The south-east Asian countries of Indonesia and Malaysia are havens for beach lovers. One to three hours trave from Singapore by road or boat gives us the option of reaching a multitude of pristine beaches on islands in the South-China Sea or the Indian Ocean.

Islands of Malaysia

A two-hours’ drive away from Singapore is Mersing, a small port town located in the state of Johor in Malaysia. Boats depart from the Mersing jetty to the archipelago of small islands dotting the sea around. These islands are great places for weekend getaways from the hustle bustle of city life.

Tioman

One of the islands that can be reached by a less than two-hour from Mersing, Tioman is one of the largest islands of the archipelago. It boasts of many beach-side resorts catering to varied levels of budgets. There are regular public ferry services between Mersing and Tioman, some of the resorts also provide ferries for their guests. There are also dive sights around the island which is popular with divers around the region.

Rawa

Rawa Island or Pulau Rawa a tropical paradise in the South China sea is one such island. It is about a half hour boat ride away from Mersing. It is a private uninhabited island with two beach side resorts. The interior is hilly and wooded and the sea around abounds in coral reefs.

Tengah

Pulau Tengah is about forty-five minutes boat ride from Mersing. It forms a part of the gazetted Johor Marine Park. There eight sandy beaches dotted with rocky outcrops along the edges of the island. Similar to Rawa, the interior of the island is forested and hilly. The island is home to a slightly up-market ecological resort named Batu Batu. The sppedboat service provided by the resort is the only way to access the island.

Sibu

Sibu is a collection of few small islands that can be accessed by boat from Tanjung Leman jetty. A much quieter and smaller place than Mersing, it is also a shorter distance away from Singapore. The drive is less than two hours and secure parking is available near the jetty. Quite a few resorts of various shapes and catering to different budgets are available for spending a salubrious weekend.   

Venturing to Indonesia

Indonesia is a country of thousand islands with gorgeous beaches. The most famed destination may be Bali but there are small islands with equally beautiful and quieter beaches which are popular weekend gateways for Singapore residents. They can be reached by an hour’s boat ride from the southern shores of the of Singapore.

Bintan

The ferries for Bintan depart from the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal located on the south-eastern corner of Singapore. There are a few companies running ferry services between Singapore and Bintan. The Bintan Resorts group of hotels run their own ferry service for tourists travelling to their hotels. There are other ferry lines which run boats to other parts of the island. Bintan can be done as a day trip from Singapore if you can hop-on to an early morning ferry (they start about 8:00am), spend the day roaming the island and the beaches and then take an evening ferry back.

Nikoi

This a a secluded privately owned one resort island about two and half hours’ journey from Singapore. The Bintan Resorts ferry brings you to BIntan. A private vehicle ride of about an hour transports you to the other end of the island by road and then there is another short twenty minutes boat ride to Nikoi. The upmarket resort has beautiful beach houses built along the lines of traditional Indonesian architecture