The beef fillet medallions were also very flavourful, though I was struggling to get it all down towards the end of the meal! All rights reserved|. On one of the mornings, a coconut fell right by our villa as we were sipping our coffee, so we brought it to breakfast and asked if the staff could prepare it for us as a snack and they were happy to oblige. 335. Prince of Travel is Canadas leading resource for using frequent flyer miles, credit card points, and loyalty programs to travel the world at a fraction of the price. 8 amazing hotels around the world you can book with points - The Points Guy Private Islands for rent - Calala Island - Nicaragua - Central America Chase Bonvoy Boundless Visa: Five Free Nights Worth 250,000 Points! One of my complaints about the room was that the toilet didnt flush very well. The infinity pool at Calala Island ordinarily makes for a picturesque place to hang out, especially as it never really gets busy and youre quite likely to have the whole place to yourself. At 5:15am the next morning, we checked out of the Best Western and went to meet Nestor at the airports domestic terminal. The articles and content on this site are of a general informational nature only and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances. Im not much of a spa guy, so Jessy went in for another round this time the Calala signature massage, which she found to be a perfectly revitalizing rainy-day activity, and a great way to soothe her nerves after island-hopping in the storm. Essentially they operate the flight to Bluefields in conjunction with the flight to Corn Island, which is a popular Nicaraguan vacation destination off the coast. Cape Fahn Hotel. Calala Island is a small 11-acre island that forms part of the Pearl Cays, sitting 4 km off the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea. Jessy opted for a Rejuvenating Facial massage on the second day, which cost US$115 not unreasonable compared to what other comparable resorts around the world might charge for a 60-minute treatment. The 90-minute speedboat journey from Bluefields is very much unlike anything else youll encounter in other parts of the world. Our favourite meal out of all three, however, would have to be the surf and turf on the final night. I wasn't aware that there is an airfield on Corn Island. Calala Island - UPDATED Prices, Reviews & Photos (Nicaragua) - Resort As with all meals on the island, if youre craving something thats off-menu, just let the staff know and theyll do their best to make it for you too. Related: Private islands and space flights: 8 of the most exclusive travel experiences you can book with points Calala Island CARISSA RAWSON/THE POINTS GUY We can also arrange, at an additional cost, helicopter transfers direct to the Island, Copyright 2023 Calala Island. First up, the boat makes its way through the surrounding lagoon. I was very much reminded of our seaplane journey en route to another incredible island resort experience in the Maldives last year! I never thought Id actually hear anyone say this, but there were two girls seated next to us that got to talking: Where are you going? at an additional cost, helicopter transfers direct to the Island The Calala Foundation. 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 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, La Costea currently only offers one daily service between Managua and Bluefields (and vice versa) in the mornings. Every morning, the islands masseuse, Karen, greets the guests at breakfast and asks if theyd like to book a spa treatment that day. Around the back of the king bed, youll find some storage cabinets to keep your belongings. Cant wait for the review of the island. Lastly, I should note that the wifi on the island was quite impressive, considering the remoteness of the place. Ford: I'll pay $2,800 to get off this boat. Pretty much identical travel experience with few exceptions: 1. Reminds me of my boat ride to the Bijags islands in Guinea-Bissau. redeem 40,000 World of Hyatt points per night for a stay here, We flew to Managua Airport the evening before. I hate helicopters but that would be the only way they could get me to go there. Whats more, the water is piping-hot with superb water pressure, so it makes for an all-round excellent shower experience one that I enjoyed so much, I ended up taking about three showers per day in-between spending time on the beach, dipping in the ocean, and going for meals and drinks. I've always wanted to explore Bluefields. Heading out onto the front deck, then, lets take a look at the outdoor facilities that complete the Junior Suite. Now, even though I had known what we were getting into upon booking this stay, I had purposefully told Jessy to avoid researching Calala Island at all and keep things as much of a surprise as possible. That took about 15 minutes. When you think of your transfer to a $2,800 per night resort that includes going out into the open ocean, the below boat is probably not what youre expecting but thats exactly what you get. Pictures cant do justice to this, so you can see a video here (the first 30 seconds is in the mangrove area, while the last 60 seconds is from the open sea): When we were on the open sea, Ford started asking me already about what the other options were for leaving Calala Island, as he was seasick, and had terrible back pain. You can get a solid redemption rate on many dates, but you'll still be on the hook for the 814 euros (about $815) helicopter transfer each way, plus food and drinks. Anyone paying $$ can afford the helicopter transfer and surely will rather than endure that. Calala/VeryFirstTo. We take care of all transfers from the airport to and from Calala Island. Value. Calala Island is a 9.5 acre private island located in the Pearl Cays, a region of the Caribbean Sea, just off the coast of Nicaragua. The first step in getting to Calala Island is to fly with La Costea Airlines, which is Nicaraguas airline. Id also note that the timing of our visit in early November was less than ideal: March tends to be the best month to catch both the sunniest days and the hatching of the hawksbill turtles. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor a legal or tax professional. I recently had the pleasure of staying at Calala Island, a private island resort located off the coast of Nicaragua. 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. The bed is definitely on the harder side, which I didnt find to be a problem, but it might not be the most comfortable if you prefer softer sleeping surfaces. Calala? Simply show up at the lunch spot and the staff will show you to a seat, hand you the menus, and offer you a drink. The other villas mostly have a rocky seawall in front of them, so I had specifically requested Kakabila with its direct beach access. . Platinum members get access to a Discord chat server, participation on exclusive livestreams, and even better discounts and early access. I hope your backs were okay. Improve this listing Property amenities All rights reserved. (And a lot less expensive than $2800/night.). Guests step directly onto the powder-soft sand from their private decks to enjoy spectacular panoramic Indian Ocean sunsets extending to the far contours of mainland Madagascar. I much prefer three hours of Indian traffic. Id certainly loved to have stayed on the island for longer during our last day and taken advantage of the midday flight, so Id recommend planning your visit to Calala Island once La Costea hopefully restores full services in the near future. 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.) 53 reviews. With all the ingredients fresh from the ocean, we couldnt really go wrong here so we sampled everything from the snapper ceviche to the snapper croquettes to the snapper fillet, from the lobster skewers to the lobster burger. (Note that theres no coffee or tea setup in the villa itself, as the resort prefers to operate with a central kitchen for all things food and drink. I used 120,000 Hyatt points to book my three-night stay at Calala Island about one and a half months prior to the stay. Nicaraguans in general are the nicest people I've ever met. Your friendly Calala-lalas (also known as staff in the rest of the world) will organize for you to board a 50-minute domestic flight from Nicaragua's main airport in Managua to Bluefields, from where it's a 90-minute scenic boat ride through lagoons and mangroves, out to sea and Calala Island. Upon your arrival, youre set up with a WhatsApp chat group with Claudia and Leon, as well as a separate WhatsApp line to the front-of-house team. Overall, I found the booking and pre-arrival experience to be seamless, if a little shrouded in mystery. Calala Islands Managua-based staff representative, Nestor, was on hand to greet us upon exiting the airport in the evening. Wed fly through the air, crash into the ocean with a loud bang, get splashed all over by the water, before doing it all again and again as we inched our way towards the promised land in the distance. Calala Island is a private island with just four rooms, and is very expensive when paying cash. 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. Jessy was over the moon as she fiddled her way through the crab legs, just as much as I took great pleasure in having an entire T-bone steak to dig into. LOL. On the ATR42 you board through the rear, since the cargo hold is in the front of the plane, behind the cockpit. To be perfectly clear, I felt totally safe, and didnt feel like it was dangerous at all. For everyone else, stay tuned for the review of the actual resort before deciding whether or not Calala Island is worth visiting, in spite of the transfer. If they are charging $2800 per night to stay at a tiny remote island (which is basically extortion for a country as undeveloped as Nicaragua), they should include a helicopter transfer with a stay of at least 3 nights. When are you planning on posting your review of the resort itself itself? With the storm continuing to surround us, it was only safe enough to make landfall on one of the nearby islands: Crawl Cay, home to another proposed resort that was abandoned in the middle of construction. One quirk about Calala Island is that coconuts will regularly fall from the palm trees on a regular basis. 