We decided to hit the islands this go around in Singapore. Our friends had talked about them when we lived here before, but back then we kept flying to Thailand and Bali. Then we hit our first island, and discovered a whole plethora of beautiful resorts within a stone’s throw of Singapore.
We started with Sea Gypsy, located on Pulau Sibu off the coast of South Eastern Malaysia. We chose it partly because my daughter’s school used to take the Grade 4 there to camp and we wanted to acclimate her to the island. We found it to be a great holiday, despite some challenges.
The accommodations are rustic, but large. The room we had included a king sized bed, and two twin bunk beds in the second room. It would have slept 4 children and 2 adults, which is great for large families. There was no air conditioning, though. The mosquito nets were thick, and air didn’t circulate through the nets, so it was really hot and stuffy to sleep at night. The bathrooms were really rustic. However, for the price you really can’t beat it. It is similar to camping on the beach. If you like to camp, you’ll find it just fine. If you hate camping, this might not be for you.
The food was really good. Food is served family style at your table, and you get as much food as you want. The children are served a kid-friendly meal, and then are whisked off to kids night in the Eagles Nest. They do some games and activities, and then watch a movie, until 10:00 pm!!! This is very exciting for parents. The parents can go to the bar, and we even, on the last night of our stay, did a booze cruise to a nearby island, while our kids were in the kids club. This really makes this one of the most kid-friendly resorts in the area, and we love Sea Gypsy for this.
As for activities on the island, there is a lot of diving, for a very affordable price. The dive master was quite good, according to my husband, an avid diver. He did a night dive off the shore as well as two other dives while we were there. The waves were a bit rough for snorkeling, but we were able to find an area that was less choppy to find some fish.
One of the best things about Rawa, in addition to their amazing kids club, is all of the trees all over the resort. This makes it much cooler than it would normally be. If feels like camping in a forest on a beach. It is quite lovely. They have lots of play equipment for younger children. There are lots of places to relax. The bar is good and reasonably priced.
Sea Gypsy is also trying very hard to limit their environmental footprint, which we appreciate.
As for price, you can’t beat the price at Sea Gypsy. It is affordable, and cheaper than neighboring Rawa and Batu Batu, and much cheaper than Nikoi island and Telunas in Indonesia. I recommend it highly!
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