Kri Eco ResortKri Island

Kri Eco Resort is a simple, but comfortable dive resort located in the pristine surroundings of Kri Island in Raja Ampat. Kri Island is located approximately 90 minutes by boat from the airport of Sorong on the north-western tip of West Papua, Indonesia.

The resort is located on a spectacular lagoon, where clear blue waters meet a brilliant white beach. The traditionally built over-water bungalows create a beautiful South Seas ambience. Although the accommodation at Kri Eco Resort is very basic, it is functional with a lot of atmosphere.

For those who prefer to stay in air-conditioned bungalows with ensuite, Kri Eco's sister property, Sorido Bay Resort offers a much more deluxe ambience on the other side of Kri Island.

Kri Eco Resort offers free boat transfers between Sorong and Kri Island every Sunday, and to avoid very high transfer fees it is best to arrange stays of 7 nights minimum arriving on Sundays. There is also the possibility of returning to Sorong on Wednesdays if divers would like to stay for 10 nights. 10 night packages can also be arranged from Thursday to Sunday, however, a night must then be spent in Sorong because the boat departure to Kri Island on Thursdays is very early in the morning. For a 10 night stay, the best option is from Sunday to Wednesday as no extra nights in Sorong are required and only 1 Saturday is spent without boat diving.

Kri Eco Resort currently has 6 over-water guest cottages (max. 20 guests) with shared 'mandi' type bathrooms. A long jetty built over the large shallow lagoon leads to five of the guest houses. These buildings contain two rooms each with at least one sitting area. Rooms are divided by partitions with doors and window coverings. Each room has a mattress, pillow and mosquito net for bedding. All furnishings are hand-made and consist of benches or lounge chairs and tables where guests can relax, work on camera gear, talk and read.

One small over-water bungalow, located just a bit down the beach for a bit more privacy, contains only one room. Two Western-style flush toilets are located on the island near the end of the jetty and are shared by all guests.

In 2012, the new deluxe water bungalows will open. They will have the same features as the standard water cottages, however, each deluxe water cottage will also have its own private bathroom with hot water.

Meals are served in the restaurant, a large over-water dining area with long tables, sheltered by a traditional palm thatched roof, which always offers a nice fresh breeze.

The kitchen is always busy with staff cooking over the gas burners in large woks or stew pots. Bread is freshly baked and pizza is a frequent treat. In the back there are more staff slicing fresh vegetables and fruits in the open air under the shade of the trees. Each meal is freshly prepared, and ice boxes, supplied weekly from Sorong, contain fresh meats and can chill a beer when required. Coffee, tea and flavoured drinks are available all day.

Water used to be hauled from the well by bucket and carried by hand, but now KriEco has a pump and running water to the kitchen. Drinking water is obtained from a neighbouring island.

Raja Ampat (meaning "the four kings") is a vast archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays and shoals which surround the four main islands Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo, Indonesia?s West Papua province shares its eastern border with Papua New Guinea and was formerly called Irian Jaya. Raja Ampat's pristine beauty, both above and the water line, is unrivalled and has become a sought-after destination in the past few years.

Raja Ampat's remote location and lack of infrastructure have inhibited the growth of tourism. This area's staggering abundance of marine life is due in part to its incredibly low human population density. The few resident Papuans are mainly a subsistence society, exploiting a variety of resources to meet their basic needs. Fishing is only one of these resources, and they continue to employ traditional, low-impact fishing techniques, using a hook and line from dug-out canoes.

Kri Island is the best vantage point in the Raja Ampat region for encounters with pelagics, sharks and mantas, and KriEco Resort is ideal for divers travelling on a budget who choose the proximity of pristine nature over a long list of resort amenities.