Category Archives: Tropical Island Series
Nusa Lembongan – Tropical Island Gem #3
This it the third in the series of posts I am doing on some of the lesser known, but still easily accessible tropical islands that I have visited. In previous posts i have covered Ko Ngai in the Andaman Sea, Thailand, and Phu Quok in the Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam.
Where is Nusa Lembongan?
Nusa Lembongan is the third of the islands I would like to share. Nusa Lembongan is located 18km east of the South Bali beach town of Sanur. It is a well known within the surfer community, as it offers a couple of world class breaks at certain times of the year. I think one of the great appeals of this little island, is that is more like the Bali that travellers imagine, than Bali is! As Bali has become busy and very touristy, Nusa Lembongan has remained quite.
Getting to Nusa Lembongan is easiest from the beach at Sanur, and there are a couple of options in different ferries. The standard, public ferry costs about 50,000 Indonesian Rph (approx $5), and takes approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. The deep channel between the two can make the crossing quite rough, and the boats are only semi enclosed. If it is a bit rough, you can expect to get wet! You can also travel by the more expense “Scout” fast ferry, cost about 4 time as much, butting only taking half the time. In both cases, you need to wade to the boat at Sanur beach, with any luggage lifted overhead, and also at Jungutbatu, at the Nusa Lembongan end.
Ferry to Nusa Lembongan
There are only two towns on Nusa Lembongan, Jungutbata, where most of the low and mid range accommodation is located, and Lembongan, inland and without tourist accommodation. There are no cars on the island, at least not when we were there, but there is not a major reason to need to get around to much anyhow. Jungutbata has a sea wall along the coast were the town meets the sea, but beach to the north of town. Accommodation is split between this beach area, and the hill to the south of town. There is also more upmarket accommodation further around the coast at Mushroom Bay.
The island gets a bit busy (particularly Mushroom Bay) during the middle of the day, as boast tours from Bali come hear for day trips, but either side of these visits, the island is almost your own. There are a couple of little restaurants in town, as well as some at a the resorts at Mushroom Bay. Motors bikes are available to rent by the hour, but at a hourly rate similar to the day rate on Bali. This is useful for a couple of hours sightseeing, including visiting Lembongan town, dream beach, the mangroves, and the bridge across to Nusa Ceningan.
Villa's overlooking Jungutbatu
Apart from surfing, the other activity worth exploring is snorkeling. Local boats can take you to nice, shallow reef area to the north, that provides easy drifting over a some interesting coral fields. In addition, the other appeal is just relaxing!
To have a look at some opf the accomodation options here at Nusa Lembongan, follow the attached link to Hotels Combined. Be aware, many of the cheeper options are not bookable in advance though. As long as things are not too busy, you should also be able to get accomodation when you get there!
Hotels Combined – Nusa Lembongan.
Im not sure which island I will feature next. watch, wait and see!
Tropical Island Gems #2- Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Number 2 in my series of posts on some of the lesser known tropical islands that I have visited, and feel others need to know about, is Phu Quoc, Vietnam. I only visited Phu Quoc earlier this year, although it was my second visit to Vietnam. I thought it is imperative that I discuss Phu Quoc now, as I cant see it qualifying as a lesser know island for too much longer! Development is on its way, and a couple of years from now, Phu Quoc could well resemble Phuket or Bali!
Where is Phu Quoc?
Anyway, back to now. Phu Quoc Island is the largest island of Vietnam, and is oddly located to the west of the extreme west of the Vietnamese mainland. It is, in-fact, closer to the Cambodian mainland than the Vietnamese mainland. It is quite a large island, with almost all the tourist infrastructure located on an area on the west coast, called Long Beach. As the name suggests, it is an appealing beach area, white sand and blue water! Long Beach lies south of the Main town on the island, Duong Dong, and is linked by a wide, unsealed but relatively well maintained, road.
We arrived onto the island by ferry from the Mekong delta town of Rach Gia. This ferry, and the other option from Ha Tien, further North, near the Cambodian border, are the two departure points from the mainland, and both arrive at Bia Vong, on the east coast of Phu Quoc. The other entry point is by Vietnam Airlines flight from HCM (our departure choice), with the airport located just north of Duong Dong.
Picture Perfect?
The western beaches are picture perfect, with the required palms draping over the beach, and with wonderfully warm and calm seas. Beach net fisherman can be watched hauling hundreds of kilos of small fish from the shallows offshore. This can be watched in comfort from several (but not too many) beachfront restaurant/bars.
Beach Fisherman on Phu Quoc
Apart from soaking up some of the wonderful sun on the beach, there is plenty of island to explore, and there are a couple of different full day 1/2 island covering day trips that can be done, easiest on rental motorbikes. Both trails include nice coastal rides, as well as some of the forested inland areas. We recommend a ride then walk to Suoi Tranh waterfall, for a refreshing dip in much cooler, fresher water than the sea. It involves a nice couple of Km walk though forest.
we stayed at the Sea Star resort, on Long Beacg, but this was just one of a couple of dozen different options, in all class levels. I will post again on the Sea Star resort soon, with plenty of photos. well worth the 40$ per night!. In the mean time, follow my Hotels combined link to look at all accomodation options on Phu Quoc.
