After our stay in the Kei Islands, we spent 1 night in Ambon before leaving again to our next destinations, the Spice Islands aka Banda Islands. I do love that each group of islands we visit has their own nickname.
Related Blog Post: Read the ultimate guide to travelling in the Kei Islands here!
Although the Banda Islands are more touristy than the Kei Islands, it is NOTHING like Bali. You will meet very genuine tourists here. I also felt like we discovered more of the Maluku culture while visiting the Banda Islands compared to Kei Kecil.
The Banda Islands are also known as the Spice Islands and were very important to colonizing Europeans in the 17th century since this where many popular spices originated. Nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and white pepper (to name a few!) originate from the Banda Islands. I love spices and I read great things online about the Banda Islands, so why not visit them for myself?
Before I delve into a lot of details, I want to make it very clear why you should visit the Banda Islands: you will experience the best snorkelling in your life. I had no idea that snorkelling could be this good. If you have snorkelled in Thailand or Croatia, forget about it! That’s just shit. Imagine swimming out only 1-metre to an infinite drop off surrounded by (not exaggerating) thousands of fish. You can see a green turtle on every snorkel and can also dive with hammerhead sharks. What the heck are you waiting for? Book a plane and visit the Banda Islands before it is too late!
- 1-Week Itinerary on the Banda Islands
- How to Get to the Banda Islands
- Where to Stay on the Banda Islands
- What to Eat on the Banda Islands
Feel free to click on the anchor links above to skip to your favourite part! Make sure you read our itinerary since it involves island hopping and climbing a volcano!
1-Week Itinerary on the Banda Islands
Day 1: Arrival to Banda Neira and Dinner at Cilu Bintang Estate
We took the fast boat from Ambon to Banda Neira (aka Banda Naira) on a Tuesday (read more about that below!) and that ended up taking up most of the day. Most blogs wrote that it takes 4-5 hours. HAHA! What a lie! It took us more like 6.5 hours. We were not prepared with lunch or snacks, so we arrived in Banda Neira very, very hungry. A local did tell us that the main fast ferry was not currently working.
I will admit that the ride over did have its advantages. Although it was quite rocky, which meant I was not able to pass the time reading, we did see several pods of dolphins and whales from the ferry. It really does not matter which country you are from, every person on the boat deck ran to one side to capture photos of these animals. It is almost like the land equivalent of “look, horses!” while on a long road trip. You can’t help but be excited when spotting whales or dolphins.
We were spending our first night at Mutiara Guesthouse, which is owned by the famous Abba. He owns two accommodations on Banda Neira and is a big advocate for tourism here. Our luggage was collected and taken directly there and we hopped on Abba and his friend’s scooter to avoid the few-minute walk.
So, we had arrived and checked in. However, we had to immediately make our way to find a snack before I shrivelled up and died of hunger. It was nearly 4 pm and we had split some cookies for lunch. I am a girl who likes to eat so you can imagine my pain. We wandered the streets, feeling tired and beat, but alas, there was hope!
We stumbled upon Belgica Café, which is found directly beside Fort Belgica. Okay, so the name isn’t creative, but who cares? We asked what food they had and they replied with one thing: potato goreng. We understood the word potato and being too hangry (hungry and angry) to search elsewhere we accepted this mysterious food item.
Luckily, it ended up being fries, and not just regular run-of-the-mill fries. These fries were delicious. I do not know what seasoning was on this but I am writing about this weeks later, and I would almost fly to Banda Neira again just to eat those fries. We tried other fries on the island and nothing else compares.
After relaxing for a bit, we had the buffet dinner at Cilu Bintang Estate. It is a bit pricey, costing 100 000 IDR (9 CAD/62 SEK) per person, so we only ate here once. The atmosphere was lovely and Abba knew how to be a good host. He sat a guest from Jakarta with us and he ended up eating with us as well. The food was fresh and well prepared. There were music and singing. Overall, I liked it.
Day 2-5: Hatta Island
Do not, I repeat, do not travel all this way without spending a few nights on Hatta Island. Hatta Island was the highlight of our trip to the Spice Islands. Here you will find the best snorkelling in the Maluku Islands!
Getting to Hatta Island can be a bit of a pain. From what I understood, there are public boats on Wednesday and Saturdays. However, other sources said that during high-season (October-November) there are boats every day. We were going on a Wednesday, so I had pretty high hopes that it would work out fine. When we asked what time the boat goes, we heard everything between 10 am and 2 pm. Don’t you just love island time?
