill with no railings, which means we don't recommend visiting at night or for unathletic people. Overall, we have to complain that the service and the coordination of the tours are simply not well organized and we were there in the low season in February.

On the water. Close to a couple of local villages. Nice house reef. Wonderful family hosts.

Only one squatter toilet for 8 guests. Poor communication. The only English speaking member was hardly there.

It is such a beautiful and peaceful place in between these two cute villages, and had some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in Indonesia. The family running the homestay will do everything in their power to make you feel comfortable, and offer a good amount of trips around in the area. They are just very sweet. And I loved the food.

Nothing

Feri and his family were so welcoming. They could answer all our questions and point us in the right direction. Also nothing was too much trouble and they were really accommodating with us wanting to do excursions with limited notice. The views from the huts are stunning, it's nice to be able to walk to the local villages and the snorkelling from the homestay jetty is brilliant - we even saw a dugong!

This homestay was the best ever, I would always put it in my list when coming back to RA, it feels like we have them as friends and family there! I don’t know where to start, apart from the absolutely stunning views on the oceanfront pier and balconies, especially during sunset and sunrise, I really have to highlight the food - it was always incredible, especially the veggies just wow. The breakfast and the deserts (fruit) was usually calculated with about 2 pieces per person if there were more people staying at the homestay, but that was fine since they also have an afternoon snack every day! Me and my partner are freedivers, so we were looking for spots between 3-20 meters with the main objectives to see mantas, sharks and turtels, and the family did its best with helping us planning the trips. All of the we did with the homestay and it was great, they always brought lunch and coffee and you could really see they enjoy being in the water and with the marine life as well. We went to Manta Sandy, Tangjung Putus, and Mansuar and all of them were great, yet in Mansuar there was loads of trash in the water (like generally around Kri and north of RA during rainy time) which is really a big downer and will hopefully change at some point. After having stayed also on Kri island, I know now that Nyanse Homestay is one of the cleanest places and their housereef is usually quite clean as well. Of course the corals there are not as great as the spots you go with a boat because they are also more exposed to sun and heat, but we saw a great amount of colorful and different fish as well as a turtle and 2 water snakes (watch out they are highly poisonous but they do not attack if you leave them alone, also some other divers told me they are so small so they could only potentially bite where the skin is very thin like the ears, so all good ;) ) Now the best thing - every single one of the family is such a warm soul. They even helped me prepare a surprise for my partner’s birthday

More fruits as a side and during times would have been great!

Perfect stay! Comfy bed, very clean shower and toilet, delicious food and lots of it. The family was very welcoming. Excursions fairly priced. We’d definitely come back.

A lovely homestay with a friendly family. The bungalow has great water views, especially sunsets towards Arborek Island. Access to the house reef is easy as it starts from the homestay's long jetty. Boat trips for snorkelling are offered by the owner. During the trips there is always a member of the family snorkelling with the guests to ensure their safety. There are two small villages either side of the homestay where you can buy very basic groceries and cold drinks. The family provides three meals a day plus an afternoon snack. The food was excellent and plentiful, including fresh fruit with every meal.

We would have preferred more comfortable chairs on the deck than the plastic chairs provided, but there was a hammock and a timber day lounge. The bed mattress was very thin and sagging.

Very remote and quiet area. Just ocean in front of the room. The family was super nice and food was very tasty. They made a birthday party for me and we had great fun together!

If you are serious scuba divers, probably this home is too far from any dive center. So I don’t recommend. But if you just want to chill out in the total isolation and good snorkeling, this place is paradise.