Bawah Island in the Anambas: Divers’ Paradise in the South China Sea

Situated some 150 nautical miles northeast of Batam Island as well as from neighboring country Singapore, Anambas Islands in the Riau Islands Province is a pristine tropical paradise in the southern part of the South China Sea. Anambas and even further up north, the Natuna Islands, form the most northern border of Indonesia.

Among the many islands in Anambas archipelago, Bawah stands out as a favorite dive destination as well as an exclusive luxurious getaway that offers the perfect serenity away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life.

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Teeming with colorful fish and other unique sea animals as well as pristine coral reefs, Bawah Island was voted First among Asia's top five tropical island paradises selected by CNN.com, surpassing popular Koh Cang (in Thailand), Langkawi (Malaysia), Halong Bay (Vietnam), and Similan Islands (Thailand). For its outstanding beauty, the island was even dubbed the Maldives of Anambas.

Bawah itself is part of a cluster of 5 islands with Bawah as the largest and the 4 islets named Sanggah, Murbah, Lidi and Elang. These five islands form an oval blue lagoon. At low tide the islands connect seemingly quite borderless, as the white sand and reefs together link to create a land bridge separating the lagoon from the open South China Sea. The lagoon offers the perfect snorkeling experience with fantastic underwater splendor. The lagoon floor is also flat white sand, decorated with reefs of various colors and size and schools of fish that are clearly visible even from the surface.

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A luxurious exclusive resort called Bawah Private Island, is slated to open on the island in mid2017, Ensuring conveniences and complete experience for tourists. A playground of over 300 hectares, 3 crystal blue lagoons, 13 powder white beaches, lush jungle canopy for trekking and more importantly a philosophy of environmental and conservation policies. Bawah Private Island is a project of love to integrate people with nature and will set the benchmark for future destinations around the region.

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Taking the route that "less means more", Bawah Private Island will only accept a maximum of 70 guests at any one time. With 35 Safari Tented Villas the accommodation gives you the privacy of your own space but also invites you to enjoy nature that surrounds Bawah Island. From 3 Garden Villas that embrace you in green flora, to 21 Beach Villas overlooking the lagoons and 11 Water Villas that catch unbelievable sunrise and sunset.

For more information on Bawah Private Island log on to: http://www.bawahisland.com

How to Get There:

If you wish to visit these islands, you must be sure to have plenty of time at your disposal since they lie quite far out in the South China Sea and away from most of the other Indonesian islands. To reach Anambas by air you must fly to Tanjung Pinang, capital of the Riau Islands province, located on the island of Bintan. Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air operate daily flights to Tanjung Pinang from Jakarta and other main cities. From Tanjung Pinang, Xpress Air serves flights to Matak Airport on Matak Island, which is the main airport of the Anambas Islands. The flights are twice a week, Operating Mondays and Saturdays. From Matak airport you still need to take a boat to Tarempa, which is the capital of the Anambas Islands Regency. From the main harbor at Tarempa, you can rent a speedboat to take you to Bawah Island.

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If you wish to travel by sea, the MV. VOC Batavia and MV. Seven Star Island serve the Tanjungpinang-Letung-Tarempa route vice versa. The ferry leaves Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from Tanjung Pinang, with return journey from Tarempa on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

But, starting 25th May 2017, you can get directly to Bawah Island from Batam Island by seaplane, cutting travel time to just a little over an hour. Following the release of the Water Aerodrome Certificate by the Air Transportation Directorate General of the Ministry of Transportation, The Water Aerodrome on Bawah Island will become the first water airport in the country to provide services to seaplanes.

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