Katembe Private Island

The long-awaited trip to Raja Ampat began with illness and dark rain clouds, which somewhat clouded our first impression of paradise. But as soon as we arrived at the resort, we were catapulted into another world - a true dream destination with shimmering turquoise water and lovely natural stilt bungalows. Exhausted from a 30-hour journey, our joy was dampened when we entered the bungalow, which didn’t quite look as we had imagined. At this point, a big thank you to Dylan for his uncomplicated and courteous response to our request. The resort impresses with its intimate atmosphere, very good service, few bungalows and therefore limited number of guests, which we like personally, three varied and delicious meals and, last but not least, its central location to the best dive sites. You can reach almost all of them in a maximum of 45 minutes boatride. The food was extremely varied and offered dishes from all regions of Indonesia, including vegetarian options. I enjoyed trying the different local dishes, whereas others were happy with all the other dishes on offer due to the spiciness. Thanks to the chefs for their culinary skills and the “sweet” desserts! And yes - Katembe - no diet! hahaha The team surprised me with a wonderful table decoration and a birthday cake, plus a serenade from the team + guests and a little surprise in the bungalow - all of which made my birthday in Raja Ampat extra special. Thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart! Thanks also to Ridan, who so lovingly provided me with ginger tea during my illness. With lemon and honey :) We saw everything our hearts desired on the dives. As an angelfish fan, I couldn’t get enough of the many different species, the size of the fish compared to other dive sites in SOA is enormous, not to mention the incredible abundance of fish, shoals and masses of damselfish, fusiliers, snappers, bannerfish, barracudas, mackerel,... napoleons, giant sweetlips, turtles, octopods, manta rays, sharks,... Raja Ampat got it all and gave us all. Thanks to the dive guides who showed us the most beautiful dive spots in the short time we had left, thanks for the MANTAS!!!! Thanks also to the guys for the beautiful, entertaining and safe boat trips, even if I really would have liked a side wall when it rained! And last but not least, thanks to the many invisible hands that made it so easy to feel at home. Standard bungalow: The beds are comfortable, not too hard and equipped with good mosquito nets. Our bungalow was equipped with 4 beds (2x2 single beds next to each other). The bathroom is functionally furnished with a small shelf and a beautiful large shell as a washbasin. The shower is cold water half sweet/half salty. The floor of the bungalows is covered with wide wooden panels, some of the gaps allow a view of the sea below. The bungalow can be closed off from the sea with bamboo doors. A filled water dispenser is available and filled every day. Two sun beds on the spacious terrace. Deluxe bungalo

Als vierköpfige Familie mit zwei Kindern (3 und 6 Jahre alt) haben wir sieben wundervolle Tage im Katembe Resort verbracht. Die Anlage und die Bungalows haben uns sehr gut gefallen, und das Erlebnis, über dem Wasser zu schlafen, war etwas ganz Besonderes. Das gesamte Team war unglaublich freundlich, offen und hilfsbereit bei all unseren Fragen und der Organisation im Vorfeld unserer Reise nach Raja Ampat. Besonders begeistert waren wir vom Restaurant und den liebevoll zubereiteten Gerichten. Alles war immer sehr lecker, frisch und abwechslungsreich. Auch individuelle Wünsche wurden gerne erfüllt. Die zahlreichen Ausflüge haben uns ebenfalls sehr gut gefallen. Wir hatten das Glück, unser festes "Tauchteam" für die Woche zu haben, da wir jeden Tag tauchen waren und einmal den Ausflug nach Pyanemo gemacht haben. Das war insbesondere bei den Tauchgängen großartig, da wir jemanden hatten, der während des Tauchgangs verantwortungsvoll auf unsere Kinder aufpassen konnte. Unsere Kinder waren begeistert, und wir waren es auch. Bei unserer nächsten Indonesienreise kommen wir gerne wieder!

We had 4 nights at Katembe Private Island to relax after busy week of diving. It was just the ticket, very relaxing, soothing and peaceful. The hospitality was outstanding and the food was incredible. Thanks to the great chef. With only 8 guests it is truly an intimate private island experience. Sitting on our deck just looking out at the water was mesmerising. We had a cooking class which we really enjoyed, did some snorkelling around the island as well as a snorkelling trip to Mioskun. Thanks to Dylan, Ridwan, Benny and Suri for making is so welcome, your hospitality was lovely.

