Pulau Papan Village Homestays

Pulau Papan is the Togeans' best-known Bajau stilt village, a community built over the water beside Malenge island and linked to it by a one-kilometre wooden boardwalk that local children cross to school each day. The village runs a handful of registered homestays through its tourism group: the main HomeStay Pulau Papan has four simple 4x4 m rooms (two double, two single) with a shared bathroom and all three meals included, from around Rp 185,000, and there is a detached 'back room' on its own jetty for more privacy. Village-priced activities include snorkeling off the long bridge, canoe rental, the Bukit Karang viewpoint and a bat-cave trip on the Kadoda side. Expect genuine village conditions: generator power roughly 6–10 pm, no wifi, very weak phone signal and no ATM — bring enough cash from Ampana. A separate five-unit over-water resort with a restaurant (built as a government project, quoted at Rp 350,000 per person with breakfast) was fully rehabilitated in 2025 and was being handed to a private operator at last report, so confirm locally whether it is taking guests. Reaching the village takes about two hours by chartered speedboat from Ampana or around five hours on the public boat.