The Hatta Star is the local boat headed to Hatta Island and the herds of locals that hopped on our boat about halfway through our journey
We arrived at the local dock (this is not the same as the main dock, where the fast boats and PELNI arrive) around 10:30 pm. Our boat ended up leaving just after 1pm. My advice would be to show up around 12 pm, and be prepared that you may need to wait until 3:30 pm, like other travellers we met, had to. We met some travellers that had to charter their own boats (this costs around 600 000 for the boat) since the local boat was being used for a wedding. Basically, nothing is reliable! If you can take the local boat, it is the best and cheapest option. It costs us 50 000 IDR (5 CAD/31 SEK) each for the journey.
The boat ride to Hatta took about 1.5 hours.
The first night we stayed at Sara’s Homestay, which is famous for her amazing cooking. It really was amazing! Since she only had beach view the first night we were there, we spent the next 2 nights at a newer hut, which I believe was called Caeser’s Homestay. There was no sign on it, so it’s a bit hard to know.
Delicious meal at Sara’s Homestay and the fish her husband caught for dinner
There are no restaurants on the island. You can buy beer, soft drinks, and some snacks in the kiosks. Other than that, all food comes from the homestay you are staying at. If you get hungry often, bring some snacks from Ambon or Banda Neira.
We stayed 3 nights total on Hatta Island. There is no Wifi or phone data here. So, this was not a place to catch up with friends or write a blog post. Hatta Island is a place to snorkel and relax.
This was our view from Caesar’s, so even without any internet it still made a nice space to do some writing on Microsoft Word
During our stay, I went snorkelling 5 times. The snorkelling on Hatta Island is unreal. I have never seen anything like it. I honestly did not know that snorkelling could be as good as this.
A green turtle, triggerfish, schools of reef fishes, and me investigating everything I can see while snorkelling
You swim out maybe 1-metre and then there is an infinite drop-off. The coral reef here is healthy and teaming with life. Everywhere you look, there are 1000s of fish around you. Also, since it is quite shallow before the drop-off, the colours are quite nice here and visibility is good. If you want to see Lion Fish, snorkel when the sun starts to set.
Daniel always being the perfect model while snorkelling, some bright blue reef fish, and the token snorkel selfie
If you love reef fishes, then you will love snorkelling here. We also saw a moray eel, 2 octopuses, and 5 green turtles. Turtles are beloved by all, and it was amazing to go snorkelling and see them so close to me! They are so freaking cool! If you love turtles, then you will love how close you can see them here.
Of course, since I was so excited about looking at all the wonderful sea creatures, I burnt the shit out of my lower back. I will mention that this is Danne’s job to apply lotion there, ahem, but alas, I had to snorkel with a workout shirt 1 of the times. My advice: buy a rash guard and protect yourself from burning.
There are so many picturesque places to snap a beautiful picture
Other than the abundance of sea life and being able to snorkel at your heart’s content, there isn’t a whole lot to do on Hatta Island. You come here to relax. We did go for a walk into the town and saw nutmeg trees along the way. I would recommend doing this walk since the scenery is quite nice.
I am very excited here to see my first nutmeg tree and me enjoying the views from the concrete dock
We also relaxed on wooden benches while reading good books. Make sure you bring a Kindle or some good books with you.
During the evenings, you can head to the end of the beach, which is marked by an umbrella, and buy beer from the beer cart guy. We met a lovely couple on Hatta Island and spent some time with them here. The beer cart guy can be seen playing his ukulele and trying to serenade a foreigner every evening. I don’t think he ever succeeds though. The wife of the couple we met was actually from Kei Kecil so her and the beer cart guy sang some Maluku songs together. I loved this since it felt so authentic. I learned that the people from the Maluku Islands love to sing! Many of them join choirs and learn how to sing from a very young age. I thought that this was really neat! I guess the best way to learn about the culture is to meet real locals.
The walk to the beer card (also the best place to see the sunset) and listening to some authentic Maluku songs
The day we left was a bit of a disaster. We left on a Saturday when there should have been a local ferry. It ended up not stopping at our beach and just continuing past us. There you go with the island time again. Thankfully, we shared a boat back with a nice elderly German couple we met earlier for 600 000 IDR (54 CAD/370 SEK) total. So, not too bad of a price for us 4. The boat took us right to our new accommodation on Banda Neira, Nurasia Guesthouse.
Day 5-6: Relaxing on Banda Neira
The day we returned to Banda Neira and the day after were lazy days. We were a bit tired from all the travelling and just wanted some time to catch up social media and plan out the next leg of our trip.
