An Indonesian tropical island paradise, on a Singapore stopover

After a romantic whirlwind evening celebrating our engagement in Rome, followed almost immediately by a 12 hour flight to Singapore – we were riding a love high and ready for our final stopover destination. One that we’d been dreaming of since we booked it all those months ago. And, oh boy was it worth it!

Cempedak Private Island is a barefoot, tropical island paradise located just 2.5 hours from Singapore. It’s an adults-only escape and the perfect place to kick off your shoes, lay back and enjoy the ultimate couples holiday.

Here’s what we wanted for a 2 day stopover:

• Barefoot luxury away from the hustle and bustle
• Somewhere that could be accessed by land/boat transfer from Singapore (we’re not great fliers)
• A destination where we could just relax – (swim, walk, eat, drink, repeat… you get the picture!)
• A destination no more than 3 hours from Singapore

After hours of research looking for all of the above, we discovered Cempedak Private Island, and we can confidently claim it’s the best tropical island getaway we’ve ever had.

Ferry to Bintan Island, Indonesia

As soon as we arrived at Singapore Changi Airport just after 6 am, we taxied straight to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal – a hop, skip and a jump from the airport. If you only have a few days stopover, we recommend arriving in Singapore as early as possible to make the most of the day.

We were the first (and only) people in line when the ticket office opened at 8 am. It hardly took any convincing for us to splash out a few extra Singapore dollars and treat our newly-engaged selves to Emerald Class where we had access to a lounge, complimentary refreshments and priority boarding (totally worth it!)

Our first port of call on the way to our final destination was Bintan Island. Thanks to the time difference, we left Singapore at 9 am and arrived in Indonesia at the same time. The resort meets the following boat times from Bintan, so keep this in mind when you’re booking a stay: 11:10 am, 5:00 pm and 8:20 pm.

We were off the boat with the first wave (thanks to Emerald class). Our well-worn suitcases were swept away as we were guided  to a lounge where they had no shortage of fresh ginger and papaya juice shots and exotic looking fruits waiting for us.

After a slight glitch going through customs (where we came dangerously close to losing some precious olive oil made by our Tuscan argitourismo), our private transfer car was waiting for us.

Land transfer

The next step in the journey was a one hour scenic land transfer across Bintan to the final boat terminal.

The boat ride was a short and easy 30 minutes with a friendly local man who taught English at the resort and told us we had a beautiful energy together. The journey took us through Listerine blue waters, and past islands with Reflex white sand. As the boat glided into Cempedak Private Island, we were greeted by a group of staff waving their welcome at us from the jetty.

Arriving at Cempedak Island

Let me take a moment now to try and describe the sheer beauty of our final stopover destination – Cempedak Private Island, Indonesia. Eco-luxury at its finest!

As we approached we could see the curved roofs of the bamboo huts peaking out from behind exotic flora. The resort was obviously designed with nature in mind to honour its spectacular rain forest surroundings.

The view from the beach hut where we checked in was of a clear blue pool which overlooked white sand and transparent water. It was a scene from the cover of a glossy travel magazine , albeit without the filters. We’d barely stepped off the boat when our bags were whisked magically out of our hands and a strong welcome drink was expertly thrown together by the charismatic resort manager.

Once our room was ready (and Rosie was ever so slightly tipsy), we were ushered into a buggy along with our luggage and made a short two-minute journey through a lush rain forest to our Seaview Villa.

Our Seaview Villa

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On booking, we had the option of choosing between a Beach Villa (with direct beach access) or a Seaview Villa (which unsurprisingly had spectacular sea views). After reading some reviews online we ended up choosing the Seaview for additional privacy. But, to be honest, you really couldn’t go wrong with either option. All of the villas at the resort come with a complimentary butler service, stunning plunge pools and an amazingly comfortable king size bed.

We were surprised that we’d been given a villa so close to the water as most of the Seaviews are located much higher up in the hills. If you want to be closer to the island, we highly recommend asking for one of the rock views on booking.

Inside our villa we were treated to an open-air lounge framed by bamboo, overlooking an infinity plunge pool that blended into the ocean. There were no walls in the villas and everything was wide open with the sea breeze acting as a natural air-con.

On the second level we soon discovered our open bedroom and shower area. We could see the pool down below. Everything was constructed from bamboo, and in a clever way that prevented creepy crawlers from taking over. It was the most beautiful natural architecture we’d ever seen!

After leaving us with instructions on how to contact him via the in-house iPad, our butler slipped out and we had a much needed shower before we were soon sunbathing by the pool (where we watched some kind of giant lizard/dragon creature native to the island sunbathing on the large granite boulder in front of us).

The food

Now, let’s talk about how mind-blowing the food was. We’re both good on the tooth so to speak, and this place was a paradise for anyone who loves eating (and, who doesn’t love eating?).

Because you’re happily confined to the island, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included as part of a food package. But once you’ve paid you certainly won’t go hungry!

The restaurant on the island is a large open bamboo space with spectacular views of the surrounding islands and the beach. You’ll be served something different every day of your stay, usually a delicious fusion of Indonesian and international cuisine. The staff go absolutely out of their way to feed you well and make sure both your dietaries and food dreams are accommodated for. They’ll even make you something from scratch if you so desire. We absolutely loved the traditional Indonesian food and it took just a couple of mouthfuls to figure out it was some of the best we’d ever tasted. We still dream about the mango sticky rice with chocolate sauce to this day!

The Cocktail Bar

The resort also had an impressive open cocktail bar right next to the restaurant. This was the perfect place to watch the sunset while sipping on a coconut or exotic cocktail! The bar had a laid back and chilled out vibe and was the perfect place to finish up the day before heading to dinner. If you’re more into a party scene, you won’t find it on this island.

Activities

During our stay we chose not to participate in the activities offered by the resort, because, frankly, it was just too hard to leave our villa. But, if you’re looking for some relaxing land and sea activities, Cempedak offers a full day spa, tennis, nature walks, kayaking, sailing, paddle boarding and more. There’s also a main pool area at the resort with a bar, but we found it too hot to swim in it during the day. The beach in front of the main pool area however was a great and cooler alternative.

In summary…

Cempedak Private Island is a dream stopover from Singapore and gave us a couple of days of absolute barefoot luxury before heading straight back to work. We loved that the island could be entirely accessed by boat and car transfer which meant we could avoid another plane trip!

Here a couple of things to be mindful of before you book

• Cempedak is an adults only island resort (16+), so if you’re travelling with young kids we recommend their sister resort just an island or so away, Nikoi Private Island
• There’s WiFi at the resort, but no phones so make sure you arrange all the details in advance with the resort because you won’t be able to call them from the airport
• There’s no air-con in the villas but they are cleverly designed so that the natural breeze keeps you cool!
• Cempedak is still relatively new and unknown, so get in quick before the prices sky-rocket!

If you find yourself in Singapore and looking for a weekend getaway, or if you’re en route back home from Europe, stop by Cempedak Private Island for a stay that you’ll never forget. And, if you simply have to know more, shoot us through an email!

Rosie & Aaron