Banyuwangi
Where to lay your head
Where to lay your head
Banyuwangi doesn’t have a tourist enclave as such and a range of accommodation is spread very far and very wide. Many smaller homestays you’ll see on online platforms like Agoda and Booking require prebooking and are unlikely to be open if you just show up. Decide if you’d prefer to be by the sea, closer to the mountains, near the train station or in the culinary heart of town and check the location carefully before booking. Regardless of which you choose, you’ll probably need to employ some form of transport due to the scattered nature of services.
Didu’s Homestay is the sort of place we could happily hang out in for a few days and this delightful relaxing guesthouse is our top flashpacker pick in Banyuwangi. Set in a beautiful tropical garden, a handful of charming traditional-style bungalows overlook the rice paddies on the outskirts of Banyuwangi not far from Karangasem Station. The rooms are terrific, but it’s the excellent... Read our full review of Didu’s Homestay.
( Read more on Agoda.com or Booking.com )
Hotel Blambangan not only enjoys an excellent central Banyuwangi location, but offers a range of lovely rooms, a smart little swimming pool and a stylish street-front restaurant. Eminent Indonesian architect, Andra Martin (who also designed Katamama in Bali’s Seminyak) contributed to the hotel’s design which mixes a contemporary minimalist style with traditional Javanese elements and... Read our full review of Hotel Blambangan.
( Read more on Agoda.com or Booking.com )
Like a tiny traditional village, Paddy Hills Homestay offers a row of cute-as-a-button wooden bungalows along with an open restaurant/chill space in the family backyard overlooking the rice paddy in the surrounding hills. We love this little homestay, but unless you have your own transport, be prepared to either stay exploring the village or call a taxi to get around as it’s a little off... Read our full review of Paddy Hills Homestay.
( Read more on Agoda.com or Booking.com )
Sea breezes, waving palms and a view across the Bali Strait, Villa So Long offers postcard perfect ambience in a handful of traditional style “Rumah Osing” wood and bamboo cottages peppering the grassy seafront at Solong Beach around five and a half kilometres from the port, or six to the city centre. The well-appointed spacious air-con bungalows are glass fronted and make the most of the... Read our full review of Villa So Long.
Friendly family-run Adinda Homestay (AKA Adinda House) offers the best value budget rooms we saw in Banyuwangi. They say every man’s house is his castle, and here behind and adjacent to the rather aspiring palatial style family home complete with battlements and turrets sit two considerably more modest longhouse blocks, one that houses a kost (student boarding house), and the other the... Read our full review of Adinda Homestay.
( Read more on Agoda.com or Booking.com )
Heading up the hill from Banyuwangi towards Kawah Ijen, the road is lined with basic homestays. As you climb, a handful of charming and unique guesthouse and hotels in the mid to top range bracket are worth more than just a brief stay.
Ijen Shelter is a labour of love created by a charming and enthusiastic German woman, Daniela, and her local partner in a beautiful secluded cliffside rainforest location on the way to Ijen. At the time of research in January 2018, they offered one treehouse style bungalow clinging to the cliff and had just about completed a second bungalow further back in the forest, with plans for a total... Read our full review of Ijen Shelter.
( Read more on Agoda.com or Booking.com )
If you’re looking for a little first class treatment with your mountain sojourn to Ijen, look no further than Jiwa Java. Secluded in the remote jungle foothills of Ijen plateau, this classy joint has the goods when it comes to stunning views, even on the wet and misty day we dropped by, the outlook was awesome in the true sense of the word. Friendly staff mentioned on a clear day you can... Read our full review of Jiwa Java.
( Read more on Agoda.com or Booking.com )
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