Does anyone know Indonesia or Malaysia? Tips on a great hotel please!

[TheDonald]

It all looks amazing!

We're going in the summer for 3.5 weeks. So far we have flights booked to Jakarta, and a five-day tour planned in Borneo (Sabah)

For the first five days or so we'd like to relax on a beach. I'm looking for a very safe, quiet and chilled out hostel / hotel on a beach, with good swimming, access to a few restaurants and maybe some canoeing, snorkelling or stand up paddle boarding opportunities. Something idyllic but not mega expensive.

There are so many choices! So far I've looked at Bali, Lombok, Palau Tioman, Langkawi, Borneo. I'm sure there are many more lovely places within a one hour flight.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help me narrow it down?

In Malaysia, I preferred Tioman island to Langkawi. I can recommend the Berjaya Tioman resort for an idyllic beach holiday. Great snorkelling there, and guided walks up into the hills / rainforest.

Bali is an absolutely amazing magical place, but quite touristy now. Best place to go is probably Seminyak, or Sanur. There is a lot to see there culturally, not just beaches, but temples, villages, arts and crafts in Ubud, monkey forest etc.

If you want to go to a secret tiny island with a perfect beach and a mini eco-resort (but completely undeveloped so no nearby restaurants) then check out Sea Gypsy on Sibu island in Malaysia. But sshhh! Don't tell anyone

Thanks! Great suggestions. Sea gypsy looks amazing. Just what i was after.

I'm wondering how dd will cope with a digital detox.

I love Bali but agree it’s touritsy. I loved Gili Air, very chilled laid back and but still enough beach bars to tour! Plus beautiful beaches. Accommodation is all rather rustic and quaint though.

Just coming back to this thread to say thank you so much for the great suggestion of Sea Gypsy. We are booked for four days. That's as much as DD could cope without wifi!

Now I'm after some suggestions of where to stay when we get back to Singapore.

I'm looking for something in the "nicer hostels" category. Not a party place but somewhere friendly, international and laid back. Oh - and DD says it MUST have wifi!

We stayed in a hotel rather than a hostel. Was lovely tho, the Park Royal on Pickering. Well located especially for china town and eco friendly

Some hostels and cheap hotels in Malaysia double as brothels. Singapore might be different as it has a very different character. But something to be aware of if you have a young/teenage DD with you.

Another vote for the Kinabantangan river - we loved it.

We stayed at the Rasa Ria in KK and also Gaya Island. The Rasa Ria is a nice hotel but the sea is unsuitable for snorkelling and there are irritating sand flies on the beach. Gaya Island is suitable for snorkelling (but not to Maldives standard and there is plastic in the sea) but the hotel standards and service are hit and miss.

I've travelled a fair bit in Malaysia and would say Tioman Island has to be one of the nicest places on the planet

Hope you don't mind me jumping in a little late, just found this.

biscuitmillionaire , the Sea Gypsy village looks amazing! Just our cup of tea! I'm looking into it. Do you know if the dive company also offers Bubblemaker courses for 8 year olds? I contacted them but haven't heard back yet.

We were thinking of Semporna island and then take dive and snorkel trips to Mabul, Makatan etc.. Anyone been? Worth it?

If it's not too late for the OP, I can recommend Mantanani Island off Kota Kinabalu. Beautiful, secluded and the reef was stunning.

Any other islands anyone can recommend? We have plenty of time and want to tour the area. Priority is SCUBA and snorkel.

Langkawi is beautiful, rainforest and beach combined!

Would r

Woops presses send to quick. Hotels to recommend would be the Datai or the Andaman