We recently spent 10 days at Katembe Island and whilst overall we have enjoyed our stay, I believe a few things could be improved by Management to make the resort a great place to stay. I might first mention the mistake we might have made was to spend too much time in one spot. In hindsight, we probably should have spent our time in Raja Ampat into 2 resorts to diversify our stay. I'll start with the good stuff: - Staff were very friendly and always trying to accommodate our requests. Special mention to Benny who was always in a good mood, Suriya for being there to welcome us every morning at breakfast time, Jenny who made sure our bungalow was cleaned everyday and Kevin and John were a fantastic team when going on a snorkeling excursion. - The bungalow, whilst basic and open to the elements, was clean, spacious and comfortable. Falling asleep to the sound of waves was pure bliss. Being able to go for a swim from the bungalow was a treat. Some aspects that could be improved: - We booked the full board package as we did not know how many dives we wanted. During my correspondence with the resort, I was advised that the cost of a single dive was US$55.00. On arrival, we were told that this price only included the first 14 sites nearer to the resort. All other dive sites have a fuel supplement. This means that if you want to dive Cape Kri or the mantas sites, there is a hefty fuel supplement. We enquired about a dive at the Manta site and with 4 divers, it was going to cost each diver US$180 for a double dive + the NP fee. There is no mention of this on their website and I was not told either when I enquired about diving costs. Some warning over the additional costs would have been appreciated. A few of the other guests were not happy either about the omission. Transparency with your guests is a must. - I applaud the chef for providing so much food and choices at meal times given the remoteness and the conditions he has to cook in. You won't go hungry at Katembe! But I did sometimes wonder if the chef did taste his own dishes as on occasions, some of the dishes were either way too salty, way too spicy or bizarrely, just too bland. - The Doberai House Reef is an absolute pleasure to snorkel. It's full of colour, pretty corals and life. A snorkel there is a must. You can jump off the rickety jetty but there is no way out from the jetty and you have to exit via the beach. A potentially dangerous exercise especially at low tide. Not too mention that you may break the coral whilst trying to get back in. We queried the absence of a ladder but were told that the last one got destroyed during the rainy season and since it will get destroyed again, they did not think it should be fixed again... - The boardwalk could do with some maintenance. Some boards looked as if they were about to break, some had protruding long nails, a real danger there and some lights did not work at all (3 in a row). A bit of TLC would be welcomed ev

Siamo stati ospiti sull'isola di Urai, al Katembe, dal 2 al 13 settembre 2023. Dopo un lungo viaggio dall'Italia siamo stati accolti a Sorong dal transfer organizzato dalla struttura. Ci hanno portato al porto per poi prendere il ferry per Waisai e dal lì ci è venuto a prendere Benny per poi portarci sull'isola dove siamo stati ospiti per 11 notti. Le emozioni provate all'arrivo, durante la permanenza e il giorno della partenza sono indescrivibili, merito della bellezza e unicità del posto ma anche soprattutto dello staff che ci ha coccolati per tutta la nostra permanenza, ci siamo sentiti a casa in famiglia. Ospiti al secondo bungalow overwater, di recente ristrutturazione, confortevole e ampio, vista impareggiabile e terrazza da cui godere tramonti indimenticabili. Mare, fauna marina e coralli mai visti così vari e belli. Tra le spiagge più belle dell'isola sicuramente è Pantai Mutiara (la spiaggia delle perle) dietro alla baia delle mangrovie. Molto bella anche l'isola vicina Urai piccola che si può raggiungere tranquillamente in kayak. Abbiamo fatto diverse escursione, sempre con la nostra premurosa ed esperta guida Ronny e dal capitano della barca Jacky (Jackson). Siamo stati a Sawandarek (mai visto così tante tartarughe di diverse specie, pesce napoleone, squali, barriera unica e un'infinità di pesci di ogni sorta), Hidden Bay (arrivati in barca per poi darci un kayak e girare in libertà nel totale silenzio), Marindal (versione piccola di Piaynemo), Blue River, Piaynemo e Star Lagoon, Friwen, e Kri island dalle sandbank. Tutte diverse e tutte indimenticabili, da fare e rifare mille volte. Quello che fa la differenza tra un a struttura e l'altra in una vacanza è il personale, in questo caso è riduttivo questo termine perché per noi è stata come stare in famiglia. Grazie a Suria, Benny, Fadil (Dil), Burhan, la signora in cucina (moglie di Burhan), Abdi (secondo cuoco), le ragazze che in modo sempre discreto ci hanno riordinato la stanza, Kevin, Ronny, Jacky. Un ringraziamento speciale è per Yousef, lo chef, che ogni giorno ci preparava e deliziava con le specialità delle varie regioni dell'Indonesia, non solo gustose ma presentate da far invidia ai grandi ristorati gourmet, sorprendendoci ogni giorno senza averci mai dato un piatto uguale in 11 notti e 12 gg. GRAZIE di cuore per come ci hai fatti sentire a casa e soprattutto per le volte che ci hai portato a fare il bagno di sera dopo cena o prima della cena a vedere e scoprire la luminescenza del plancton che non avevamo mai visto, e a vedere i pesci con la tua potente pila mentre ci proteggevi con il tuo fucile subacqueo da eventuali percoli. Last but not least, il nostro amico RIDWAN. La persona che più di tutte ci ha coccolati come re e regina dell'isola. non lo scorderemo mai. Non scorderemo il tea time fatto al tramonto su Urai piccola, le soprese che ci facevi trovare ad ogni pasto, il tuo gusto per la bellezza e l'organizzazione, la tua professionalità,

Katembe is a paradise. All is absolutly fantastic: the place, the bungalow, the food and the staff . It was few perfect days and everybody was very sad when it was time to go. The staff is very kindly, you feel like in a family and they are all very attentive. The food is amazing! All the excursions are personnalised and great. You have to go to Katembe once in your life!