Beyond Bintan: Nikoi Island
Beyond Bintan: Nikoi Island
December 13th, 2007To get to an even more remote island you don’t have to go far. Just eight kilometers from the east coast of Bintan is Nikoi Island, an island so small and unspoiled it feels like it’s lost somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
On Nikoi Island is a unique resort—beautiful but basic and developed to conserve the island’s natural environment. This means construction is limited to a modest five-hectare site, and the rest of the island is a designated nature sanctuary. Accommodation comprises 15 double-story beach houses, each made from driftwood, local timber and alang alang thatch, and designed to capture maximum sea breeze so that while handmade electric ceiling fans are provided they aren’t really necessary. There is no air-conditioning, phones, faxes or computers. But mobile reception is good so you are not entirely cut off if you can’t afford to be.
With this much rusticity and seclusion, there is little to do except kick off your flip flops and enjoy nature. Wading in rock pools at low tide, walking, climbing, snorkeling, and swimming are the order of the day, and the resort can also organize fishing and kayaking trips. There is plenty to see—white sandy beaches, colorful coral reefs and magnificent white granite boulders, surrounded by green rain forest, home to the local birds and animals.
Getting There
From Bintan Ferry Terminal, take a taxi across Bintan to the Nikoi Island jetty, (about an hour’s ride). Board a Nikoi Launch for a half-hour ride. For enquires and reservations contact relax@nikoi.com, 65-9635-1950, or visit www.nikoi.com.
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