Rawa Island
Dec 16th, 2008, 04:19 PM
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Rawa Island
Read a post by ciercone on Rawa Island. It sounds lovely.
What is the best way to get there from an airport? Is it best to fly through Singapore or Kuala Lumpur? And how would I proceed to Rawa Island?
What is the best way to get there from an airport? Is it best to fly through Singapore or Kuala Lumpur? And how would I proceed to Rawa Island?
Dec 16th, 2008, 05:26 PM
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The best time of year to go to Rawa is from about late March through early Sept; otherwise it is quite rainy, and seas are choppy. They used to close the resort from November through March, now they stay open but just have lower rates, but IMO there are other places you could go during those months (not necessarily in Malaysia, however, but go north to Thailand, esp the west coast or go to parts of Indonesia). See weatherbase.com and look at stats for Mersing, Malaysia. You’ll see some heavy rainfall.
I also have to stress that this is NOT a luxury resort island. (Others who have gone seem to have expected this, though I thought I was pretty clear that this was the case). They have improved tremendously over the years in their facilities (they used to be huts with no air con, no fresh water showers and no electricity after midnight), but they are not a 5 or even 4 star resort. But the beach is lovely, lovely, lovely, And peaceful, and not crowded and really a different place than going to a 5 star resort (not that there is anything wrong with that).
From outside Asia, the best thing to do generally is to fly into Singapore, and then get yourself to Mersing, and then take the boat out to the island. To get to Mersing from Singapore, you can either take the public bus, or you can hire a taxi. The taxi you can do two ways: hire a Singapore taxi the whole way, or hire a Singapore taxi to take you over the causeway into Malaysia to the town of Johor Bahru (in Johor Bahru state, like NYC, New York), and then hire a Malaysian taxi to take you to Mersing. (Sounds complicated but it really is not). The bus/drive from Singapore to Mersing is about 2.5 hours. The hotel’s website may have info on buses, if not contact the hotel or see www.fivestarsonline.com (does not operate during monsoon months) and Transnasional at http://www.nadi.com.my/transportation_overview.asp. I could not estimate taxi fares at this point, as I have not down it via taxi in some years. It sounds like a long complicated journey but it really is not, I used to go for weekends from Singapore. I would avoid Fridays and even Sat mornings if you can, as that is when you would have most traffic, esp crossing the causeway from Singapore. If you can do a trip during the week, so much the better (and cheaper I think too as far as rates, they get a lot of weekend business from S’pore.)
If you are in Malaysia, it should be possible to take overland buses to Mersing from KL or other towns, see the Transnasional site for information. Transnasional is about the largest bus operator in Malaysia and has lots of routes which you may be able to use. From you other posts, I see that you will be on a long-term trip in Malaysia, so you could easily get coastal buses down from Kuala Terengganu and the east coast areas, or buses across the isthmus from KL or Penang or Malacca.
No other airports are really close. Johor Bahru has a small regional airport you could fly into from KL, but IMO that would not really save you much time, but if it is cheaper than Singapore, may be worth it, and then you could just take a bus or taxi from JB to Mersing. There may be a small regional airport in Desaru, which again you may be able to fly into from KL, that may save you an hour on the drive up to Mersing.
The drive up or down the east coast of Malaysia is very beautiful, lots of small villages and islands, and you could rent a car in Singapore or in Malaysia and drive yourself if you planned a longer trip than just going to Rawa (where a car is of course useless) and had the funds. (You may be able to rent motorcycles, you should check Lonely Planet on whether and where this is possible, this would be quite interesting along the west coast IMO.) Malaysia is left-side-of-the road-drive as is Singapore, but Malaysia and Singapore (and Hong Kong) are really the only places I would recco a self-drive in Asia, so if you want to do it and don’t mind spending the money that is possible. Roads are good and signage is in English. (But learn that “awas” means “danger” in Malay, always a good thing to recognize when seen on signage…)
It is a very small island, so really after 3-4 days you may have a little island fever, although you can hire boats and go to deserted islands for diving and snorkeling. It would depend on how much solitude you like. With a bag of books, I could stay for a week or more, but not everyone could I know.
I also have to stress that this is NOT a luxury resort island. (Others who have gone seem to have expected this, though I thought I was pretty clear that this was the case). They have improved tremendously over the years in their facilities (they used to be huts with no air con, no fresh water showers and no electricity after midnight), but they are not a 5 or even 4 star resort. But the beach is lovely, lovely, lovely, And peaceful, and not crowded and really a different place than going to a 5 star resort (not that there is anything wrong with that).
From outside Asia, the best thing to do generally is to fly into Singapore, and then get yourself to Mersing, and then take the boat out to the island. To get to Mersing from Singapore, you can either take the public bus, or you can hire a taxi. The taxi you can do two ways: hire a Singapore taxi the whole way, or hire a Singapore taxi to take you over the causeway into Malaysia to the town of Johor Bahru (in Johor Bahru state, like NYC, New York), and then hire a Malaysian taxi to take you to Mersing. (Sounds complicated but it really is not). The bus/drive from Singapore to Mersing is about 2.5 hours. The hotel’s website may have info on buses, if not contact the hotel or see www.fivestarsonline.com (does not operate during monsoon months) and Transnasional at http://www.nadi.com.my/transportation_overview.asp. I could not estimate taxi fares at this point, as I have not down it via taxi in some years. It sounds like a long complicated journey but it really is not, I used to go for weekends from Singapore. I would avoid Fridays and even Sat mornings if you can, as that is when you would have most traffic, esp crossing the causeway from Singapore. If you can do a trip during the week, so much the better (and cheaper I think too as far as rates, they get a lot of weekend business from S’pore.)
If you are in Malaysia, it should be possible to take overland buses to Mersing from KL or other towns, see the Transnasional site for information. Transnasional is about the largest bus operator in Malaysia and has lots of routes which you may be able to use. From you other posts, I see that you will be on a long-term trip in Malaysia, so you could easily get coastal buses down from Kuala Terengganu and the east coast areas, or buses across the isthmus from KL or Penang or Malacca.
No other airports are really close. Johor Bahru has a small regional airport you could fly into from KL, but IMO that would not really save you much time, but if it is cheaper than Singapore, may be worth it, and then you could just take a bus or taxi from JB to Mersing. There may be a small regional airport in Desaru, which again you may be able to fly into from KL, that may save you an hour on the drive up to Mersing.
The drive up or down the east coast of Malaysia is very beautiful, lots of small villages and islands, and you could rent a car in Singapore or in Malaysia and drive yourself if you planned a longer trip than just going to Rawa (where a car is of course useless) and had the funds. (You may be able to rent motorcycles, you should check Lonely Planet on whether and where this is possible, this would be quite interesting along the west coast IMO.) Malaysia is left-side-of-the road-drive as is Singapore, but Malaysia and Singapore (and Hong Kong) are really the only places I would recco a self-drive in Asia, so if you want to do it and don’t mind spending the money that is possible. Roads are good and signage is in English. (But learn that “awas” means “danger” in Malay, always a good thing to recognize when seen on signage…)
It is a very small island, so really after 3-4 days you may have a little island fever, although you can hire boats and go to deserted islands for diving and snorkeling. It would depend on how much solitude you like. With a bag of books, I could stay for a week or more, but not everyone could I know.
