The Sun, the Sea and the Dive at Rimba Resort

Wouldn’t it be nice to take the family for a getaway to Rimba Resort? Well, here’s another CMCO that prevents us from taking the family for a holiday to the beach, at least until the end of the month. In these uncertain times, how does one plan for a next getaway? At least, let’s read up about Rimba Resort, a great resort on Pulau Sibu. Like they say: good things always come in three, so let’s read all about the Sun, the Sea and the Dive…

Rimba Resort: how to…?

It takes approximately 4.5 hours from KL to get to Tanjung Leman jetty. From there, you need to take a 30 minutes speed boat ride. Rimba Resort will arrange for their boat to pick you up from the jetty. You first have to purchase a marine park ticket at the jetty before you board the boat. Hang on to this ticket with you during your snorkelling or diving trips. The departure times of the boat depends on the sea conditions. All passengers are required to put on life jackets.

A getaway to Rimba Resort

We had been to Rimba Resort before, right after the government announced the RMCO, which allowed us now to travel within Malaysia. As our room was not in a good condition, we didn’t have a nice experience. It had a leaking roof, a sandy wardrobe, the water pressure was low and holes in the wall that allowed pests coming in. I believe the resort rushed to open for business after a few months lockdown and overlooked the conditions of the rooms, as well as facilities in the resort. We highlighted the problem to the resort and it appeared they’d dealt with these issues very quickly. They invited us to come back and offered to let us stay for free. Hence, we decided to give the resort a second chance. This time around a getaway to Rimba Resort was so much better!

The rooms

We stayed at the family chalet, which comes with two separate entrances and two separate rooms (parent room and kids room). There is a king size bed in the parent room and two single beds and one bunk bed in the kids room. We were happy to have two bathrooms (which is a relieve for the five of us!) and a water heater. The room has a mini fridge with two complementary cartons of milk (a very nice gesture) and coffee and tea facilities. I was amazed at their good selections of Sir Thompson L. Lipton tea. The other resort rooms are standard, with either one queen size bed or a queen size bed with a small single bed.

Tip: there are only two types of rooms in the resort with water heater – the family chalet and the honeymoon chalet. Both chalets are located at the far end of the resort.

The food

This is a resort with full board. All meals are included (breakfast, lunch and dinner). They offer buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as four course dinners for the adults. The food was delicious and I can wholeheartedly say it was sometimes better than that in a 5 star hotel! Tea, coffee and water are provided throughout the day/night at the restaurant. Please make sure you bring our own water bottle, as they do not sell any mineral water in plastic bottles.

Let’s lounge!

If you have any food allergy, please let the kitchen staff know. They’re happy to cook alternative meals for you. The kitchen staff made a great effort to cook macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers for my picky little eaters!
There is a nice bar at the restaurant where you can lounge with your family with some good books and board games or just chill and watch the sunset. Stay as long as you want at the bar, as there is no closing time. The bar closes when the last guest finishes their drink.

Activities

• Diving – TideDive run by Adam the dive master and instructor – and the co-owner of the resort – provides a top notch service! Everyone 10 years and above can do a PADI diving course here. For the younger ones there is a bubble course. Adam is very good with children and always keeps a watchful eye on the children throughout the whole dive.

• Snorkeling – you can snorkel at the house reef or arrange a boat out to the nearby islands. The house reef is just as good, as we spotted juvenile black tip sharks and a blue spotted ray.
• Conservation Club – Niki runs a children conservation club here. The conservation club is suitable for children between 3 – 12 years old. The kids had a great time learning the sign language for different types of fish in the sea. Niki also took the kids out to the beach to collect ‘things’ that don’t belong on the beach. I never saw my children so eager to clean up! How I wished this happens at home…

• Hike to Sea Gypsy Resort. Read our review about this place here. The hike takes approximately 20 – 25 minutes, depending on your walking speed. The sea at Sea Gypsy has a stronger waves and there is a white sandy beach. Please bear in mind that you will need to keep a watchful eye on the little ones, as the waves can be quite strong.
• There are paddle boards for rent if you would like to challenge your balance! They also offered free tubes.

The beach

We love the beach at Rimba, as it is calm and safe for the little ones and the water is crystal clear. The house reef is very good for snorkeling. It’s a pity that you can’t swim at low tide, as the seabed is quite rocky and has got live corals. However, this didn’t affect our holiday as the tide is low only a couple of hours a day. My kids enjoyed searching for sea grass on the beach at low tide.

Bringing a fur kid

We bought our dog Bella along to the resort on our second visit and she had a great time jumping in the waves and running freely at the resort, except at the restaurant where she was not allowed. If you would like to have a family beach holiday and don’t want to leave behind your fur kid at home, this is the place for you!
Tip: please check with the resort before hand on taking your pet along. Special arrangement is needed, as the jetty is not dog friendly. We had to carry our dog from the jetty to the boat.

Rimba Resort was closed for one or two months last year during the monsoon season in November and December. They are still deciding whether to close this year. Please check with them if they close during the monsoon before you plan a getaway to Rimba Resort. For more info, have a look at their website here.

On your way over to Pulau Sibu, you could plan for a fun stopover at UK Farm in Kluang. Have a look at our review here.