Tongfamily Website

A dear friend once said these were the most beautiful islands in the world. So with nothing else to do, let’s see how long it would take me to figure out how to get there. Man, they may be, but they are sure hard to get to from the US. There are some amazing properties there. Like the Seychelles, they are in the middle of no where and most resorts have their own islands.

Here is the best routing that I found:

• Singapore SQ37. This is an all business class Airbus 340-500. Sounds pretty cool as it is a red eye. Leaves 20:00 from LAX and arrives at 06:05. Takes an amazing 18 hours to get from LAX to SIN. Then you get to spend a cool day in Singapore and take the night flight out to MLE airport at 20:45 arriving at 22:10. 37 elapsed hours later you are at the pool. There is a special fare right now (thanks for the recession!) which is $5500 one way. Not cheap, but it is a heck of a long way in business class.
• The weather there is phenomenal according to their forecasts, it is basically 30C there all the time.
• If you can’t afford Singapore, then there are all sorts of other flights. Getting there from Europe might actually be shorter since it is in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I’ve always wanted to fly Emirates via DXB for instance or Qatar via DOH. Just need a reason to get to the Middle East first.

• Tripadvisor notes the classic hotels there. While the Banyan Tree (what an amazing brand for just $800 a night) is there as is the Angsana ($400) which is adjacent, Conrad ($1100!), the eco lodges sound great too. There are some bargains like Faru Club that you get through some charter group called First Choice. They are ungodly expensive at $500-1000 a night, but sounds like honeymooners paradise.

  I heard there were some eco resorts out there, but the only one I could find is the Alilavillas which don’t open until April 2009, so maybe now is the time to book. The other Alila Villas sound amazing though.

  Conde Naste Traveler says teh One and Only Reethi Rah is amazing. At US$920/night it had better be. And judging by the photos, it does deliver!

  Beach House at Manufaru is relatively off the beaten track. February and March are the best times to go. Also $1250 a night it had better be nice. And there is a dive center and it is solar powered There do seem to be quite a few promotions that are 20% off.