Pulau Gemia

The resort has started the new season (2006) with a new staff and a new policy. The staff is very friendly ("do you like the food?"), the food is delicious and the rooms are beautiful. The rates are also very friendly "We had a wonderful view under water. We were snorkelling in the sea. We saw colourful fishes, two sharks and the coral is still very beautiful" Experience April 2012

Pulau Gemia is a privately owned island, about 800 metres off Kapas Island. Pulau Gemia has white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful corals and marine life as some of it’s natural pristine assets. There's only one resort on the island named: Gem Wellness Spa & Island Resort.  It's the former Gem Island Resort, In 2004 they renovated the existing chalets and they refurnished the whole resort. And it got a Spa.  The chalets (Water Villa's)  themselves stand on sturdy concrete stilts, hugging the coastline, with views across the sea offering a perfect holiday escape.

Resort; diving center (at the left) and teh Water Villas (at the right)

There are no bus services directly to the Marang jetty. In Kuala Terengganu you can either charter a taxi or a van to take you to the Marang jetty.
There are many boat services to Pulau Gemia at the jetty in Marang. The most frequent and regular service provider is Suria Link. It takes about 15 minutes by speedboat. The office of Suria Link is where you can park your car for RM7. inclusive security. Charges are per-day basis.

The office of Suria Link and parking

The jetty of Marang with speedboat

 

The island is considered one of the most beautiful island getaways in this part of the East Coast. With patches of virgin forest covering the rocky hills in the centre, crystal-clear waters and spotless golden beaches, the resort is among the few destinations in the country still unspoilt by development.

The welcome upon arrival was very special. The people is so friendly! We had some beers and a few hours later we went to our Water Villa. 

The Water Villa's are so so large, but everything is tastefully decorated. The king size bed has a mosquito net. There's an air-conditioning, which makes a little noise. and there's a van at the ceiling. We spend many hours at the veranda with a lovely view at Pulau Kapas, which just a few hundred meters away from Pulau Gemia. We enjoyed looking at the coastline at Marang, where the jetty is leaving for this island. under our veranda we could hear the rippling water and we looked down we saw hundreds of little crabs. Regularly we see large shoals of fish coming by. In the morning we saw dorsal fins of little baby-sharks in the water. The sea in between Pulau Kapas and Pulau Gemia is also home to stunning coral gardens and other marine life. The spot is a haven for snorkelling and diving.

The resort has fitted up 4 chalets for a Spa, where Thai ladies are waiting for you to give you special spa treatment and therapies. In the package we had was an aroma therapy treatment. Also in the package deal was a bottle of red wine, which was served at dinner. The dinner was excellent, cuisine worthy.
At breakfast there was no Nasi Lemak, but we had warm croissants and fresh orange jus.

The spa treatments:

• Bath therapies
• Traditional Malay therapies
• Herbal sauna
• Thai therapies
• Face spa therapies
• Body treatment therapies
• Oil Spa therapies
• Ear candling therapy
• Leg and feet therapies

You can go snorkelling without taking the boat out. There are many things to see near the shore: corals of different shapes, colours and sizes, sea urchins, swordfishes, butterfly fishes, parrot fishes, bump head fishes, crabs, clams and lots of sea cucumbers. We even saw a clown fish, complete with its ‘house’ of sea anemone.   If you hire a boat to take you further out for snorkelling or even scuba diving or deep-sea fishing. Those who love long walks on the beach should go to the north-eastern part of the island when the tide is low. Just remember to bring your slippers as the rocks and corals are very sharp. The rocks themselves look as if someone had mutilated them with a chain saw, but that’s just the way they’ve been formed by the elements

Zoutwaterzwembad en Kapas

There are many interesting little creatures to discover, if you look close enough in the pools of water between the rocks and corals. Hermit crabs, sea snails, oysters, sea anemones (try feeding them) and, of course, more sea cucumbers.
If you have no patience for pottering around, visit the baby greenback turtles by the jetty. Pulau Gemia is part of a turtle hatchery programme. Turtle hatchlings are cared for until they’re old and strong enough to survive in the open sea.

Transfer Jetty - Resort: 9:00, 11:00, 13:00 (except Friday) en 15:00
Transfer Resort - Jetty: 9:30, 11:30, 13:30 (except Friday) en 15:30
Car Parking  : RM7 a day
The resort closes from Nov 1 until end of February for the monsoon season.