Redang Island, Malaysia

Joel finally came home from his work trip to New Zealand. We jetted off immediately for a 5 day trip to Redang Island in Malaysia. It's a gorgeous white sand island with pretty amazing snorkeling. We saw an incredible variety of fish and reef sharks too. It was great to have cool ocean air for a few days. As Joel put it "I don't think I've ever taken a tropical vacation and come home to hotter weather."

Redang is a resort destination with a few options for places to stay.  Berjaya airlines is the best way to get there (unless you want to spend a day in a bus... nope? I thought not). The highest rated resort is the Berjaya Redang Resort which is on the far side of the island on its own beach. It's also the most expensive option. The other 16 resorts are all in a row along three bays.

We stayed in the middle of that resort area at Laguna Redang. The beaches in that area were very nice and the actual rooms at our resort were tastefully furnished. As I said above the fish were plentiful and from what I've heard from other people this really is the big draw here.

When we were there the average age of travelers was about 16 -18 (lots of high school groups) and the beach dance parties were very loud and almost all of the resorts along that area seem to be very much into creating a party/club atmosphere. The food and beverage services are very basic. If you are a die hard snorkeling fiend this is going to be heaven for you but if you're a foodie you might not be too impressed. Either way, don't forget your earplugs for the evenings.

Click on either of the pics below to see more from the trip on Flickr. Make sure you login if you are a friend or family member to see hidden pictures.