The Kei islands are notorious for their amazing white sand beaches. There are many other reasons to go to the Kei islands but we won’t go into that here. This post is just about the beaches baby!

1. Ohoidertutu -Madwaer

Ease of Access:	(3.0 / 5)
Beauty:	(5.0 / 5)
Isolation:	(5.0 / 5)
Length:	(5.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(2.5 / 5)
Sand:	(5.0 / 5)

In my opinion, this is the best beach in Kei. It is about 3 kilometers long and has perfect white sand. As an added bonus, other tourists are rarely seen in this area. It also makes a perfect beach walk.

2. Pasir Panjang / Ohoilir

Ease of Access:	(4.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(5.0 / 5)
Isolation:	(2.5 / 5)
Length:	(5.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(4.0 / 5)
Sand:	(5.0 / 5)

Pasir Panjang (long beach) is the most “famous” beach in the Kei islands. It connects with Ohoilir beach and in total offers 3 kilometers of incredible white sand. It can be very busy on Sundays. The south end of the beach is much busier and is often called Ngurbloat beach now.

3. Wab

Ease of Access:	(3.0 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.5 / 5)
Isolation:	(4.0 / 5)
Length:	(5.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(3.0 / 5)
Sand:	(5.0 / 5)

Wab beach is unsurprisingly located next to Wab village. The beach is quite similar to the 2 beaches above. There are often local fishing boats and families playing and collecting sea things.

4. Ngiarwarat

Ease of Access:	(4.0 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.5 / 5)
Isolation:	(4.0 / 5)
Length:	(4.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(1.0 / 5)
Sand:	(5.0 / 5)

Sebla borat is accessible by a nice road built a few years ago from Ohoidertawun. It’s a beautiful beach but there aren’t any people or villages nearby. But perhaps that’s what you’re looking for!

5. Tanimbar Kei

Ease of Access:	(1.0 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.5 / 5)
Isolation:	(5.0 / 5)
Length:	(5.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(2.0 / 5)
Sand:	(5.0 / 5)

The main beach in Tanimbar Kei actually compares quite favorably with the top beaches. The main difficulty is access; getting here by public transport requires a lot of time and patience.

6. Ohoidertawun

Ease of Access:	(4.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.0 / 5)
Isolation:	(3.5 / 5)
Length:	(5.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(4.0 / 5)
Sand:	(3.5 / 5)

The beach at Ohoidertawun is difficult to categorize. At low tide the beach is hundreds of meters wide and even at high tide the maximum water depth is only about a meter. The sand is nice but it doesn’t compare to the top beaches. It’s my favorite place in Kei–but not for the beach.

7. Ngur Tafur

Ease of Access:	(2.0 / 5)
Beauty:	(5.0 / 5)
Isolation:	(5.0 / 5)
Length:	(5.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(1.0 / 5)
Sand:	(4.5 / 5)

The sand peninsula at Ngur Tafur also makes a spectacular 2 sided beach. It juts out from Woha island and is only accessible by boat.

8. Har

I went to the northeast of Kei Besar for the first time this year (2024). I was surprised to find this very nice beach because normally Kei Besar doesn’t have beaches comparable to Kei Kecil.

9. Nuhuta island

Ease of Access:	(0.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.5 / 5)
Isolation:	(5.0 / 5)
Length:	(4.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(1.0 / 5)
Sand:	(4.5 / 5)

I arrived in Nuhuta island serendipitously on my way back from Tanimbar Kei. The sand bar is gorgeous at low tide–which is usually when boats travel anyway. To get here intentionally it is necessary to hire a boat.

10. Soin beach

Like Har beach I also found out about Soin beach in the northeast of Kei Besar this year. It’s not quite as nice as Har though.

11. Dranan island

Ease of Access:	(2.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.0 / 5)
Isolation:	(4.5 / 5)
Length:	(4.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(1.0 / 5)
Sand:	(4.0 / 5)

Dranan island is a frequent stop on the way to/from Bair island. The beach is quite nice but the sand isn’t quite up to the standards of other Kei beaches.

12. Bair island

Ease of Access:	(2.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(2.5 / 5)
Isolation:	(4.5 / 5)
Length:	(2.0 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(1.0 / 5)
Sand:	(3.0 / 5)

The beach isn’t the reason to go to Bair island but there is sand here. The water is clear and calm but the beach itself is small and the sand is just okay.

13. Ohoi Ew

Ease of Access:	(2.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(3.5 / 5)
Isolation:	(4.0 / 5)
Length:	(3.5 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(1.5 / 5)
Sand:	(3.5 / 5)

The sand point at Ohoi Ew is nice but not amazing like Ngur Tafur. There is also an okay beach in front of the resort. When I was there, food was only available for persons staying at the resort.

14. Daftel

Ease of Access:	(1.5 / 5)
Beauty:	(4.0 / 5)
Isolation:	(4.0 / 5)
Length:	(4.5 / 5)
Shops nearby:	(3.0 / 5)
Sand:	(3.0 / 5)

Daftel beach (near Lerohoilim) is the only noteworthy beach I know of on Kei Besar. It’s quite a nice beach but other beaches in Kei are nicer and much easier to get to.