Banyan Tree Bintan

For our honeymoon, we caught the Eastern & Oriental train from Bangkok down to Singapore and then after a few days in Singapore, headed over to relax on the sandy beaches of Bintan. Bintan island is part of Indonesia but a mere hour long ferry ride from Singapore.

When our 25 year anniversary came round, we decided to recreate our honeymoon. The E&O express was well out of our price range these days, especially with our teen in tow. I would do this again in a flash if I could, and am currently eyeing off other trains that I might be able to somehow wrangle...

Returning to the Banyan Tree at Bintin was more affordable. We Scooted over to Singapore for approx $650 a head return. Because of the arrival, we stayed overnight at the airport hotel, having a late dinner at Jewel. We left straight after breakfast the next day for the ferry terminal.

The ferry proceedure, while international, is easy other than a bit of waiting around (in part because the hotel told us to get there much earlier than we needed to). With Emerald class you have a lounge so no problems getting seating. 

There is a small fee for the visa into Indonesia (on arrival for Australians but check all the details here, as things can change) and customs, but if you go on the Emerald Class, all that is pretty much managed for you while you wait in a lounge. That said, had we not gone with that ticket, I don't think the lines would have been massive anyway.

We arrived at the Banyan Tree and as our villa wasn't ready, we headed to one of the three restaurants for lunch. The resort has a new modern European restaurant since we were there, so we tried that one  first. Over the course of the next few days, we ate in them all, but like the first time, Saffron, the Thai restaurant was our favourite, and like last time, the Tom Yum Goong was AMAZING. I'd remembered it clearly from our honeymoon and was almost scared to order it in case it ruined my memory, but it did not disappoint. I have no idea why it's so hard to get a good Tom Yum in Australia but when you get a good one, it's out of this world!

We dined in the villa at our raised dining platform, enjoying the view (or the glow of the pool, I guess as it was after sunset) and the noises of the ocean. That was probably my favourite night of our trip. Relaxed yet indulgent.  

The Banyan Tree will buggy you over, or you can just walk up the beach, to the Angsana and Cassia and dine in those resorts, so if you stay awhile, you need not get bored with the offerings. That is also where a lot of the activities are. There is also golf nearby. We did walk over for lunch on the beach at Xana one day but in part because of the heat, most of the time we just lounged around our own resort.

The cliff top dayspa is lovely and reasonably priced. We had massages every day which was a luxurious way to start or end the day.

Our two bedroom villa has it's own pool and spa, but there is also a beach front pool and a cliff top pool. The villa was lovely, with an outdoor shower and an outdoor bath. The rooms are still luxury inside. The age and weather has taken it's toll a little on the outdoor areas but it was maintained and didn't impact the expereince. 

When we were there last, when there was really nothing much around - the Angsana was just being built, and the Club Med was fairly new. Now there are some new slick resorts and a lot more choice in accomodation. The remote island we visited all those years ago has gone, however, were we were wasn't crowded and it still felt very tranquil.

We had a lovely stay, relaxing in our spa, daily massages, swimming and reading by the pool. All too soon it was time to go home and the resort organised the drop off for the return ferry with minimal wait time.

A lot has changed since our honeymoon but it was great to go back and remember who we were then, and cleebrate all that we'd shared in the years since.

We were only on Bintan for three nights but it felt much longer, ironically as it's been 25 years, but it feels much shorter! 

Practicalities:

Bintan Resort Ferries

Banyan Tree Bintan

Scoot (Note, this is a budget airline. You pay extra for everything you want).

Things that we should have done, but didn't:

Turtle Release on White Sands Island

Further Reading:

Bintan  - Now & Then

Wild Monkeys

Sunsets on Singapore 

Linking with #SaturdayCritters