Christmas Island Eco Escape

Come and enjoy a 4 Night fully-inclusive holiday at Swell Lodge with all meals, drinks, transport and flexible daily guided tours tailored to your interests.

Swell Lodge is the world’s most exclusive eco-lodge featuring just two glass-fronted eco-chalets where you can wake up in Australia’s most unique, wildlife-filled National Park and gaze out over kilometres of uninhabited coastline from your bed, with seabirds soaring past and a private chef preparing gourmet cuisine using fresh and locally foraged ingredients. Far more than a hotel, a stay at Swell Lodge on Christmas Island is like nothing else on Earth.

1500km northwest of the mainland, the stunning tropical paradise of Christmas Island is known as the ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’ and is Australia’s best-kept secret. Just 16km wide, this tiny green jewel is a surprisingly diverse wonderland of experiences – more than enough to fill a week, which is our recommended stay.

Daily guided tours are included, customised to your interests and abilities. Our knowledgeable guides will collect you from your eco-chalet and show you the diverse natural wonders of this unique island. We also offer special-interest itineraries including dedicated freediving workshops, yoga & wellness retreats, photography weeks, learn to scuba dive etc.

The Wilderness Area:

Inside the National Park on the far, uninhabited coast of one of Australia’s most fascinating islands, Christmas Island, even the lush 4WD track to Swell Lodge – passing crabs and beneath natural tree archways – is out of this world. Each eco-chalet is accessed by it’s own private 80m walking trail through the jungle alive with crabs and exotic forest birds, to the sea. Boobies nest on the ledge just out the front, frigatebirds soar majestically past and goshawks even perch on the ocean-deck railing from where you can usually see vibrant blue parrotfish swimming on the reef, through the waves. Pods of dolphins pass by, tuna jump and the hypnotic ocean swell, clouds and light is forever changing…

The Lodge

You’ll never forget opening the door to your eco-chalet for the first time: The wow-factor of that jaw-dropping, uninterrupted ocean-view, through the ceiling-to-floor, wall-to-wall glass. Inexorably drawn towards it, at first, you’ll scarcely notice the stunning interior, glass sculptures, stone bench tops, luxurious King-sized bed or Italian-tilled ensuite bathroom as you step in awe onto the expansive deck. Nowhere else in the world can you enjoy such luxury and privacy, watching ocean swell roll in and break onto kilometres of wild, uninhabited coastline, with seabirds soaring majestically past at eye-level checking you out. Then comes your private chef, sunset over the ocean and day after magical day of included tours sharing all the highlights of this mind-blowing paradise, filled with natural wonders.

Private Chef

Every evening our chef (currently Michelin-star French chef Francois Morabito) will prepare a gourmet 3-course meal for you using fresh and locally foraged ingredients right on your oceanfront deck as you enjoy sunset over the ocean. Wine, beer and even gin & tonic (with a squeeze of wild jungle lime, perhaps?) is all on the house, as is breakfast and the beautiful picnic lunches for your daily guided activities.
Bon Appétit!

Activities:

Bird Watching – Christmas Island is a bird-watcher’s heaven with a rich variety of unusual endemic species. It’s only place on Earth where the critically endangered Abbott’s booby nests, we have two of Australia’s rarest raptors (C.I. Hawk owl and Goshawk), our own emerald dove, frigatebird and the spectacular golden bosun with its theatrically long tail. There’s red-tailed tropicbirds, terns, brown and red-footed boobies and even an endemic flying fox that comes out during the day. Inquisitive thrushes follow you through the forest, fluffy booby chicks peer out curiously from coastal rocks and seabirds often circle back for a closer look as you stand on your ocean deck. All are wonderfully relaxed, allowing unforgettably intimate encounters

Underwater – Christmas Island boasts some of the best snorkelling, scuba diving and freediving in the world, with water temperatures remaining a balmy 26-29°C year-round. Underwater visibility usually exceeds 30 metres even right in the cove, where the kaleidoscope of fish makes even the Barrier Reef look dull. We have dolphins, turtles, giant trevally, clownfish, clams, shipwrecks, some of the longest drop-off dive walls in the world and in the right season, even whale sharks and manta rays! Snorkelling gear is included with every stay, along with a boat trip if you stay 4 or more nights, weather permitting. Scuba diving can also be arranged, and accredited freediving lessons.

On the Land – Our most famous inhabitants are our 40 million red crabs which can be found year-round, manicuring the jungle floor. When the rainy season starts however, they embark on one of the largest migrations in the animal kingdom, down to the coast to spawn in a spectacle Sir David Attenborough rates as one of his top 10 natural wonders on Earth. Wander tranquil rainforest trails to secluded turtle-nesting beaches, through RAMSAR wetlands to pristine jungle waterfalls you can stand under, swimming holes to plunge into and a new boardwalk leads you right between heart-stopping coastal blowhole geysers! There are refreshing tidal rock pools, lookouts, underground limestone caves, fascinating research and bird rehabilitation programs and more.

One week isn’t long enough and guests even returned to experience different seasons.

Access:

Virgin Australia continues to run flights from Perth to Christmas Island every Tuesday and Friday, this is a government chartered flight and the community have been assured that both of these flights will continue to run.