Indonesia's best private island resorts aren't near Bali. Three of the five are closer to Singapore – a ferry and a boat ride away, no flight needed. For most couples the pick is Cempedak Private Island off Bintan: adults-only, 20 bamboo villas, every one with its own plunge pool. Further out, Bawah Reserve is a seaplane from Singapore and Misool sits deep in Raja Ampat.
Booking for live prices · Review for our take
| Hotel | From/night | Area | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telunas Private Island | ~$270 | Riau Islands, near Batam | Best value · overwater villas · 5 adults-only pool villas | Review ↓ |
| Nikoi Island | ~$330 | Off Bintan, Riau Islands | Best for families · kids club · book direct | Review ↓ |
| Cempedak Private Island | ~$650 | Off Bintan, Riau Islands | Best for couples · adults-only · plunge pool in every villa | Review ↓ |
| Misool Resort | ~$1,400 | Batbitim, Raja Ampat | Most remote · diving and marine reserve · 7-night minimum | Review ↓ |
| Bawah Reserve | ~$1,980 | Anambas Islands, seaplane | Most luxurious · six islands · all-inclusive | Review ↓ |
Rates are per night for two, before transfers. Most of these book direct with the resort, not through the big booking sites. Each is the only resort on its island – the test the private island resorts hub applies everywhere.
Which Indonesia private island should you book?
For most couples, book Cempedak. It's adults-only, every villa has a plunge pool, and it's about 2.5 hours door to door from Singapore. Check Cempedak Private Island availability first – 20 villas is the whole island.
With kids, book its sister island, Nikoi. On a budget, book Telunas. For diving and total isolation, book Misool. For the most polished resort in the country, book Bawah Reserve.
| Your trip | Book | Where | The trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| A private island at the lowest rate | Telunas Private Island | Near Batam | Only the 5 Ridge Villas have a pool |
| A family trip from Singapore | Nikoi Island | Off Bintan | No private pool in the beach houses |
| Couples who want their own pool | Cempedak Private Island | Off Bintan | Board and transfers are charged on top |
| Diving somewhere almost nobody goes | Misool Resort | Raja Ampat | Fixed 7, 9 or 12-night stays |
| The most complete luxury resort | Bawah Reserve | Anambas Islands | The seaplane costs roughly $1,050 per person |
Telunas Private Island
The value pick. Telunas has its own small island in the Riau Islands, about a mile from its older sister, Telunas Beach Resort, on Sugi Island. You take a one-hour ferry from Singapore to Batam, then a one-hour boat.
There are 15 Overwater Villas and 5 Ridge Villas. Read that split before you book. The Overwater Villas don't have a private pool – they're 90 m², sleep up to five and suit families. Only the adults-only Ridge Villas have a private plunge pool.
Overwater Villas start around $270 a night, and Ridge Villas around $335.
Book this one if you want a real private island near Singapore without the luxury price. Check Telunas Private Island rates – and book a Ridge Villa early if you want the pool, because there are only five.
Nikoi Island
The family island. Nikoi is a 15-hectare island off Bintan, with 18 two-story beach houses and three newer two-bedroom beachfront pool villas. There's a kids club.
The beach houses are built from driftwood and local timber, and they don't have private pools – book one of the three pool villas for that. Rates start around $330 a night for a one-bedroom beach house, and meals are charged per person per day on top.
Getting there takes about 2.5 hours from Singapore: a one-hour ferry to Bintan, an hour by car, then 20 minutes by speedboat.
Book this one if you're traveling with children and want a whole island without a flight. Check Nikoi Island availability.
Cempedak Private Island
The couples' island. Cempedak is Nikoi's adults-only sister, a 17-hectare island off Bintan's east coast. The villas are built largely from bamboo.
There are 20 villas, Beach Villas and Seaview Villas, and every one has a private plunge pool. Beach Villas cost a little more than Seaview Villas.
The room rate is accommodation only. Daily board and the boat transfer are mandatory extras, so budget from around $650 a night for two with both included.
Book this one if you want adults-only calm, a pool at your door and no flight from Singapore. Check Cempedak rates – with 20 villas, Singapore holiday weekends go early.
Misool Resort
The remote one. Misool sits on Batbitim, a private island in southern Raja Ampat, reached via Sorong in West Papua. The resort protects the reef around it as its own marine reserve, and the diving is the reason people come.
It takes no more than 40 guests. There are 8 Water Cottages on stilts over the North Lagoon, 4 North Lagoon Villas, 7 South Beach Villas and the secluded Villa Rajawali.
Stays run on a fixed 7, 9 or 12-night schedule. The seven-night package starts around $4,940 per person, sharing – roughly $1,400 a night for two.
Book this one if the reef matters more than the room, and you have a week to give it. Check Misool availability – arrival dates are fixed, so pick them before the flights.
Bawah Reserve
The most luxurious. Bawah Reserve spreads across six islands in the Anambas, a 75-minute seaplane from Singapore, with 36 suites, bungalows and villas.
Most of them don't have a private pool. The Tented Garden, Oceanfront and Beach Suites, the Overwater Bungalows and the Treehouse Lodge all go without. Only the Pool Villas have one – two-bedroom Garden, Infinity and Deluxe Pool Villas, plus three and four-bedroom villas.
Rates are all-inclusive, with meals, non-alcoholic drinks and a daily spa treatment. They start around $1,980 a night for a Tented Garden Suite, or around $4,350 for the entry Pool Villa. The seaplane package from Singapore is roughly $1,050 per person.
Book this one if you want Indonesia's most complete private-island resort and the transfer cost won't change your mind. Check Bawah Reserve availability.
Elang, Bawah's separate private island next door, only sells as a whole-island buyout – from around $18,000 a night for 10 guests. It isn't bookable by the lodge.
Two dive resorts that don't pass the test
Two well-known Indonesian dive resorts often turn up as private islands. Neither has its island to itself.
Wakatobi Dive Resort shares Onemobaa, off southeast Sulawesi, with a local village – the resort's own nature trail leads to it. Sorido Bay Resort in Raja Ampat shares Kri Island with its sister, Kri Eco Resort, just around the headland, and each runs its own dive center.
Both are good dive trips. Neither is a private island, so neither is ranked.
Why the Riau Islands have most of them
Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands, but its bookable private islands cluster in one place. Telunas, Nikoi and Cempedak all sit in the Riau Islands, an easy weekend from Singapore.
That's the practical split. Riau means a ferry and a boat, and you can go for two nights. Raja Ampat and the Anambas mean a flight or a seaplane, and a week.
For a first private-island trip, that makes Cempedak the easy call. Check Cempedak Private Island availability.
For Indonesia's stilted stays, overwater bungalows in Indonesia compares Bawah, Misool and Papua Paradise, and private pool villas in Bali covers the villa side of Bali. In the region, the Philippines and Cambodia each have their own private islands.
When to go
The Riau Islands are warm year-round. Rain is spread through the year, and the northeast monsoon from November to February brings rougher crossings, so check boat conditions before a short weekend.
Bawah is best from March to October, after the monsoon swells ease. Raja Ampat runs the other way – October to April brings the calmest seas and clearest water for Misool.
FAQ
Images: a_rabin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
