When we first arrived as expats in Singapore nine years ago, it was with a wealth of local tips already at hand: eat at the hawker centres, don’t miss a night at Brix, and for an epic and nearby weekend escape, head to Nikoi Private Island. With the food and entertainment recos ticked off, almost a decade later, we finally made it to Nikoi.
Owned by Australian expat Andrew Dixon (who also owns the nearby adults-only Cempedak Island), Nikoi is a secluded 15-hectare escape with shell-strewn beaches, extraordinary rock formations, virgin rainforest, and pristine reefs and mangroves, just 50 miles from Singapore. To get there, we first took the ferry to Bintan, where we were met by Nikoi staff who drove us 45 minutes across Bintan to a private jetty. Then, it was a 20-minute private boat ride to what is nothing less than nirvana.
Idyllic sanctuary
With aspirations to create an idyllic sanctuary where individuals could reconnect with nature and embrace simplicity, Nikoi opened in 2007. While it initially attracted couples, Andrew had a broader vision. With a young family of his own at the time, he wanted to establish an environment for his children that offered a similar existence to the one he experienced in Sydney in the 1970’s.
Nikoi began with just half a dozen beach houses, a restaurant, bar, and pool. Today, there are 18 one, two, and three-bedroom stilted villas, and with a guest capacity of 80, the island never feels overcrowded. Accommodation is generously spread across five hectares, making it feel as though you could be the only residents living in paradise.
Villas are constructed from driftwood, local timber, and alang-alang grass. High-end luxury takes a different shape here – there’s no AC (who needs it when you have a coastal breeze?), no sunken bathtubs, room service, room keys, or blinds to hide the 6am sunrise. The setting and atmosphere is so laid-back that you don’t even miss them.
Gareth, Charlie, and I stayed in Nikoi’s newly updated stilted three-bedroom villa with an upstairs balcony, a sprawling downstairs lounge area with a sofa, chairs, and a swinging bed. There was also a newly installed pool, complete with a sturdy wooden safety fence and dotted with sun loungers. Charlie adored having a pool to himself!
Older kids will love this villa, but younger children might not feel comfortable sleeping alone, especially with only wooden walkways connecting them to Mum and Dad. After dark, Charlie snuggled in with us. Each villa features two cosy ‘seated nooks,’ perfect for daytime lounging or transforming into beds for children at night.
Free spirit
While parents will be astounded by the views, children don’t come here to marvel at the vistas. Since opening, Nikoi has developed a fantastic activity programme for kids aged 4+, which has expanded since Andrew’s children roamed the island themselves. (There’s also a babysitting service for the really little ones.)
Children on screens were a rare sight during our stay because the Kids’ Club is all they need. Decked out with handcrafted wooden play structures, a pirate ship, and climbing frames, young adventurers are invited to leave tech behind and embrace their free spirit.
The club’s packed activity schedule includes ziplining, fishing off the jetty, harvesting veg, treasure hunts and a daily bonfire.
The island also offers the ideal setting for kids to connect with wildlife – hours can pass spotting sea turtles, monitor lizards, butterflies, and more. There’s also no shortage of indoor pursuits, whether it’s playing a family board game, woodcrafting, or joining hosted workshops such as ‘Traditional Weapon Making,’ ‘Making Glasses from Old Wine Bottles,’ and ‘Mini Christmas Tree Construction.’
While Gareth and I didn’t join Charlie as he got safely rigged up to scale palm trees, we did try ‘jetty jumping’ into the South China Sea. A surprising highlight was Gareth eagerly joining the Kids’ Club’s ‘Bracelet-Making’ class. (Whether Charlie was with him at the time remains unconfirmed).
Another standout moment was when all parents and children gathered together for the Eco Tour – an insightful guided walk to discover flora and fauna and learn about the island’s many green initiatives. We witnessed some great sustainability efforts firsthand via Nikoi’s locally-sourced construction materials, solar-powered energy panels, onsite water filtration, and waste management systems. Firm supporters of putting the planet first, Nikoi’s other ventures include the Island Foundation, which provides a bespoke curriculum for students and teachers; and Seven Clean Seas (SCS), a social enterprise removing plastics from the seas.
With so much to do, making a call on his favourite activity was tricky, but Charlie claimed it was the early morning Permaculture Tour – a new tour that sees children collecting chicken eggs, fruits, and vegetables from the island’s garden.
Roasted marshmallows
The only time you can guarantee getting the family together is when food is served, and Nikoi pulls out all the stops with their dining options. The two restaurants are intimately rustic and stylishly welcoming – eating with our toes buried in the sand felt both uninhibited and comforting!
The menu changes daily and is crafted from local, seasonal ingredients, much of which is sourced from Nikoi’s farm. There’s no choice of dishes, which is a dream for those fed up with making mealtime decisions – what the chef prepares is what’s on offer. (If you have special requests, these can, of course, be accommodated.)
The food combines Indonesian dishes with subtle Western influences. Standouts included the Yellow Seafood Curry, Prawn Sambal, and Nasi Goreng Nikoi. Pasta Night – serving a winning Spaghetti Bolognese – was a hit with Charlie. As with everything else, dining is relaxed and flexible. Kids can eat first, between 6-7pm, before heading to the beach for a bonfire and movie. All the kids confirmed that roasting marshmallows under the moon was more fun than the usual bathtime, book, and bed ritual back home!
Of course, when the kids are away, parents can play! Safe in the knowledge that children are under the watchful eye of the staff at all times, Gareth and I could just kick back. Endless sports are on tap including kayaking, snorkelling, scuba diving, SUP, hiking, yoga, and tennis (on a grass court). Massages are also available at the waterfront spa. However, we did most of our exercise lifting glasses at Nikoi’s Sunset Bar – a simple but perfectly formed spot serving fancy cocktails, including a perfect Margarita.
Watching the evening sun cast a golden glow over the horizon, it’s clear why Nikoi Island holds a special place in the hearts of its visitors. For families seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of Singapore (and beyond), it offers not just a retreat, but a chance to reconnect with the natural world and one another.
While Charlie did announce that he’d like to stay on Nikoi “until the island sinks,” the time did come for us to say goodbye. The memories of our trip will stay with us forever, along with my fading handmade bracelet from Gareth. It serves as a reminder that – in the words of the singer Belinda Carlisle – heaven is indeed a place on Earth.