7 nights of accommodation in 4 beachfront suites for eight . The transfer first includes flying to the Nicaraguan coastal city of Bluefields, then you have to take a car to the port of Bluefields, and then theres a 90-120 minute boat ride to the resort. "Thank you for your interest in a Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card. Not to be a douche herebut as someone who has traveled the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, what really surprised me in this article was how little sense you actually get of the place. Theres an outdoor table with two chairs, which was the perfect place to sip on some Nicaraguan dark roast in the mornings or a cocktail in the afternoons. On the second night, it was time for a decidedly different kind of activity: a crab race! Id recommend bringing a sturdy pair of sandals so that you can confidently wade in the water without prickling your feet. Well, Im on a spiritual journey. Then, since we won the crab race, we got to pick another spa treatment for free! After quite a long journey, beautiful Calala Island was finally in sight. This is one of the best! Flight time is 85 minutes. CALALA ISLAND - Prices & Resort Reviews (Nicaragua) - Tripadvisor The World's Most Romantic Island Getaways - Jetsetter Step up your travel game with a full day of discussion panels and presentations, a catered lunch and drinks, networking, prizes, and an exclusive VIP Experience! Helicopter ride or boat tour in Kauai island : r/VisitingHawaii - Reddit In hindsight, Im glad that Claudia gave Jessy a heads-up about what to expect, as I dont think Jessy wouldve been a very happy boat passenger otherwise. 1 way takes more or less including take off and landing 60 minutes. As Shorvin and the rest of the staff members brought our luggage over to our villa, Claudia and Leon brought us over to the islands main pavilion to complete our welcome formalities (in addition to offering us some towels to dry off from the ocean!). CALALA ISLAND - Prices & Resort Reviews (Nicaragua) There was another abandoned resort on nearby Pink Pearl Island which is somehow still open to VRBO bookings to this day! Next to me, Jessy had her hood over her head the whole time, her eyes slammed shut in fear. Luckily I was able to take a plane back to Bissau. Why Does This Weeklong Trip Cost $1 Million? It wasnt super fast, and some parts of the island had a spottier connection than others, but it was more than sufficient considering that youre in the middle of the ocean and would probably want to disconnect as much as possible anyway. Cape Fahn Hotel. THANKS, LUCKY [AND FORD!] The breakfast menu reads as follows. 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. calala island helicopter transfer calala island helicopter transfer. Whether it was curling up with a good book, watching the sunset, or simply sneaking in afternoon nap, our hammock was our happy place. Still, I was determined to go on at least one activity out on the water, so I asked the staff if we could at least go for a quick round of island-hopping on the third day, even though it was still exceptionally stormy. In exchange for those points, you'll enjoy a two-bedroom villa covering nearly 5,000 square feet. You are my VIPs, come with me.. 1 of 12. @ Will -- Yep, not even sure what that's supposed to mean All fine and well, but did the ATR have individual air nozzles? Cond Nast Traveler does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Lets talk about those food and beverage offerings, all of which are complimentary in your ultra-all-inclusive Calala Island stay. Do you have to register for this promotion or you get the points automatically when you reserve? Here we met Shorvin from Calala Island, who would be accompanying us on the rest of the journey. Your experience of the boat ride is accurate, but my family probably just laughed the whole way there thinking we were on a big roller coaster ride with oh and ahs when we got air! The Junior Suites are marketed with a square footage of 47 square metres, so they arent necessarily the largest rooms compared to other resorts out there. For our three-night stay, wed get to try: The NiCaribbean buffet consisted of a scrumptious Creole seafood stew, lobster tails and crab legs, generous portions of snapper, beef barbacoa, chicken tacos, and gallo pinto. Nestor met us there at 5:30AM sharp, and he escorted us right to the front of the line, which was almost awkward, since they even have a special Calala Island VIP counter. Youre free to interact with the staff as much or as little as youd like. . The T-bone steak, intended for sharing, grilled to absolute perfection and slathered in a glistening layer of zesty chimichurri, while the lobster tails were similarly coated with garlicky goodness. We sat down with some delicious coconut chips to snack on, along with welcome drinks of our choosing. Calala Island - Luxury Caribbean & Nicaragua Travel - Ker & Downey Locally, the region is known as the NiCaribbean. As you can imagine, a stay at Calala Island doesnt come cheap. But at least that was in a bay and not nearly as long. Trip report for Calala Island. Our worries vanished, though, when the surf and turf arrived. . Immediately after Pearl Lagoon, we pulled up at a Nicaraguan Navy checkpoint, which was no more than a single dock on the shoreline with a few young officers stationed there. Below youll find a map of the resort: As you can see, the southwestern corner plays host to the four guest villas. Then, a small bench sits to the side of the bedroom, serving as a divider to the bathroom area. Features Exterior Lounger and Chair Pool Outdoor Location Beach Front Taxi ride from the airport to boat felt more sketchy to me (maybe because I had kids with me and we had to take two separate taxi's - wife and few kids didn't like being separated from me and my taxi left few minutes before hers). I can only imagine dreaming of a romantic vacation at a luxury hotel then finding yourself bobbing up and down on a fishing boat. Said content and opinions are not provided by any third party mentioned on this site and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any such third parties. 