Hotels Combined – Phu Quoc
Hope you visit Phu Quoc soon, its well worth the little bit of a hassle to get there!
Tropical Island Gems #1 – Ko Ngai, Thailand
This series of posts is covering some of the best “secret” tropical island escapes that I have visited. I have steered away from the obvious islands that everyone know about and so many of us have visited, and concentrate on some of the lesser known ones, in the hope I may enlighten readers and inspire some to visit one of these “gems”
First up in the series, is Ko Ngai, Thailand. This wonderful little island is located in the South Andaman Sea, on Thailand’s lower west coast. It is roughly 100km south of Phuket, and can be accessed either from the mainland at Pakmeng, or from Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi, and Phuket.
Ko Ngai Location
Only a small island, Ko Ngai, has one main beach on the eastern side of the island – facing the mainland. This makes for a very sheltered area, with a shallow shore and a long, clean white sand beach. A coral “ring” runs parallel with the beach, and produces some useful beach snorkeling opportunities. Only 50 – 100 meters offshore, and only 3-4 meters deep, the reef area included some reasonable coral, and many small fish. The interior of the island is heavily wooded and quite impenetrable, but has a couple of walking paths to follow. An excellent view is availed from the top of the island.
Visiting ferries dock at the only jetty on the island, that is awkwardly located around a rocky headland from the main beach, in front of one of the upmarket hotels, the Ko Ngai resort. It is then necessary to get a local boat to take you across to the main beach to consider the other accommodation options.
Accommodation is limited to about 8 operators, all lined up along the beach. Most are quite upmarket, and best booked in advance, with only a couple of walk-up, cheaper options. We found accommodation from 900 Bht at Ko Ngai Seafood Bungalows, and think that was the cheapest option on the beach (all resorts and bungalows are considerably cheaper in the off season – 50% or more). Some of the resort style operations have beachfront pools, and luxurious rooms, but, in the end, have the same attraction as the cheap operators.
The appeal on the island is the thin white beach, and the tranquility of the sheltered beach and sea, and this is shared with all resorts! Longboats are available to take visitors diving or exploring, and a visit to “Emerald Cave” on Ko Muk, a 50 meter tunnel through a cliff, to a hidden beach, as well as other snorkeling and diving options. Most enjoyable though, is to soak up some sun on very quite, very gentle beach, followed by a beachfront dinner of Thai seafood!
Arrival jetty at Ko Ngai - main beach around corner
Ko Ngai Vista
We accessed the island by speedboat transfer from Ko Lanta, that was only about an hours journey, but a slow ferry is also available at a lower cost (300 bht as against 650 bht). We were able to rent snorkeling gear at a minimal cost, and ate most meals at the bungalow we stayed at, Ko Ngai Seafood, as it is the only real, non resort place on the beach (or the island for that matter).
I will post at another time about the Ko Ngai seafood bungalows, with some photos, but in the meantime, if you are interested in looking at the accommodation options on Ko Ngai, follow the following link to Hotels combined, as they offer the best choice of rates -
Next island in the “Tropical Island hidden gems” series of posts will be Phu Quoc, Vietnam, as it has been a recent visit, and I want to share it soon, while it is still a bit ” hidden”. It hasn’t got long – commercialisation is on the way fast! Subscribe to my RSS at get the post as it hits the web!
Tropical Island Gems – Introduction
When people sit in their homes in the depths of winter, with rain, wind or snow pelting down on their roof, what escape so often comes to mind? I would suggest a near deserted island, somewhere in the tropics, would very often be the daydream of choice! That daydream would include a white beach, with palm trees, a still sea, with tropical reef just offshore (you would have a set of goggles lying beside your beach chair), a local vendor wandering the sand pedalling exotic fruits, and probably a cane chaired beach bar a short distance away. Well daydream no more, they are out there! I’ve been to as many of them as I can find!, and I want to tell anyone who’ll listen all about them! Maybe brighten up an otherwise gloomy day, maybe set in motion a plan to get to one!
Sunset from View Point, Ko Phi Phi
So I thought I would start a series of posts on those islands. The ones that are a little lesser known, that are postcard perfect, that you wish you could move to and live on for ever! I love the heat, and when there is heat, I love a good beach, so I have spent plenty of time searching for just the right spot for me to chill!
Most of my travel has been throughout South East Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, and Central Asia, so I have visited my fair share of these hidden tropical island escapes! Of course, there are tropical island escapes in the Americas, Africa and the mediterranean, but, hey, you cant be everywhere, unfortunately!
Manukan Island, Sabah, Malaysia
I can think of islands I will cover off the coasts of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and India, as well as island nations in the South Pacific. I remember reading somewhere that Indonesia was made up of 10,000 islands? I wonder if it would be possible to visit all of those? If anybody ever has? How many of them would be idillic beach getaways, maybe 1 in 10?, that is still 1000 tropical island paradises waiting to be visited! Now there is a challenge for someone!
The first post of the series will be Ko Ngai, a small island at the south end of the Andaman Sea off the west coast of Thailand. I will try to give some photos, as well as details on how to get there (or how I got there, at least), and the accommodation options if I can. I hope you enjoy the series, and provide some feedback. I would also love to hear about other tropical island gems that are out there, so let me know. Guest post is available in this series.