We didn’t do a whole lot these days. We quickly saw Fort Belgica (we ended up going back later) and ate good street food.
When the PELNI ship arrives bi-weekly, a makeshift market pops up. I can imagine that everyone on the ship must be craving food that tastes good after being stuck with boring food for days.
The street food here is cheap and delicious. You can get tuna on a stick with sambal for 10 000 IDR (1 CAD/6 SEK). However, I don’t like fish, so I really liked the meals wrapped in banana leaves for 20 000 IDR (2 CAD/12 SEK). Here you can choose delicious items such as yellow rice, ulang-ulang (mixed vegetables in a nut sauce), fried eggplant, egg, tempeh (a soy product), and mixed vegetables with dressing. This meal was way cheaper than the restaurants we had been eating at and it was so delicious! We found out later that there are some good food stalls in town that sell similar meals.
Day 7: Hike Mount Api
Mount Api is an active volcano that overlooks Banda Neira and provides some beautiful photo ops. We have met many other travellers that hiked it and it was thoroughly recommended for great views. Gunung Api (the real name for Mount Api) is an active volcano and erupted the last time in the late 1980s. I definitely felt a bit dangerous getting my hike on!
We were warned to start really early like 4 am early. I love sleeping more than anything else (okay, maybe I like food more). The point is there is no way in hell I was waking up at 4 am. Danne did convince me to wake up at 5 am, which meant that after breakfast and getting ready our ascent started at 6:20 am. The owner of Nurasia Guesthouse, Bobi, took us over to the island Banda Api since it was early and were too lazy to try to solve another ride over.
Daniel and I really lucked out with the weather. I would not want to hike up this volcano if the sun was beating down on me. We had some clouds over us that protected us from the beating sun. The hike up took us 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was not an easy hike due to the pathway. It is like scrambling up a mountainside and the rocks are very loose. You must wear good footwear and sometimes even use your hands to grab roots to help pull your way up. If you have difficulties with easy-intermediate hikes, I would not recommend this hike.
The hike itself was intermediate; just the scrambling up made it quite tough. Along the way, you can see many lovely views of Banda Neira and Banda Besar. The last 15 minutes of the hike up was my favourite. Here the path starts to clear (and become manageable to climb with ease). Also, you really start to feel like you are nearing your goal.
Finally, at 8:05 am, we arrived at the top! But now I need to mention something. Daniel is cursed. Every time he does a nice hike while abroad, it is always cloudy and rainy and the view can’t be seen. The weather did not look like it was going to cooperate with us. Would I be stuck with his fate?
We decided to wait it out a bit, and that was an excellent decision. The clouds ended up burning away and we got some magnificent views. We even got to fly the drone up there! I loved that you could see most of the major islands from up here: Banda Neira, Banda Besar, Ai Island, and Run Island.
Ai Island and Run Island behind me and then Banda Neira and Banda Besar behind Danne
Daniel and I ate some cookies and chilled at the top of the active volcano. We actually really lucked out with the weather since it wasn’t too warm or uncomfortable so we could stay up at the top for a few hours. Hiking Mount Api was quite tough, but the views were totally worth it!
The hike down was a different story. In Canada, we sometimes have hikes that allow you to take gondolas down. This is a golden idea since you do the cardio, get the reward of a lovely view, and then get to leave ASAP. The climb down, let’s be honest, the fall down, took almost as long as the ascent. I fell several times and even hurt my hand.
It was not easy to get a good footing on the way down. I am also afraid of small heights, you know, the ones that could actually injure you! So, I was just counting down the time for us to be down.
Along the way, you will spot massive spiders. We never even noticed them on the way up but on the way down we spotted them everywhere.
Finally, after what felt like forever, we were down again! We flagged down a boat and took it to the local dock for 10 000 IDR (1 CAD/6 SEK). For the rest of the day, we were pretty beat. That hike really sucked the energy out of us. We met another couple that hiked it, and the girlfriend said that she ended up skipping dinner and at sleeping at 6 pm when they hiked it. So, be prepared to be tired.
That night for dinner, we discovered delicious local street food, which was very similar to what we had the night before. For the meal I liked, it was the same price of 20 000 IDR (2 CAD/12 SEK). I loved eating this since I got to choose exactly what I wanted to eat. Around the corner, there is a really yummy chicken satay street food stall. For 5 skewers it cost 10 000 IDR (1 CAD/6 SEK). This meal was extremely tasty! Definitely one of the best that I’ve had in the Maluku region!
