Maldives Resort Getaway? Private Island Closer to Singapore

The Real Difference: A Flight vs. a Ferry With the Team

A nonstop Singapore Airlines flight to Male, the Maldives' main airport, takes about four and a half hours in the air. For many Maldives resorts, that flight is not the end of the journey. Most resorts sit on their own island, reached by a further seaplane or speedboat transfer, and once you count the wait for a shared seaplane slot, that transfer commonly adds another one and a half to two and a half hours before you reach the resort itself.

Telunas is reached differently, and someone from the resort is with you for most of it. From Singapore's Harbourfront Centre Ferry Terminal, a Sindo Ferry crossing to Sekupang, Batam takes about an hour. The Telunas team, in blue polo shirts, meets you at Sekupang and guides you from international arrivals to the domestic ferry terminal, a 5-minute walk plus about 20 minutes of terminal transit, then travels with you on a further hour-long boat ride into the Riau Archipelago. Door to villa, the journey runs approximately 2.5 hours, and no flight is required.

Which Resort: Private Island or Beach Resort

Telunas operates two resorts in the Riau Archipelago, both about 50 kilometres south of Singapore.

Telunas Private Island is the closer match to a classic overwater-villa trip. It has 15 Overwater Villas and, for an adults-only stay, five Ridge Villas with their own private plunge pools. A freshwater infinity pool is part of the daily activity roster, and the resort has been running for more than 20 years.

Telunas Beach Resort is the better fit for families and groups. It has 18 overwater bungalows across four room types, from a simple Overwater Room up to a three-bedroom bungalow with a loft, including the Overwater Bungalow with Balcony, the resort's most popular category. Both resorts sit on the same roughly 2.5-hour route from Singapore, so the choice comes down to who is travelling, not which is closer. Reserve Overwater Bungalows →

Still deciding between the two resorts, or have a question before you book? Get in touch with the Telunas team and we will help you find the right fit.

Which Room: Overwater Villa or Ridge Villa

If you are picturing the Maldives-style shot of a villa perched over clear water, that is the Overwater Villa at Telunas Private Island: 90 square metres, a private balcony, a king bed, and a children's loft, sleeping up to five. It is the room built for direct water access.

The Ridge Villas are a different kind of private. They sit on the ridge overlooking the sea, not over the water, each with its own plunge pool, an air-conditioned master bedroom, and breakfast served in your outdoor lounge area. Ridge Villas are adults-only, capped at two guests per villa, and reaching them takes a short uphill walk, about 5 to 10 minutes; a moderate level of fitness is required.

If direct water access matters more than seclusion, or you are travelling with children, the Overwater Villas are the better fit. If you want a private pool and nobody else's schedule to work around, Ridge Villas are built for exactly that.

What Is Actually Included

Scheduled activities are complimentary at both resorts and run daily or on a rotating roster: kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding at both, plus Private Island's daily nature walk and freshwater infinity pool. Village visits, pottery and a jungle waterfall hike turn up on both rosters through the week, and Private Island also runs an evening bonfire. Your host shares the full week's schedule on arrival.

A small handful of experiences cost extra and need advance booking: the overwater or beachside spa massage, the guided Fishing Boat Adventure, and dining extras like the Candlelight Dinner and the Klepon Cooking Class. These are not part of the included roster at either resort, so it is worth deciding which ones you want when you book the room rather than once you land.

Picking Your Dates

Once you have settled the resort and room, work backward from check-in, which is 2:00pm at both resorts. Because both legs of the journey run on travel days themselves, two nights is a reasonable minimum to plan around rather than a single overnight; three days, two nights leaves a full day at the resort with nothing scheduled but what you choose. There are two standard return options: an early departure leaving Telunas around 8:15am for an approximately 11:20am ferry from Sekupang to Singapore, or the normal departure leaving Telunas around 1:15pm for an approximately 3:20pm ferry. Confirm the current return schedule with your host before you book.

If you want to book a Candlelight Dinner or the Klepon Cooking Class, both need 2 to 3 days' notice, so decide those alongside the room rather than after you arrive.

Every visitor to Indonesia completes an electronic arrival card before landing, which can be done from 72 hours ahead. Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration runs the current national rules; our own short getaway planning guide walks through the arrival card screen by screen for a ferry arrival at Sekupang.

Beyond the Overwater View

The two resorts share more than a coastline. Three percent of profit goes to the Telunas Foundation, funding education and livelihoods across the Riau Archipelago, and more than 160 people, mostly from the neighbouring islands, work at Telunas. It is a smaller, community-linked operation, which shapes the pace of a stay as much as the water does.

Still deciding between the two resorts, or want help picking dates? Get in touch with the Telunas team and we will help you plan around it. If Bali is also on your shortlist, see how it compares in our alternative-to-Bali guide.