“We stayed 2 nights in hillside villa 11. Boat trip over and back was included in the room cost. After a small mix up we travelled over on a day trippers boat which was fine. We were welcomed off the boat and taken through to the small reception room and given refresher towels and a drink while doing the paperwork. We knew we wouldn’t be able to get into our room straight away so had come prepared to swim. The pool was lovely and was never busy so we always felt like we were the only ones there. We relaxed on the beach until our room was ready an hour early. The room was amazing, beyond expectations. Everything was modern and clean. We were shown through and informed that the soft drinks in the fridge were complimentary which was a lovely touch. The view from both balconies was incredible and as our room faced away from the jetty we really didn’t even know day trippers were there until we went for a walk. The TV had a range of channels, the air con and fans worked well, and the hot water was easy to use just by turning on the switch half and hour before you wanted to use it.

We were surprised to find the food was cheaper than at sutera harbour resort and just as lovely. We only had dinner at the restaurant the first night. The second night we decided to try the cheap take away stall near the beach mid afternoon and then just had snacks for dinner. The food at this stall was ok and really cheap. We had rice with beef and black bean sauce for 7.50rm. Breakfast had 6 items to order from but then they also brought extras to your table including fruit, bread to toast over coals, yogurt, juice and cereal. It was one of the more relaxing and enjoyable breakfasts I have had while travelling and certainly plentiful.

We decided to travel to Sapi Island to go on the coral flyer and Ben organised for us to go on one of the island hopper boats. It seemed quite expensive to us but we were ok with that. Unfortunately the Coral flyer was fully booked when we got there but we enjoyed a snorkel and look around Sapi anyway.

The internet was intermittent. We managed to log on in the mornings and evenings quite quickly but during the day it seemed more difficult. This didn’t really bother us as it is nice to be without internet and not constantly checking it.

The things that we didn’t enjoy about Manukan Island were way beyond the resorts control so would in no way negatively review the resort for them, but here they are. The water was very murky. That was probably the biggest disappointment. I’m guessing that time of year and number of boats can affect that but for us it was almost zero visibility. We were fortunate to see a lot of wildlife, some more friendly than others. We spotted the birds the island is named after on our way back from sunset point as well as some fireflies. We saw a rhinoceros beetle and some geckos on our balcony. We spotted a couple of monitor lizards around the island. Now the not so nice ones. We had a snake go across our balcony but were assured it was harmless and Ben said he has only seen a handful in all his years on the island. Then we had a centipede in our bath. As soon as we informed staff it was gone within 5 minutes which was appreciated.

When we left we were walked out to the jetty and put on the resort boat and waved off. Amongst the boards of day trippers this made us feel pretty special. We were the only ones on the boat and the trip back was smooth and easy.

Over all I would highly recommend Manukan Island as a lovely relaxing get away, just don’t expect to spend the whole time snorkeling.”