Day 8: Island Hopping on Ai and Run, Visiting Fort Belgica, and Finding Mandarin Fish
So, we kind of did too much on our last day, but we ended up wasting some days in the middle to relax. Suddenly, it was like shoot, we have to do all this tomorrow before leaving!
Bobi, the owner of Nurasia Guesthouse, ended up arranging a boat for us to go to Ai Island, Run Island, and Nailaka Island. This trip can cost over 1 000 000 IDR for the boat rental, but we got it for 500 000 IDR (45 CAD/308 SEK) for the both of us! There was a bit of a catch, Bobi’s friend would go fishing and then it would be a win-win. We would get to island hop, and even do authentic local fishing, and Bobi would get fish! Our boat driver was Bobi’s friend Fugmy, who ended really making Bobi irritated since for some unknown reason he decided to not go fishing! So, for us, it was great! I got exactly the trip I wanted for half the price!
Fugmy took us first to Ai Island (aka Ay Island). There are 2 guesthouses here and I know other travellers have enjoyed their stay here. You can snorkel here as well. Compared to Hatta Island, this place wasn’t very good. Hatta Island is so remote and beautiful. The beach on Ai was dirty. So, if you are planning a trip to Ai, do it before you stay on Hatta. Or else, you may be disappointed.
A local woman working on Ai Island and some nutmeg drying out
Then we took the boat to Run Island (aka Rhun Island). Danne and I both got a way better impression from Run Island. Although there isn’t a beachfront at the harbour, the locals here were so friendly. Mr. Burhan, a local teacher who also owns the guesthouse here, Nailaka Guesthouse, immediately greeted us upon arrival. He was very informative and helped guide us in the right direction to see the nutmeg plantations.
We saw nutmeg trees on Hatta Island. However, on Run Island, there are nutmeg trees everywhere if you know where to look. The plantation was really cool! We enjoyed walking around and seeing all of the nutmeg trees.
Daniel collecting nutmeg and a local taking off the hard shells so the nutmeg can be dried out
After we had visited enough trees, we headed back down to Mr. Burhan’s guesthouse to chat with him and drink a cold Coca-Cola. If you were planning on staying over on Run, I would stay here. He was so lovely to chat with.
Outside of Guesthouse Nailaka and some spices that are grown on Run Island
Finally, it was time to leave to Run Island and go snorkelling off of Nailaka Island. This tiny unhabituated island is a real gem. It is a very picturesque beach and the snorkelling is quite good. However, once again, it was not as good as Hatta. On Hatta, the fish are seriously 1-metre from your face. Here they are much further down. So, I would recommend that you snorkel here before heading to Hatta Island so you are not disappointed.
This beach is a true paradise, and there are no guesthouses on it yet! However, the snorkelling was so-so compared to Hatta
After snorkelling, we relaxed on the sand and ate our packed lunch from Bobi. Our boat trip started at 7:45 am and we returned shortly before 2 pm. On the way back, I catnapped on the boat. I ended up getting super burnt since I forgot to reapply sunscreen after snorkelling. So, don’t be dumb like me and protect yourself from the sun. We really lucked out with the weather! I mean the temperatures yesterday were perfect for hiking and today they were perfect for island hopping!
After relaxing for a few hours, we went back to Fort Belgica. It was open this time, so we went inside of it and took some pictures. The views from up here were really nice and we got to watch the sun disappear behind the volcano.
Not a bad view to watch a sunset
I would recommend going up 1 of the towers since you get the best views here. However, the ladder to go up is seriously terrifying. I hope they eventually fix that since I was pretty certain that I was going to die when I descended those 12 steps.
The last activity that we wanted to do was to snorkel to see the famous mandarin fish! The best place to do this is at The Maulana. You can literally just walk into the hotel, since there are no real doors, and snorkel there. The best spot to see the mandarin fish is where the palm tree sticks out a bit.
To see mandarin fish, you have to go out when the sun is setting, or else they are not out. Since it is dark, you need to use an underwater flashlight to see them. Make sure you have fins while snorkelling since there are sea urchins everywhere and I wouldn’t want to lose a fight to one of those. I have a friend who stepped on a sea urchin once, and it did not sound like an experience I would want on my holiday.
The mandarin fish are really cool to see. Snorkelling so close the harbour is a bit gross, but thankfully the elderly German couple that we met on Hatta told us there was a place to shower here. Before snorkelling, I checked out the bathroom that he pointed to. I saw a big sign to not shower here. I was so confused since this could not be the shower he was talking about. The only thing that could be used as a shower here was the bidet AKA the bum gun.
