Penginapan Sederhana

Penginapan Sederhana, whose name means simply 'modest lodging', is a small guesthouse on Jalan Bioskop Surya in the centre of Manggar. It lives up to its name: plain, clean rooms at a low price, run by friendly staff, and popular with ship crews, workers and budget travellers passing through East Belitung.

Rooms have air conditioning, a TV and en-suite bathrooms, and guests consistently describe them as clean. A recent reviewer paid around Rp220,000 a night. There is no restaurant or pool, but that hardly matters here: Manggar's traditional coffee shops, where locals gather from early morning over kopi and snacks, are right on the doorstep, and Pantai Serdang is a short ride away.

Reception keeps limited hours, particularly on Sundays, so tell the guesthouse your arrival time in advance. Use it as a cheap base for exploring the east of the island: Burung Mandi beach and its Buddhist temple to the north, Kampong Reklamasi Selinsing and the Gantung attractions to the south-west. Tanjung Pandan and the airport are about an hour and a half away by road. Call the guesthouse to book.