Cilu Bintang Estate

Top choice in Banda Islands


The best place to stay in Bandaneira is also a good place to eat. During high season, or when there are enough guests, there's an excellent evening buffet of spanking-fresh baked fish, soups liberally spiced with Banda nutmeg and cinnamon, curries, fritters, salads and more. But you can also order off a menu of mostly Indonesian classics.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Banda Islands attractions

1. Benteng Nassau

0.07 MILES

Quietly crumbling among tropical foliage, Nassau was the scene of the Banda Massacre, the greatest obscenity in the violent history of Dutch Banda. The…

2. Hatta’s House

0.1 MILES

Of three early-20th-century ‘exile houses’ in Banda, Mohammed Hatta’s house is the most appealing. It’s partly furnished and photos of the dissident, his…

3. Benteng Belgica

0.13 MILES

A classic star fort, the Unesco-nominated Benteng Belgica was built on the hill above Benteng Nassau in 1611, when it became apparent the lower bastion…

4. Istana Mini

0.14 MILES

This grand, atmospheric yet empty 1820s mansion gives a sense of the scale of the Dutch enterprise in the Banda Islands. Once the residence of the…

5. Dutch Church

0.15 MILES

This restored 1852 Dutch church with a portico of four chubby columns is open for services. Inside are a decorative bell-clock and wooden pews, as well as…

6. Rumah Budaya

0.17 MILES

Bandaneira’s little museum displays colonial artefacts including coins, silverware, crockery, pipes, swords and flintlock pistols and muskets. There's…

7. Sun Tien Kong Chinese Temple

0.17 MILES

There are still a few Chinese families living on Bandaneira and the 300-year-old Sun Tien Kong Temple is testament to the ancient Chinese involvement in…

8. Schelling House

0.21 MILES

This massive columned house, owned by the daughter of the last Banda king, has a leafy courtyard, high ceilings and, in the the master bathroom, a stone…