After snorkelling, we asked the staff about the shower services. They had no idea what we were talking about and said there weren’t any, just a public toilet. Let me just say, that German guy is either crazy or he has been showering with a bum gun the past week he’s been there. I am afraid that it is probably the latter.
Daniel and I had 2 options: shower with the bum gun (which is against the rules) or walk home wet. We kind of compromised. I ended up just putting on our clothes (commando of course since I am not wasting underwear for a 10-minute walk!), buying street food for dinner along the way, and then showering when we got back to Nurasia Guesthouse. We survived our awkward walk, and I am glad that we snorkelled with the mandarin fish. However, I hope that next time we are better prepared.
This was our last night here! We ended up leaving with the fast boat early the next morning from the main dock.
Our One Regret
We do regret not diving with the hammerhead sharks. The only European-owned diving school, Dive Bluemotion, gets booked up months in advance. There are local schools like Naira Dive, but their compressors were broken so there was a huge waiting list to dive with them as well. We had to skip it, which saddens us both. But now we know that we have to go back and see those hammerheads!
How to Get to the Banda Islands
The Banda Islands are a group of islands within the Maluku Region.
There are 3 ways to get to the Banda Islands:
1. Fast Boat
The fast boat is the easiest way to get between Ambon and Banda Neira. It leaves from Ambon to Banda Neira on Tuesdays and Saturdays and goes from Banda Neira to Ambon on Sundays and Wednesdays. For us, it was super convenient and allowed us to arrive on a Tuesday and leave the following Wednesday.
In Ambon, you take the ferry from Tulehu, which is a little way outside of Ambon City. You can take a Grab or taxi there.
The tickets cost 410 000 IDR (37 CAD/253 SEK) per person. The journey is quoted to take 5-6 hours. It took more like 6-7 hours for us, but we heard this was because the normal boat was broken down.
You can buy instant noodles on the boat, and there is hot water. I would suggest that you buy lunch and snacks before boarding.
The best place to sit is up on the deck. It is sheltered so you won’t get a lot of the beating sun. You will notice that the majority of foreigners rush up to the deck to sit. There is nothing to do on this boat ride, so bring books and hope for calm seas like we had on the way back. Or else, it is going to be a long ride.
Please note: there are no fast boats in bad weather and then you can only use the PELNI ship.
2. PELNI
The PELNI ship arrives every few weeks, but it is the only 100% reliable method to get to the Banda Islands. The PELNI ships go in any type of weather. It either comes directly from Ambon, or you can even take it from Kei Kecil. This means that you could plan your trip so you transport between the Banda Islands and the Kei Islands via PELNI.
Visit the PELNI website to plan your trip.
The PELNI ship costs around 105 000 IDR (9 CAD/65 SEK) and takes 10-13 hours. I have heard from other travellers that this is a great way to experience how the locals travel within Indonesia.
3. Plane
This is the most unreliable way to the Banda Islands. The flights are cancelled if there is bad weather. You have to book tickets through SUSI Air at Ambon Airport. The ticket counter was always closed when we tried to inquire about tickets. From what I have understood, the prices are similar to that of the fast boat. The one huge advantage of flying is that you arrive in Banda Neira very quickly. Also, no seasickness!
Where to Stay on the Banda Islands
So, you have finally made it here and you are wondering what the best accommodation on the Banda Islands is. Here is a list of accommodations we stayed at!
Banda Neira
Mutiara Guesthouse
Website: http://www.banda-mutiara.com/
Whatsapp: +62 813 30343377
Price: 300 000 IDR (27 CAD/185 SEK) for 2 people in a double room including breakfast
Abba is the heart of Banda Neira. He is an advocate for tourism and extremely professional. He owns Mutiara Guesthouse, which is cheaper and cozier than the more luxurious hotel he also owns, Cilu Bitang Estate. Breakfast here was good and the rooms were clean. There was AC, which was really nice for sleeping. The buffet dinner (which you should try once!) is at Cilu Bitang Estate.
Nurasia Guesthouse
Website: https://nurasiabanda.wixsite.com/nurasia
Whatsapp: +62 81240704628
Price: 275 000 IDR (25 CAD/170 SEK) for 2 people in a double room including breakfast
Bobi owns Nurasia Guesthouse and many of his guests are staying in Banda Neira for an extended period of time since they are doing marine volunteer work with one of the co-owners of Dive Bluemotion. I found this really cool and some of the people staying here were doing their Master’s theses. However, some just like diving and found it a cool opportunity. There were really lovely people staying here and I found it had a more social setting.
