Before deciding on Telunas
Little Girl and I chanced upon an ad about Telunas Beach Resort a few months before we decided to travel there. Initially, we have no plan to travel as we were both busying, working on projects in our jobs. I went further to research about Telunas and discovered a few travel videos on YouTube and read a few articles about a beach resort and a private island on other travel sites. Being in the city most of the time, I always wanted to experience something different from usual holiday and prefer to be on the beach most of the time. Every part of the bookings and email enquires seems very smooth and the Telunas staff replied to us promptly. In less than a few days, we decided to go on a 5-days-4-nights trip to Telunas, 2 nights in the Telunas Beach Resort & 2 nights at the Telunas Private Island. We booked our ferry via BatamFast on the same night and finally, we are going Telunas!
Our Journey to Telunas
Excited about the trip, we woke up really early at 6am and started making our way to Harbour Front. We reached the Harbour Front 15 minutes after 7am and managed to grab a few bites for our breakfast before catching the ferry at 9am.
Getting our ferry tickets was pretty convenient and we got to the waiting area at Harbour Front an hour before the boarding gate opens.
As we are there pretty early, we got to see the hectic environment at Harbour Front Centre and its busy schedules in the waiting area. Everybody is queuing up and dashing around to find their boarding gates and boarding time on the boards. Especially those with kids and families, we would suggest you come at least an hour early before the boarding gate opens.
From Singapore to Batam Ferry Terminal
Our gate is finally opened and we are now on the way to the Batam Ferry Terminal.
It took about an hour to get to Batam Ferry Terminal and the ferry ride was a comfortable one. To be honest, the custom at the Batam Ferry took longer than expected as it’s a Saturday/weekend and it is going to be busy and crowded. Everybody is either going for a holiday, similar to us or they are locals going home for a weekend break.
We were an hour early before the Telunas staff come to pick us up and so we began exploring the Terminal. Actually, we wanted to walk out of the terminal and explore further. We came across this barrier gate with security guards and we were afraid we might be stopped by them when we walked back into the Terminal again. Not confident in the situation, we walked away and back to the terminal.
Luckily, the weather was good and I managed to capture a few good photos of the Terminal.
Batam Ferry to Telunas
Time seems to fly really fast when you are enjoying. We immediately recognized the Telunas staff due to their Telunas shirts. Little Girl gave them our names and we are “check-in”. The staffs are really kind and they help us with our heavy bags and luggage.
Even though we are bringing a lot of expensive camera gears, we have to take a walk to another jetty as the boats are at “the other side” of the terminal. So, I handed all my other bags over, except for my Manfrotto D1 drone bag.
The Walk to the Jetty
Greetings from many locals that saw us, we walked along at the side of the road for around 15 minutes.
Walking out of the Batam Ferry Terminal
We arrived at the jetty and got back our bags and luggage before entering the jetty. Everything seems smooth and easy.
On the way to Telunas
Yes. We are going to board that wooden boat and it will bring us to Telunas in 1.5 hours.
The boat is well-stocked with mineral water bottles, and the Telunas staff took great care of us along the way, making sure the boat is covered if the water is splashing too much and hydrated, giving us fresh fruits at the beginning of the journey.
The journey to Telunas is pretty wet as Little Girl and I chose to sit at the very front of the boat. Along the way to Telunas, we saw many small islands that remind us of a movie we recently watched together – Moana, the Disney movie. Unsure that we are the only ones that think this way, we sang the Disney songs along the way and enjoy our first boat journey together.
The wooden boat led us to the Telunas Private Island first and we are first greeted by this amazing view in front of us and the friendly Telunas staff. A few more Telunas staff are waiting at the jetty to help to carry the bags and luggage. As the last private island guest alighted, we are now heading to the Telunas Beach Resort. We are going to the private island on the third day of the trip and so, we will be back!
Welcome to Telunas
In another few minutes, we have finally reached Telunas Beach Resort. Greeted by the staff “Welcome to Telunas”, we received a fresh cold towel and ice orange juice once we alighted. Freshen up, we are ready for the day!
We immediately got to the dining area and it’s a free and easy buffet. Little Girl and I took our time having our lunch together and also, we were struggling to post our very first photo on our Instagram at Telunas. The internet connection is really bad and nothing seems to load in the first 60 seconds. You will get used to it after a day of trying.
After lunch, we walked to our room via the wooden sturdy path.
Telunas Beach Resort Room Tour
It’s like nature and man-made huts in perfect sync – birds chirping and flying around our lovely hut with the sound of the waves crashing into the shores and there we are on the bed in the hut with just a fan on top of us. Everything seems really natural. It’s a 4.5 hours journey with an hour of waiting time in total to get here and it’s totally worth it!
Well, pictures speak for itself and enjoy the room tour.
And we are glad that the view is simply unbelievable with the hammock.
Well, it’s my birthday soon and so, Little Girl actually told the Telunas staffs too. It is so sweet and thank you so much, Telunas!
Flying my trusty Phantom around Telunas
As the weather is really bright and sunny, I thought it will be perfect for a drone flight. I took my Phantom 4 up and check out these beautiful photos.
After looking at the beach resort, I wonder what does it look like at the private island, and there again, I took my trusty drone and flew across the sea to Telunas Private Island and “take a look”. Wow.
What seems like minutes were actually hours, we spent more than 2 hours on the beach to ourselves and continue to admire the view in front of us. Later in the evening, we were watching the very first sunset at Telunas.
We had a long day, waking up early to catch the ferry, a few hours long journey. After dinner, we simply walked around the areas in the dark. And finally, it is time for bed as we will be up early for the sunrise tomorrow.
Side note: if you are wondering what do we bring to capture all these amazing photos, check out my kit (kit.com/bryanchua).
[to be continued – day two]
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