Rawa Island Resort — Hotel in Johor

Love this place!! Was there for two nights - not enough!!!

Had the beachfront room - i think its the best one! Near the restaurant/lobby, just a walk away to the beach from your doorstep and cosy! The one that i dont quite like ia the toilet - it feels to rusty lol anyways as i said, compared to the other room types i still think this room is the best - hillside looks to high ro climb especially for someone with bad knees like me, the others its justtt to farrr (and obviously more expensive lol) but i guess the view (and size) cant match up. Oh another thing worth mentioning is the door to door service for the bags (so dont worry about your trolly bags lol) ive stopped lugging hiking bags when going to island be it a budget or nonbudget stays - although most of the time i only use/wear 1/3 of what i bring. Food - the best!!! There is a fine print saying if guest are less than 20pax, we will get meal set. Fortunate for us, whole 3 days we had food buffet including bbq night on saturday. Lots of varieties and they always topup, too much to mention so ill later will just upload photos The resort itself - lots of tables, chairs, so far to use, theres actually an island walk when you can also do a quick hike to see the sunrise which i didnt go but my friends did. There’s also a tennis court, volleyball court, ping pong tables and a trampoline. Theres also a game/rec area upstairs (at the restaurant) where it has darts, foosball and pool table. So im really confise as how ppl can get bored here. I didnt do any of the ones i mention here and inhad a blast with my friends from sleeping, chitchating, playing uno or just do nothing and laze at the sofa near the lobby/bar lol Now the most important part - House reef is not badd!! Jsut need to esnire timing is right else water will be a bit murky (safe time will be morning) and ensure you go to the jetty area - you will definitely see baby sharks (yes a few of them). Manage to see also a small ray. There’s also two water slides one big, one small and they were one of the reason i chose this resort over alangs rawa. And guess what i didnt even manage to go on them lol We tried to arrange island hopping snorkelling but did not manage to get a good deal (from external as the resort do not arrange for such) and plus another friend said not all boats dare to come this area.there is a dive center though so i think for divers prolly yes can. But i still think that was a blessing since our stay was short huhu wouldve like to stay in the water more tho Spa - also didnt manage to go it was full. Apparently there is only one masseuse ao make sure to book early Bonus- there is a pokemon route. Wooohoo my first ever completed route

The only thing i think is a pity, is buggy service. I would have gladly paid to gave such service to round the island (well if its free even better lol) but those are only for the villas which are quite far to walk

We booked through klook - just checked is slightly lower then bioking directly but we are entitled for 30% discount for our next trip within a year if we book directly with the resort. The charges comes with full board meal (mandatory) and boat transfer. It has its own jetty. The boat going in was a bit small and cramped (somehow i still amnaged to sleep lol since its the close type not the normal speed boat) but we got a much bigger one and more comfortable on our way back.

We got quite early checkin - got the rooms by 12pm. We had the early boat at 9am. But the sad part we also had the early boat going back at 1030. If we got the later boat i was ready for another last minute dip early morning. Could have today but so lazyy to rush in between breakfast and packing

Anyways, will i come...

A solid choice for a quick and easy family-friendly getaway. Rawa Island offers an authentic castaway island experience with many activities to keep both kids and adults entertained. Don't expect luxury, but do expect to come back thoroughly relaxed.

Getting there: from Singapore, it's a 2.5 hours drive to Mersing, at least 1 hour for border crossing (could be significantly more depending on time and day of week), and then a 25 minute boat ride to Rawa. If you'd like to minimize waiting in traffic at the border, leave from Singapore very early in the morning (7-8am) and return to the border no later than early afternoon (before 2-3pm).

Vibe: The island is gorgeous - powder sand beaches lined with coconut trees, clear turquoise waters, hilltop views, peacocks wandering around. The resort itself is clean and comfortable if fairly dated and somewhat worn.

Most guests seem to be families with young children; this is definitely not a "party" island. Service is friendly but minimal - this is also not the sort of resort where someone will be constantly checking in to see if you'd like anything. Wifi is available in the restaurant but not in the rooms; depending on your perspective this could be a negative or a plus!

Activities: Snorkeling, scuba diving, paddle boarding, kayaking, a game room with billiards and foosball, ping pong, beach volleyball, a spa, a short hiking trail around the island.

Kid-specific activities: a trampoline (this was a huge hit with our kids!), a play room (although our kids ignored this room entirely), a TV / movie area, and a giant waterslide. Note there is no babysitting.

