Akasha Beach Club officially opened for restaurant guests in September 2019 and later on opened “The Upper Space” for staying guests in January 2021. After years of construction and opening just before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was a slow start. Despite this, local tourism boomed right after the lockdown was lifted. With this we gained enormous attention and welcomed visitors from all over Indonesia.
But our story goes back many, many more years…

It was in 2001 when Stefan Reinhard, co-owner and founder of Akasha Beach Club, first came to Bira for a holiday with his older brother Bobby and their father. Later in 2010 his father Michael opened Bara Beach Bungalows, the first resort along Bara Beach. Right after his sudden and early death in the same year, Stefan decided to take over and left Germany to live in Bira. After a few years living in paradise, a new vision slowly took form - a large event space and restaurant with a sprinkle of “nightlife”, a place for all travelers to enjoy together. Bora Beach, the stretch between Bira and Bara Beach, turned out to be the perfect location for this idea. No public access to the beach makes it feel private and untouched from any beach stalls. Soon Stefan took his vision to mission and started building Akasha Beach Club with the renowned craftsmanship of the local Phinisi boat builders.

“Akasha” in ancient Sanskrit language translates to “The Upper Sky” or “The Upper Space”, which is also where the name for our accommodation above comes from.

For generations, Bira has been the birth place for traditional phinisi boats. These are wooden vessels that used to sail across the ocean before engines were introduced. The boat building history deeply connects both our neighbouring villages. Since the end of 2017, these phinisi shipyards have become UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites. While in Bira these are definitely worth a visit. 

Until today, foreign investors rely on the knowledge of the local people to build Liveaboards. Living in Bira for more than 10 years now, Stefan has had the chance to get to know some of the best boat builders in this industry. “At some point later in life I might build a Phinisi yacht as well. It was a dream my father had and now living in Bira it just suits perfectly” – Stefan.

Boat Building Gallery

It is certain to say that Bira went through its biggest changes in the past two decades. Back in 2001, there were only a handful of basic hotels/ homestays and places to eat. There were no ATMs, no convenience stores, constant power cuts for hours, barely anyone who could speak English, the worst internet connection possible and the list goes on and on.

Still, Stefan and family fell in love with Bira immediately. Bira is a place for nature lovers of all kinds - white sand beaches, crystal clear water, stunning marine biodiversity, mountain views, caves, cliffs, islands and more. Besides the beautiful sunrises and absolutely gorgeous sunsets, it is also a spectacular place to watch the night sky and the rest of our Milky Way galaxy.

After the first foreign boat builders arrived in Bira, tourism picked up as well. From the village center in Bira, the tourism area expanded to Bara Beach in 2010 when Stefan’s family opened Bara Beach Bungalows for guests. Foreign visitors increased over the years and later on local tourists started to come and enjoy beach holidays in Bira as well.

In recent years, many plots of lands were sold and new accommodations were built in Bira and along Bara Beach. The Scuba Diving community kept growing and now even a few marine conservation projects have been established here. There are beach clean ups on a regular basis and the government has provided trash banks nearby. The government also invested in building proper roads, a stable power grid and created more tourist attractions in and around Bira. Some say even an airport is in sight soon…

Here you can have a look at empty plots for sale in Bira:
https://www.lamudi.co.id/south-sulawesi/bulukumba/bonto-bahari/land/buy/?q=bonto+bahari

As we chose the name Akasha Beach Club, we will be expanding down towards the beach in the future. There is plenty of space for sunset terraces and a “Bali Seminyak” like beach style set up.

Until then, we will be focusing on several villas. We intend to provide privacy for our staying guests and want to concentrate on closed up villas with an outside living area and garden/ swimming pool.

In a later state of our development, we are planning to introduce monthly and yearly memberships for free access and discounted rates for villas, events and our restaurant.

Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in an investment opportunity.