Juara Ocean Chalet
Welcome to Tioman's Juara Ocean Chalet
We spent 3 days in Juara Ocean Chalet, but in hindsight it should have been at least double that. Juara Ocean Chalet, whilst perhaps not a high-flyer in terms of glamor and swank, has nevertheless stolen our hearts.
In fact, I cannot recall being as immersed in utter paradise island bliss as much as we were during our stay at Juara Ocean Chalet.
Sure, it's not exactly the most accessible holiday accommodation to reach, given that you need to take a ferry and then a taxi from your landing point, which is Kampong Tekek. And sure, both journeys aren't the most straight-forward either.
But in spite of that being the case, we can easily say that Juara Ocean Chalet is absolutely worth the journey there. Perhaps you could even say that in actual fact it's Juara Ocean Chalet's very remoteness and relative inaccessibility that at least contributes to the place being the lovely little Robinson Crusoe paradise that it is.
Mind you, the fact that Juara Ocean Chalet is located on Juara Beach also helps its status in our minds as little exotic holiday gem. After all, Juara Beach wasn't named one of the world's top beaches by CNN without reason.
But really, there are 101 different reasons why we fell in love with Juara Ocean Chalet.
Book your ferry tickets to Tioman
From Mersing, Apr From Tanjung Gemok:, Apr [Tanjung Gemok = Teluk Gading] Mukut / Juara? Click here. Pro Tip: Don't know which jetty to choose when booking your ferry? Typically, the ferry stops at all the main jetties. However, there is the occasional exception, so once aboard, confirm the ferry route with the cabin crew. Taking the Tanjung Gemok ferry? Click here / here |
For starters, being on Juara Ocean Chalet's beachfront feels like you're the only one there. It feels like a private beach resort and that's pretty much unique in this day and age.
But the fact that makes it even more special is Tioman's wonderfully slow pace of life, its closeness to both sea and jungle, as well as the fact that there are so many eateries in the vicinity, each serving delicious "makan". Happiness overload :)
But there's more. Most back to basic type accommodations in Tioman tend to really be pretty bare bones. But the owners of Juara Ocean Chalet had the presence of mind to out-do most of the budget lodgings by adding quite a few extras into the Juara Ocean Chalet offerings.
Air-con being one of the extras often lacking elsewhere, along with a hot-water shower, an iron, a coffee/tea set, a BBQ and even a bidet! That said, Wi-Fi, alas, wasn't available. Not a deal-breaker for us, as our objective was to be off-grid, but perhaps for some this is an issue.
Anyway, as if all the above amenities weren't enough, we also discovered that Juara Beach is quite a hotbed of all kinds of water sports. We spent most of our days just snorkeling out front, but we did spot others windsurfing, kayaking, scubadiving and fishing.
Juara Ocean Chalet's room is more than adequate
We also heard there's guided jungle tours. As we'd decided from the start that this holiday was going to be one of long lazy days, we passed on all the action. But after seeing all the fun that was had, our next visit to Juara Ocean Chalet's will be more of an activities-filled one.
So yeah, for us, Juara Ocean Chalet was the best time we ever spent in a less-is-more type accommodation. It was all just perfect, up to and including the staff, who are all every so kind and helpful. It's a matter of time, but we'll so be back.
Tip: As Juara Beach is the least developed section of Tioman, there aren't really a lot of accommodation options. This means that those that are there, like Juara Ocean Chalet, tend to be booked pretty solid. In other words, if you have your mind set on staying here, best book early. This also applies to the ferry to Tioman incidentally, as occasional unsuitable tides prevent the operator from doing adequate crossings. Lastly, sandflies raise their ugly heads every so often in Juara. So bring some bug spray.
