Gem Island

In September, we went to Gem Island for our friend's beach wedding.  Gem Island or Gemia Island is situated in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia’s Dungun town in the state of Terengganu.  We took the earliest 7.25am flight by MAS Airlines from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Kuala Terengganu as to meet the speed boat schedule.

Where is my crystal mosque???

We reached Kuala Terengganu Airport at 8.20am and we took a taxi to Marang Jetty in Dungun. [Tips: One important note, the jetty you are supposed to be at is Marang jetty and NOT Merang jetty (Take note of the ‘A’ and ‘E’)]. We then took a speed boat from the jetty to Gem Island. Surialink is the official boat service operator that provide speed boat service to Gem Island at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm daily.  Just a mere 15 minutes and we will have a breathtaking view of Gem island and Kapas island with crystal clear waters all the way.

There is only one resort on Gemia, the Gemia Island Resort and Spa, which is facing to the South, looking over 3 mostly empty super clean beaches of Kapas island. This private island is perfect gateway for those who wanna find some peace in mind as all other resorts on Kapas are further down the western coast.

We almost there...

Immediately upon arrival, we were greet by smiling faces along with the cool welcome drink. 

This beautiful island made the perfect first impression. 

The 3-star resort is built on the ridges of the coastline, thus preserving the hills and its natural physical formation.  It comprises of 45 rooms in total: 45 sea frontage villas, comprising of 2 suites, 4 hideaway Villas, 4 Premier Villas and 35 water villas. All villas are equipped with air conditioning and king sized beds with aside lounger. 

We took the 3D2N full board twin-sharing adults Water Chalet package for RM660/pax (exclude 6% GST). Package includes:

a) 3 days 2 Nights accommodation in Water Villa

b) 2 x breakfasts, 2 x lunch and 1 x Dinner. 

c) Return Boat transfer & marine conservation fund.

For extension night for room & breakfast: adult in villa is RM150 and child (3 to 11yrs) is RM110 per child. Upgrade to Premier Villa is an additional RM150 per villa per night; extension night is RM300 per night with breakfasts only.     

After check-in, we we just headed to our chalet for a rest after long hour travel.

 Walkway to our chalet.

The rooms are equipped with a ceiling fan, an air con and there is a large mosquito net covering the entire bed. 

There is a small toilet/shower (with hot water), a sink in the room, a small fridge, water kettle, TV(but the signal was not very good) and a sofa day bed. One have to take note that the resort’s electricity is powered by generator sets, thus there will be a break of 3 hours daily from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

The challet is a bit small, things are rather old and sincerely, it is lower than my expectation for a private island resort with this price. However, one nice thing i like is the small balcony with 2 chairs and 1 hanging chair. From here, we can have a nice view onto the sea and we also able to spot some fish swimming just underneath our balcony but sadly, i didn't spot the little black tip reef sharks as mentioned in other's blog.

 

Spotted a lot of bats hanging on the trees outside the chalet.

This is the only one restaurant in the island. All the meals served during our stay is buffet style and the foods served are in good quality and we even have seafood BBQ on our friend's wedding night.

Enjoy the beautiful seaview while having your meals. 

Beside the restaurant is the saltwater infinity pool. It seems that it is badly required maintenance. Maybe they should mosaic the floor of the pool? 

Beside the swimming pool is this private pool for the turtles!

The location of this resort is wonderful as we can snorkel from the 3 beaches. One at either end of the southern side of the island and a very small one on the northern side. 

If you tired of the beach, one may venture to the rocky area. It is just at the end of the walkway to our chalet, which is also an adventure in itself.

Walkway back to the chalet. The first unit is the spa.

There are also a couple of hammocks on the beach which are excellent for lazing around and reading a book.  At the main beach, close to the restaurant, one can also hire kayak, snorkelling and diving equipment. Guided snorkelling is also available upon request with minimum of 4 pax. 

Even though the rooms and facilities are a bit down the whole place need a bit of renovation but the friendly staffs and beautiful view make it well worth the visit.

Gem Island Resort & Spa

Address: Lot 2804, Pulau Gemia, Jalan Rusila,

Daerah Marang Terengganu, Marang 21600, Malaysia.

Phone Number: 03-6205 5555