On a particularly nice morning, the staff might arrange the breakfast tables to be outdoors right by the water, so that you can enjoy your meal barefoot on the beach. :) - One thing to note is they do have full body nice ponchos if it rains on the boat, we had to use them for 20 minutes and never got wet. For all that transit, you didn''t seem to get much of a sense of the realities of the area (which is unique and fascinating and scary in all sorts of ways.) The airline operates two daily flights to Bluefields, though the routing they take varies by day. I just went to Elephanta Island 3 weeks ago via the normal tourist boat, and never saw any offers of a speedboat. Safe online bookings without fees Excellent reputation Value for money Door-to-door service Calala Island is a private island located in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of an archipelago of islands known as the Pearl Cays, off the coast of Nicaragua. To get to Calala, you can either choose to leave at at 5:45 a.m. or 1 p.m. at Managua Airport. . Yeah cant wait for photo of the actual island! Hey Ben, did they give any inking that they may close the resort due to the virus? But at least that was in a bay and not nearly as long. Calala Islands four beachfront villas (or cabanas, as they like to call them) are named Awas, Kakabila, Lafe, and Orinoco, respectively. On the plus side, the ocean views from the comfort of our bed were simply unbeatable. Oh my. Calala Island offers guests a wide range of activities to fill their days on the island, all of which are complimentary. The daily flight to Bluefields is actually designed to serve an additional community, Corn Islands, as well. I much prefer three hours of Indian traffic. I figured a 2,400 word intro post about how to get somewhere was sufficient, so I didn't want to make it any longer. This gave me bad flashbacks. The full list of activities is as follows: Many of the activities are weather-dependent. One of my complaints about the room was that the toilet didnt flush very well. I've spent almost 2M Hyatt points so far, and this 200k was among . Villa Policies Check-in: 4:00PM Check-out: 10:00AM Children are welcomed Pets require prior approval and non-refundable pet deposit Non-smoking Villa One quirk about Calala Island is that coconuts will regularly fall from the palm trees on a regular basis. Royal Platinum members get access to exclusive benefits, opportunities, and events, along with a personal touch from our founder. How Im Flying To & From Bhutan (I Think? We pushed back at 6:30AM, and were airborne five minutes later interestingly there was no safety demo. For example, the island for the deserted island picnic was no longer deserted for the time being, as the Pearl Lagoon community had sent caretakers to each of their islands to keep watch and protect against piracy during these economically challenging times. The domestic airline, La Costea, only sells same-day tickets to walk up passengers. Given the logistics of travelling to and from the island, the resort imposes a three-night minimum stay. Cond Nast Traveler does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While the nonstop flight to Bluefields would have taken 45 minutes, the flight to Corn Island took about 60 minutes. @ Kirk -- To be clear, I mention I felt "safe" for two reasons. This makes getting to a secluded resort in the Maldives seem easy, by comparison. These days, a local Nicaraguan caretaker lives on Crawl Cay along with his family, and sometimes there are wildlife researchers (studying the endangered hawksbill turtle, which breeds on Calala and the nearby islands) who camp out here as well. @ Tom -- It's my understanding that Nicaragua has a very limited number of helicopters, so not only is it outrageously expensive, but often it's not even available, since they're often used by the government. 1850 im assuming. Lucky, I've done two hours up the Sepik River in pouring rain, just me and the small boat operator (smaller them your boat) and hours long trips down the rivers of Borneo, both similar to the mangrove part of your trip. If I had to compare this place against other favourite high-value luxury resorts, then what Calala Island lacks in the glamour factor and the ultra-luxurious living quarters compared to more popular destinations like Dubai or the Maldives, it fully makes up for with the unmatched exclusivity of only four villas and the unparalleled generosity of all your meals, drinks, activities, and round-trip transfers included in the ultra-all-inclusive rate. I do wish we couldve made more use of the swim-up bar in the pool, although the windy weather on that side of the island made it hard to spend any quality time there. Compared to the more developed Pacific side of the country, Nicaraguas Caribbean coast is much more lush and tropical, and its inhabitants mostly Creole of African descent rather than the predominant mestizo (i.e., mix of Spanish and indigenous ancestry). During our honeymoon our tour boat had to return to Phuket from the Phi Phi islands as a storm approached. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, La Costea currently only offers one daily service between Managua and Bluefields (and vice versa) in the mornings. In fact, we were warned to keep clear of the coconut trees as much as possible to avoid an unwanted concussion. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. During pre-COVID times, La Costea also offered a second daily service on the ManaguaBluefields route closer to midday, meaning that Calala Island guests could choose from two times for both their departure and return journeys. The spa is located at the opposite northeastern corner. But the thing that gets me is how much the boat is moving up/down when it's in the calm water in the mangroves (unless it's rougher than it looks??). So my mention of safety was supposed to be positive, that I didn't experience any issues and felt comfortable. Exclusive hire of the island for only you and your guests. As part of the pre-dinner drinks, the staff always tries to prepare some kind of special surprise for the guests on each night. The four villas are spaced out evenly along the southwestern corner of the island. Its fully enclosed with straw thatching, but exposed to the outdoors, and the water simply flows down into the sand below. Normally, the staff likes to serve lunch near the infinity pool on the northern side of the island, either underneath a little surf shack or closer to the beach during sunny weather. The plane has bench seats, rather than Individual ones. I have a booking for February next year. As you might imagine, though, this was the one part of the overall dining experience that perhaps didnt quite reach