Pulau Rawa is an idyllic tropical island paradise off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is a small island about 1 km long and 200 or so metres wide on average. It lies some 20 km offshore the Johor port town of Mersing which is where you have to catch the boat to the island since there is no airport.
I have visited quite a few resort islands and beach resorts in Malaysia over the years including Perhentian Islands, Redang, Kapas Island, Langkawi, Pangkor, Sapi and many more.
In my opinion Pulau Rawa is one of the best for the following reasons:
There are only two choices for accommodation on the island, Alang's Rawa and Rawa Island Resort. I stayed at Rawa Island Resort so will confine my comments to that hotel, which is the more family oriented of the two. Google rates this as a 3-star hotel.
Here are some of the hotel's main features:
A good range of rooms: Beachfront Chalet, Hillside Deluxe, Waterfront Bungalow and Frangipani Villa. We stayed in a Hillside Deluxe chalet with a double bed and a single bed so ideal for a small family. It was clean and comfortable with air-conditioning and a ceiling fan. The bathroom is rather basic but has all you need including hot water. Plenty of drinking water provided free.
No TV or wifi in the rooms. The phone/mobile data signal was OK. Wifi is available in the restaurant/lobby.
Food. There is one restaurant serving buffet meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner which were all included in the package rate. Plenty of choices on the buffet and vegetarians are catered for. The food was nothing fancy but perfectly fine for recharging the energy for another round of beach activities.
Staff. The service was quietly efficient and all the arrangements for baggage and boat transfers seemed to work like clockwork.
Facilities:
Lots of seating areas, sunbeds, hammocks and cosy corners to get away from it all.
The landscaping is beautiful with something nice to look at in every direction.
This is not a cheap holiday but bear in mind that all food and supplies for the hotel have to be brought out to the island by boat from the mainland.
Two night packages for two people currently start at RM 2,296 which includes 2 way boat transfers, three daily meals, welcome drink and accommodation.
Additional charges are the Marine Department's Conservation Fee (RM 30 per adult for non-Malaysians) and secure parking at Mersing, RM 18 per night.
To see the room rates and make bookings please go directly to their official website.
First you have to get to Mersing. Here is a map showing the location of Rawa Island Resort's Office in Mersing:
GPS: 2°26'02.4"N 103°50'19.8"E
2.434000, 103.838840
Address:
Rawa Island Resort Sdn Bhd, Tourist Centre, Jalan Abu Bakar, Mersing 86800, Johor, Malaysia
Telephone :
+607 799 1204 / +607 799 1205
Email :
rawaisland@live.com
Fax :
+607 799 3848
From Mersing you will take the resort's speed boat, a sturdy double-hulled steel and fibre glass boat capable of holding 20 passengers. It is covered so you should not get wet. The trip takes about 30 minutes and can be a little bumpy in rough seas.
Pulau Rawa is located within the Sultan Iskandar Marine Park, a conservation area under the protection of the Malaysian Department of Marine Parks. To ensure the natural beauty of the island remains pristine for future visitors, the following activities are prohibited by law within the marine park:
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