One of my favourite things here was that you have a choice between 7 items for breakfast. After staying at homestays where you have absolutely no say on breakfast, this was luxurious for us! You also get fresh fruit in the morning, which I really appreciated. Bobi also really helped us out by arranging a boat trip for us, so we enjoyed our stay here.
Hatta Island
Sara’s Homestay
Telephone Number (no Whatsapp): +62 81344723338
Price: 500 000 IDR (45 CAD/308 SEK) for 2 people in a beach hut with all meals included
Sara is actually related to Bobi from Nurasia Guesthouse, so the easiest way is to ask him to text her. The other guesthouses on Banda Neira are also able to contact her.
As I wrote above, Sara has the best food on Hatta Island. She cooks with lots of variety and everything was very tasty. Also, we got lots of vegetables, which made me very happy!
We met really wonderful people here. You get to eat with your neighbours, which I actually really like since then you talk to new people.
The accommodation here is very simple! You are on an island, so expect a mandi for showering and flushing the toilet. There is running water in this bathroom.
Caeser Homestay
Price: 500 000 IDR (45 CAD/308 SEK) for 2 people in a beach hut with all meals included
Bonnie is the cook (and I think owner?) here. You just have to show up to the single bungalow between Bintang Agung Hatta Island and Hatta Bunga Low and ask for Bonnie. She does not speak English but we had some people help us with the booking. We liked this bungalow more than at Sara’s Homestay, but the food was not as good.
Just like Sara’s the accommodation here is very simple! They don’t have running water linked up to the bungalow, so Bonnie will manually fill up 3 buckets for you. We used one bucket for flushing the toilet, one for showering, and the last one as a reserve.
What to Eat on the Banda Islands
Compared to the Kei Islands, the Banda Islands are much more remote. I find this surprising since there are way more tourists! If you like specific snacks, bring them from Ambon.
There are some good places to eat on Banda Neira. We really liked the following:
Street Food Stalls
Street food is only available in the evenings and it is the cheapest and tastiest option. Seriously, none of the restaurants we tried even compared to the food quality of the street food.
We liked the yellow rice with all the fixings for 20 000 IDR (2 CAD/12 SEK).
Since I am a picky eater, I preferred to get my protein from the chicken satay stand a few metres away that costs 10 000 IDR (1 CAD/6 SEK) for 5 skewers.
Waiting in line at my favourite street vendor and the delicious food we got with lots of sambal
Spice Island Café
The meals are overpriced, but they have delicious smoothies. They were so fresh and I especially enjoyed one after hiking Gunung Api. They cost around 30 000 IDR (3 CAD/19 SEK) per smoothies.
Belgica Café
Come here for the tasty French friends with the godly seasoning. They also have some board games to play while you wait to eat since the food takes a little while.
Delfika 1 Café
The food here is quite good. If you are craving something Western, the garlic bread with a side of cheese is a good choice to help bend those cravings.
Well, that has been our trip to the Maluku Islands so far. We both enjoyed the Kei and Banda Islands very much. We did some small trips to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Now we are in Taiwan since we came here to meet up with some friends. Lots of stuff going on and not as much time as I would like to blog about it!
Have you been to the Banda Islands? What did you think of the food? Is there anything else that you would recommend doing while there?
xx
Jasmine
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Your blog is amazing! Your trip looks so good! You guys really find the hidden gems 😍
Thanks, Malin! 🙂 I love travelling to places where there are either few tourists or responsible tourists. 🙂
Awesome blog. It’s fantastic and you both seem to be having a beautiful time!
We are two senior travellers from Sweden and will go to Banda in october.
Do you know anything about Vitalia guesthouse on Hatta?
Thank you for wunderfull traveltails`!!
Hey!
So cool that you found my blog post! 🙂 Hatta Island is amazing, so you will both enjoy it so much. It is kind of hard for me to remember the names of the guesthouses on Hatta since each guesthouse is only 1-3 huts. To be honest, I think they are all around the same. You stay right on the beach and all the meals are home-cooked and included. So, I think it is totally fine to stay there since all the guest houses are clustered together in the same place. Just make sure you bring snorkel gear since you can’t rent any there. There isn’t any wifi on the island, so bring some good books with you. I left a Swedish book there but I am sure it is long gone by now. 😉
Ha det så bra på semester! Du kommer att älskar Banda Islands. Hatta Island är verkligen den mest magiska plats att snorkla!