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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Island Vacay - Sari Pacifica Resort and Spa, Redang

I have a lot of things to write tapi tak cukup masa. But for now, kita review on our recent island vacation to : REDANG ISLAND (04.06.2015 – 06.06.2015).

Since it was school holiday season, jadi harga pakej kami adalah: peak season.

(1) 3H2M package at Sari Pacifica Resort and Spa (pre-booked):

Type of Villa : Lagoon
RM598.00 per adult
RM299.00 per child (4yo and above)
*inclusive of buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The room : very spacious with 1 king size bed and 1 queen size bed, a balcony facing manmade fountain, changing / wardrobe room, safe box, TV, make up room, separated toilet and shower rooms and bath tub. The buffet spread meals were good and delicious consist of salad station, dessert and fruit station, beverages station, soup station and the main course station (nasi putih and lauk pauk and vegetables, pasta, noodles, nasi goreng, sausages, etc).

It was just a walking distance to the hotel lobby, cafe and beach. The view was amazing, Subhanallah. I have this love-hate relationship with the beach as I love the scenery and the relaxing moments there but I hate to do the cleaning part of the fine beach sand on our clothes. Teheee.

We rarely take the kids to the beach as we are not so sure what to do on an island vacay but after staying in Redang for the past few days I could not help but fall in love with island vacation. My kids have had their enjoyable moments there throughout our stay.

Thus, island vacay : 1 - Wahida : 0.


View from Sari Pacifica - Lobby

(2) Ferry transfer : KT Shahbandar Jetty – Redang Island (1 hour 30 mins):

EXPRESS SEJAHTERA by SEJAHTERA FERRY Services Sdn. Bhd. (pre-booked)

RM35.00 (per adult) for one (1) way transfer
RM20.00 (per child) for one (1) way transfer

Our Ferry scheduled time:
From KT Shahbandar Jetty to Redang Island : 8.30am
From Redang Island to KT Shahbandar Jetty : 11.30am

It is advisable that you take your medicine to prevent from motion sickness. We took our medicine (including the kids) half an hour before boarding the ferry to Redang. Most of us dozed off in the 1 hour 30 minutes ferry ride to Redang as there was nothing else you can do. There was TV in the ferry, but if you are lucky to get the front seat, then you can kill the time by watching movies.

We were being transferred to another boat when we were about 500 meters to reach Redang Island (basically it was done at the sea) and only then we reached at the island itself. It has no jetty at all – just a main drop off to the island in front of Redang Island Resort. Next, we have to wait for our mini tractor to pick us up to Sari Pacifica. It was basically a mini tractor with 4 huge tires which can be drove through the sand beach heading up to our resort which was located about 300 meters from the main drop off. We (and our luggage) had to be transported to Sari Pacifica Resort in two trips as the mini tractor was not capable to move with heavy loads as it had to go through lots of fine beach sand.

We managed to check in early during that day and after rest for a while, we went for lunch. Later in the evening, we went to the beach for sand castle and swimming activities.


From L-R photos : On the transferred boat to the island | On the mini tractor to Sari Pacifica | Our resort’s balcony facing the manmade fountain | In front of the mini gate of Sari Pacifica | Hafiya had a swimming lesson in the sea | My beloveds enjoying the beach | Fish feeding activity at Pulau Lima from our boat | Snorkeling time | All of us before going for snorkeling |

(3) Snorkeling Package under Sari Pacifica Resort:

RM70.00 per adult
RM40.00 per child
*inclusive of boat transfer to Pulau Lima and Pulau Paku Besar and snorkeling gears.

For this snorkeling package, we just booked through the resort at night during dinner and made confirmation thereafter and set up for the departure time at 9.15am. Our boatmen were Teng and Awang. There will be a brief explanation before the departure and we were given life jackets, diving masks and snorkel. We were so lucky that life jackets for Hafiya, Adam and Eizzat (3yo) were available in their sizes.

We had to walk through the sea water (about my chest height) to get to the boat for snorkeling / island hopping purposes. *Note: please take out all your hp / camera / belongings inside your pocket and put them in water-proof bags before going to the boat. 

Our first boat ride was to Pulau Lima, situated in less than 10 minutes from Sari Pacifica. I was the last person to join the fun of snorkeling that day as firstly, I was busy taking pictures of them snorkeling and fish feeding; secondly – I was scared as it was my first experience! Hehe. The kids were so excited especially with fish feeding. Awang, our boatman brought Khayra to the middle of the sea for snorkeling and they found gamat. So proud of Khayra as she was brave enough to experience it and made several trips of going into the sea for snorkeling. *Note: must send my kids for swimming lesson soon.

Awang told me just to relax and keep calm so that we could experience the snorkeling better and he was right! Hafiya also got the opportunity to be in the water for a while as Awang insisted to bring her down to gain the experience to be in the middle of sea.

After about more than one hour in Pulau Lima, we moved to another small island called Pulau Paku Besar – less than 8 minutes from Pulau Lima. As I was more confident this time around and the water was quite calm than the island before, I enjoyed snorkeling in Pulau Paku Besar. Subhanallah, the view deep down the ocean was so amazing and so beautiful; I just could not explain in words here but it was simply magnificent. The corals, the fishes and the scenery were so wonderful. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me the opportunity to see your beautiful creation in the ‘other’ world.

At noon, we went back to Sari Pacifica and had our lunch.


From L-R photos : Hafiya at the beach | Awang, our boatman did this for us – sand turtle | Hafiya – upon arrival Redang island | Khayra and Awang found gamat during snorkeling at Pulau Lima | View from our transferred boat to the island | Hafiya – playing with fine sand beach |

Overall it was a wonderful experience for me (and for all of us). Suddenly while typing these, I really want to go for snorkeling again! :D


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