For snorkeling you walk out directly from shore. There's a bit of current but very manageable even for small kids, and decent visibility. We went out snorkeling at least twice a day and saw TONS of fish, many varieties, including a black-tip reef shark. Much of the coral in the shallows near the shore is sadly dead from too many visitors abusing them. Still, it was a great first snorkeling experience for our kids.

Rooms: The best rooms are the beachfront villas. The Frangipani rooms are marketed as having their own "private beach", but I think the regular beachfront villas are better as the Frangipani beach is very small and a much longer walk from the main reception and restaurant area.

The rooms are definitely NOT fancy - the beds and linens were not the most comfortable, the towels were rough and scratchy, minimal toiletries were offered, shower took a long time to heat and our AC didn't seem to cool the room very effectively. However, everything was clean and comfortable enough, and for the price you can hardly expect a five-star room.

Food: Breakfast, lunch and dinner are offered buffet-style which is super convenient with children. Like the rooms, the food wasn't fancy, but it was decent enough and there was plenty of selection if you're not too picky. We generally left each meal full and happy.

At breakfast you can expect pancakes, french toast, eggs, porridge, roti and daal, a selection of cut fruits and yogurt. For lunch and dinner there would be a simple salad bar, soup, 3 types of cooked vegetables, a fish, a chicken, a beef or lamb dish, and some rice and pasta. Vegetarians will certainly not go hungry, but will be limited in choice.

There is a bar where you can purchase drinks, juices, smoothies, and coffee between meals, but there is no room service, nor any snacks available for purchase between meals.

Overall - Rawa is convenient, has beautiful nature, and is super kid-friendly. You'll have an amazing time as long as you don't...

I am moving my reviews from TripAdvisor to Google:

We stayed at Rawa Island in 2017 and again in 2024. This is a great resort if you want a beautiful tropical location, but would like to do something other than lay on a beach (which you can totally do here as well!). There were kayaks, paddle boards, sailing, SCUBA programs with ORCA SCUBA, snorkeling, and hiking.

We went to this resort specifically so we could complete our Open Water Diving course with ORCA SCUBA. There were 6 of us in all; 2 adults, 3 children and a toddler.

In 2017, The resort gave us a discounted price on our stay, and stayed in a Hillside Deluxe and a regular Hillside room. I was pleased with the quality of our room and the price we paid. In 2024, the resort allowed us to pay for an additional bed in an over water bungalow. The bungalow was so lovely. However, I think people need to realize that you are coming to a resort on an island in Malaysia. Do not expect American/Australian/European standard resort living. The resort has limits to what is available to them. Ie; the water heater is VERY different than most westerners would be used to… our bathroom had a slight smell to it; but that’s island life. :)

The employees (housekeeping, cooks, kitchen staff, etc) were all very accommodating. My kids ended up sick during a couple of the nights and the housekeeping crew never complained about having to clean up their icky sheets or towels, but actually made sure that we were well attended. Also, the instant we walked into the kitchen, the staff would set up the high chair for our toddler and give us a drink menu. Amalina was especially sweet with our baby. On day one, my daughter got a sea urchin into her hand. The guy staffing the Sports Shop came to our aid and told us how to take care of it. Within 15 minutes, she was back to snorkeling.

The food is really good, especially BBQ night. During the week when there were few customers, we were actually given a menu and served our food. During the weekend when it was more crowded, the buffet was set up for self service. We are westerners who live in Indonesia, and so the variety of food was a surprise. I was expecting all asian foods, but there was a lot of western foods available too.

Breakfast is usually a selection of fruits, some savory options (pancakes, french toast, an asian dish, beef sausage, etc), made to order eggs, toast, yogurts, and cereals. They also have juice available during breakfast.

Lunch was usually a selection of salads (Mediterranean in style, and a noodle/egg salad), fresh vegetables, pickles, olives, etc for making your own salad, savory options, chicken nuggets or fish sticks, bread, and pastas.

Dinner was similar to lunch. There were no drinks available during this time, except water. You could order drinks starting from 9 MYR.

I would recommend going during the week and during a season when its not so busy. The beginning and end of our trip were soooo nice, but during the weekend it was so crowded.

We did SCUBA diving on both trips. The dive leads in 2017 were much better at guiding than in 2024, but were still highly professional. The equipment was quality and I never had concern about my safety while diving. Both my husband and I went diving along with 3...