Island weekend getaway? (not Bin Tan)

[itchy]

Lynn H

Agree entirely. Fabulous place if a little expensive but Oh ! those sandflies and mossies

[itchy]

Lynn H

Agree entirely. Fabulous place if a little expensive but Oh ! those sandflies and mossies

[Singaporean Gal]

if you don't mind taking the plane for 45 mins to KL and another 45 mins to Treggannu airport, i would very highly, actually extremely highly recommend Pulau Redang or Perhentian Island.  The sea is crystal clear, the fishes and corals are absolutely beautiful.  Saw a couple of baby sharks myself.  No worries about mozzies or insects... not too many at all, except a couple of harmless flies.  Try staying along the main stretch of beach.  I would recommend Ayu Mayang Resort.  Basic but very nice.  For a weekend away, you will definitely come back refreshed!  and I am sure your folks will enjoy the lovely sea, morning sunrise and stars at nite.  Can't wait to go there again.  

[Pasi]

LooLa Resort

I was very surprised by the flame posting about LooLa Resort's quality in Pulau Bintan.

I have been there few times and would go back any time! I have referred a few of my friends there and they have loved it.

Keep in mind that it is not a 5 start chain hotel with McDonald's style standardized and possibly boring service. It is the best possible place to relax with a big R, no need to rush and to do-do-do all the time. Food is great local Indonesian home food, authentic! The service comes with big smiles and genuine caring.

For mozzies and flies, if one wants to avoid them totally, stay in Singapore. In the real world there are animals, just go to Bintan Lagoon and be warned about the annoying fogging few times a week. Some of the insects are very hard to fight against, for example sand flies come and go with the wind! Still, I have not seen extensive amounts of biting insects on the site.

LooLa is built next to magrove forest and it does have a nice beach! It is very enjoyable to take a canoe and paddle oneself into the mangroves to explore the flora and fauna. A great combination of environment.

Summa summarum, I give thumbs up for LooLa!

[just asking]

Would love to go to Terranganu on East coast Malaysia.  Does anyone know anything about flights from Johor direct?

[Felipe]

Korse52 - Loola Resort -

Shame you had a bad time sounds like you got a bad case of the Bintan Blues - BUT JUST TO PUT THE RECORD STRAIGHT I have been a couple of times to Loola and know scores of people who have been back time after time.

Either we are all thick skinned or we missed something. Then again it could have been we actually got out and did things instead of sitting on our arses whinging.

Last time I was there (two weeks ago) we went sailing, canoeing, climbing (on the wall and on a beautiful island), schnorkelling and just fooling around. This was with a group including two toddlers and three pregnant women who didn't seem fazed or bitten by anything worse than the view.

The food and drink was great and on tap.  Having been out here since 95 I know a thing or two about local cuisine and if you thought the food was just greasy stir fries then you are a hard one to please.

Apparently the week after they were to have another school party coming back for more of the same. Wonder why they keep coming back if the place is as bad as you make it sound.

Then again maybe I, like they, are just too easy to please - or we could be people who like to get away and have a great weekend in an environment where you are well looked after and thats enough.

Phil

[Nickolas]

Was very surprised to read Felipe having to defend Loola - and even more surprised to scroll upwards and find the poor reports posted earlier.

As a teacher at a large international school I have taken many student groups to Loola and have always been very impressed. I can't see how someone can claim that there is nothing to do - the reason that we go there with students year after year is that there is so much to do. Perhaps the comments posted earlier are from the wrong type of person to be asking for advice about an Adventure Resort.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Loola to anyone who knows how to relax - either by just chilling or by being active on the climbing wall/dinghies/canoes/walks/adventure course/snorkelling/island trips etc.

I am looking forward to my next trip.....

[Johnson2]

I think that both Pangkil and Loola are only available for groups of about 6 or 10. Correct?

We wanted to do a Trans Island Bike but they also want groups of 10.

How about if there are only 4 of us?

[nosandfly]

we went for a short holiday to Tioman and stayed at the Berjaya resort. We travelled by air from Seletair airport which was very convenient. There were no sand-flies and I heard it's a matter of luck if they are there or not. I think using thick oil on the skin can prevent the bites. We had a lovely wooden chalet next to the beach. The food was good.
We took the tour by boat and went snorkeling all the time. The only thing that was disappointing is that there are no roads on the island to go for sightseeing on the island itself. Therefor you need to take the ferries but all worth it. We'll go back again one day...