Pinang Island is a personal island that costs $1,000 per night

When Richard Kvech first set foot in Pinang 4 years ago, the one sign of human life on the island was a dilapidated bungalow utilized by passing fishermen.

Kvech and three friends, all from the Czech Republic, slept in hammocks and cooked on the beach as they dreamed of making an eco-retreat on the 50-acre Indonesian island off the west coast of Sumatra.

Tomas Ouhel, a member of the group, had encountered Pinang a yr earlier while doing conservation work on nearby Bangkaru Island.

After a yr of dialogue – amongst themselves and with the 2 families that own the island – the Kvech and Ouhel group, along with photographer Stephan Kotas and fertility clinic co-owner Martin Mrazek, signed a 50-year lease to create a small eco-house . Resort on the island, Kvech said.

Using local wood, the 4 built a guest bungalow and dug wells to access the island's underground fresh water before establishing solar panels to generate electricity, Kvech said. Utilities and labor costs could be paid for out of the group's own pockets, he said.

They then built staff quarters, a standard room on the beach and 4 additional guest bungalows, which together can accommodate 12 people. The important bungalows have bathrooms, while the smaller ones have shared bathrooms, all connected to an organic septic tank system, Kvech said.

The group also created a fruit and vegetable garden adapted to the island's natural vegetation – an approach often called permaculture – and introduced chickens so guests can have fresh eggs. They compost organic food waste and recycle glass and cans, he said.

The previously uninhabited island welcomed its first paying guests two years ago, said Kvech. Kvech, a former medical travel coordinator, is now accountable for marketing and permaculture on Pinang Island.

“Before we came to Pinang, there was hardly anything on the island – a small path around it, a collapsed bungalow and a small field. It was truly pristine jungle, uninterrupted by humans,” Kvech told CNBC Travel.

“We try to disrupt it as little as possible. It's such a beautiful island and we don't want to ruin the untouched nature, so our space only takes up one or two percent of it. There are swamps, bamboo forests, coconut forests. Trees, hills. There are hermit crabs, lizards and gum snakes.

Since opening to the public two years ago Pinang Island has welcomed 100 guests and has become an attractive destination for yoga and surf retreats, Kvech said. He's also received interest from other groups, he said – from writers to martial artists, DJs to gardeners.

The island costs $999 per night for eight people. Up to four additional guests can stay for $125 per person per night.

The price includes all meals, daily cleaning, a weekly towel and bed linen change, Starlink satellite reception and 4G WiFi, as well as activities such as snorkeling, fishing, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking.

For $500 more per night, guests can take guided surf trips to places like the Bay of Plenty or to Bangkaru and other nearby islands.

However, guests should prepare for a long journey to Pinang Island with multiple stops, Kvech said.

This is typically a long-haul flight from a major city to Singapore or the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. From there it is a short flight to Medan, the capital of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, where many visitors stay overnight. Early the next morning, guests board another flight to the city of Singkil in Indonesia's Aceh province.

The final leg of the trip is a one and a half hour boat ride to Pinang Island. This can be treacherous – in August 2023, a boat en route from the nearby surfing hotspot of Nias Island to Pinang capsized during a storm. Seven people were missing at sea for two nights and a day, Kvech and the group confirmed in a report opinion. A large-scale search and rescue mission has recovered six of the passengers, a group of Australian surfers. But the captain, a local Indonesian, was tragically not found.

“We express our deepest sympathy for the suffering caused by this unfortunate event and we recognize the importance of working with the broader Pulau Banyak community to improve vessel safety standards and captain training in the region improve,” the statement said.

“This incident is a reminder of the unpredictability of the sea and the importance of advanced security measures. With this in mind, we want to reassure our community that we are taking decisive action,” it said.

The resort was temporarily closed, Kvech said, but reopened after the group, which had previously relied on local vessels, purchased its own fiberglass boat. It was equipped with a VHF marine radio, a Garmin Inreach satellite communications device, an Ocean Signal GPS transmitter, smoke flares, flashlights, life rings, life jackets and whistles, he said.

The group also founded the Fifan Foundation within the missing captain's name to enhance safety training for other local captains, Kvech said. They have also modified the boat transfer point from Nias Island to Singkil, which is a shorter and safer journey, he said.

The hope is to maintain Pinang Island area of interest and intimate in the long run, Kvech said.

“I can never imagine us running a hotel for more than 50 people. That would be a logistical and ecological catastrophe,” said Kvech.

He also said the island just isn’t for travelers in search of a luxury vacation.

“It is more intended for people who want to live with nature again and find their balance. It’s for adventurous souls – people who want to experience something completely secluded but still want a certain level of quality and comfort.”

Kvech said he spends his time between Pinang Island and the Czech Republic and admitted that life on a deserted island just isn’t at all times the fantasy that many individuals imagine.

“It’s definitely not a fairy tale. It is the most difficult project I have ever been involved in,” said Kvech. “We had to learn to understand the culture of the people and the island itself. Problems arise every day that we have to solve.”

“But when I hear feedback from guests that they were really happy that they took such a long trip and enjoyed their time in Pinang, it makes me happy.”