the highest heights compared to the sushi we get back home in Toronto or Vancouver. Yes. Cape Fahn Hotel Thailand. Anyone paying $$ can afford the helicopter transfer and surely will rather than endure that. From Crawl Cay, we took the boat to swing by a few other islands, without landing. However, I would gladly do them over again than take your open water journey that had me bracing with every bump at the seat of my computer. Note that Calala Island has a fairly strict 90-day cancellation policy, and youll be charged the cost of the first nights stay if you need to cancel within that 90-day window. First of all, because anytime you're anywhere and you stand out, have a bunch of luggage, etc., it's normal to be approached by people and feel on edge, while that feeling wasn't the case here. I can't wait for the actual review of the property Lucky. The ride back to Bluefields was definitely less bumpy, but still quite the "experience". Chances are that at this point youre asking yourself and why cant they have a nicer transfer option? I asked myself these things as well, and here are some thoughts on that: While the transfer is far from luxurious, I actually get it. The check-in agent was friendly, and handed us a laminated boarding pass with a number, as well as a bottle of water with a baggage tag on it. Cape Fahn Hotel. Improve this listing Property amenities ), Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners, To get from Managua Airport to Calala Island, we either had to be at the airport at 5:45AM or 1PM, To get from Calala Island to Managua Airport, we could either be back at the airport at 9:45AM or 5:15PM, From Managua to Bluefields to Corn Island to Managua, From Managua to Corn Island to Bluefields to Managua, From Managua to Bluefields to Corn Island to Bluefields to Managua, Youre going really fast, to the point that your eyes are watering and you can barely look outside, even with sunglasses; I spent most of the boat ride just looking down, The boat just constantly hits the water over and over and over; its physically painful, Make sure you put on lots of sunscreen, since theres no shade, Similarly, if it rains youre exposed to all of the elements, and weather in this region changes very quickly; your bags are put into plastic bags and trash bags so that they dont get wet, and youre given a poncho, There is an option to pay to use a helicopter, though its exorbitantly expensive, and personally Im terrified of helicopters, so wouldnt consider it, While a nicer boat might sound nice, theres a practical reason for these boats, which is that they can go in really shallow water, and in some cases youre in water thats just a few feet deep, In some cases you go through some tight turns in the lagoons and mangroves, and a bigger boat just doesnt make sense, The boat goes really fast, so short of taking a huge speedboat, its going to be rough, Ill say this about the resort in advance I dont at all understand economics of Calala Island, and I imagine a more luxurious boat transfer would throw off the numbers even more, Its nice that they at least fully include the transfer with the rate, even when paying with points, The whole transfer is well organized, if nothing else, Given the unique challenges the resort faces, this system is probably the only economically viable and practical way to get people to the resort. We flew to Managua Airport the evening before on American from Miami, and we spent the night at the Hyatt Place Managua. Rickys love for travelling and learning more about the world is unbounded. After waiting for about an hour, the airport staff indicated that the plane was ready for boarding. The island is only accessible via boat or helicopter, the latter of which can only be chartered out of Managua at an enormous expense. @Will, What is that supposed to mean? With ample space for up to ten discerning guests, the island is the perfect hideaway for all adventurers who like to travel off the beaten track. Experience the coming together of unspoilt paradise and barefoot luxury. before navigating through the lush mangroves along the coastline which serve as key waterways that connect several small communities by boat in this part of the country for about an hour. On the second night, it was time for a decidedly different kind of activity: a crab race! Reminds me of my boat ride to the Bijags islands in Guinea-Bissau. Instead, its very much the sheer exclusivity of the four villas on the island, combined with the magical curated experience across the food and drink, activities, and wonderful service, that sets apart Calala Island as one of my all-time-best travel experiences and a truly extraordinary use of your hotel rewards points. That includes three meals a day, plus unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at any time of day. There was another abandoned resort on nearby Pink Pearl Island which is somehow still open to VRBO bookings to this day! When youre facing the terminal from outside, its on the right. There's an AirBnB on a tiny island off the coast of Honduras called Cayos Cochinos. As part of the lunch service on the second day, one of the chefs prepared some NiCaribbean jerk chicken for us in live-action. The breakfast menu reads as follows. The lead officer spoke to Shorvin for a bit, glanced at the passengers, and waved us through into Nicaraguas territorial waters without detecting anything suspicious. Based on my research, the flight operates in one of the following ways, and you dont know until the day-of which route they take (even though they publish schedules as if its certain): It seems that they decide which route to operate based on what people booked on a particular date. Oh my gosh, getting to the port was a sensory overload, with the number of people, and how loud it was. 103.83 Km. We have reservations in May and are wondering what is going to happen. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. However, Calala Island is also member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, which has a marketing partnership in place with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. The articles and content on this site are of a general informational nature only and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances. Calala Island: Paradise and luxury if you can handle the boat transfer - See 53 traveler reviews, 268 candid photos, and great deals for Calala Island at Tripadvisor. . The western part of the island is covered in a lush canopy of palm trees, whereas the eastern half is more swampy and inaccessible, and there are a few boardwalks instead of regular paths in this area. Now, Jessy and I made the effort to chat with everyone quite a bit throughout our stay.