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??). In fact, we were warned to keep clear of the coconut trees as much as possible to avoid an unwanted concussion. The front-of-house hosts will discreetly let the housekeepers know when youve arrived for breakfast or dinner, so that they may refresh your room without you ever noticing them! For what its worth, these transfer times are based around the timing of the flights within Nicaragua, since thats the limiting factor. Rickys love for travelling and learning more about the world is unbounded. Calala Island. Cond Nast Traveler 9 of the best private island escapes you can book with points | CNN Lunch is generally served between 12pm and 3pm, though again, you can really take it whenever youd like. Across more than 300 kilometres and three separate modes of transportation, the journey from Managua to Calala Island takes about four hours from start to finish. Youve really got to earnthe wonderful private island experience that lies ahead! Shorvin guided us expertly through the crowd and to our Calala-bound motorboat. Shorvin let us know to use the bathroom here if we needed to, as we wouldnt have many opportunities to do so on the journey ahead. Its quite surreal to see the handful of resort buildings sitting in a state of disrepair. From there, it was time for the real adventure: the last 4 km stretch of open ocean to reach Calala Island. calala island helicopter transfer So my mention of safety was supposed to be positive, that I didn't experience any issues and felt comfortable. True barefoot luxury meets unspoiled paradise. After waiting for about an hour, the airport staff indicated that the plane was ready for boarding. Indeed, it would often take two or three tries to properly flush the toilet especially after some of the gargantuan meals that they feed you here at Calala Island. Calala Island | Luxury Hotels in Nicaragua | Black Tomato Up to 12% cash back for the first three months. Worlds apart yet surprisingly accessible, Calala's remote shores may be accepted by scenic boat ride or helicopter transfer. Full use of Island boats and skipper. 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. After a considerable delay we climbed into the open pangas for our transfer. We also took a few dips in the small beach immediately in front of our villa, too. Location. Doubt they get many guest that pay the full $2800 per night, hence the rather shabby transfer arrangements. That includes three meals a day, plus unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at any time of day. It felt as though we were in a bit of a hurry, which may have had to do with the predicted weather patterns on the open ocean that day although I certainly didnt mind getting to the island as quickly as possible! But at least that was in a bay and not nearly as long. Review: Calala Island Nicaragua | Prince of Travel Did you have to do this in the dark coming back???? Therefore, we continued to take lunch in or around the main pavilion, the same place where we had breakfast and dinner. Wed then stay at the Best Western Las Mercedes Airport, which is right across the road from Managuas Augusto C. Sandino International Airport. I would note that the bathroom door wouldnt close and the light in there wouldnt turn on, but otherwise the experience was fine. 10 private-island resorts you can book with points A Secret Island On Nicaragua's Undiscovered Caribbean Coast - Forbes 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. Instead, youll most likely be taking advantage of the resorts complimentary round-trip transfers, which includes a flight from Managua to the city of Bluefields, a taxi ride through Bluefields, and then a 90-minute boat ride to the island. The ATR42 was parked outside, and as the gate agent escorted us to the door of the plane, she explained that we would be making a stop on Corn Island first. After dozing off for the second half of the one-hour flight, I watched with avid interest as our pilots made a smooth landing at Bluefields Airport. It was clear that both the general managers, whove plied their trade on island resorts for an entire career, and the local staff, who mostly hail from the nearby Caribbean Nicaragua communities, took a great deal of pride in their work and would always go the extra mile to give their guests the best possible time here. Prince of Travel is a licensed travel agent, registered in the province of Ontario, Canada. . We particularly enjoyed the San Sebastian and de la Cruz dark roasts, and those first cups of coffee on our patio did indeed make for an excellent start to each day. The six of us on the island ourselves and two other couples gathered at the show kitchen and chatted over drinks before eventually digging into a few delicious helpings of jerk chicken (and any other lunch items we wanted to order). World of Hyatt members can therefore redeem 40,000 Hyatt points per night for a highly aspirational stay at Calala Island. I am sure you have been to Maldives and you know they have seaplanes there which are fantastic . In addition to the weather playing a role, some of the other activities were also affected by the ongoing pandemic. The airline operates two daily flights to Bluefields, though the routing they take varies by day. A major highlight of the Junior Suite is the outdoor shower, which is just so much fun! Calala Island, at a glance Luxury, private island resort with a beautiful Caribbean setting I was holding onto the railing for dear life as the speedboat bounced up and down for about an hour. Calala Island - Wikipedia After letting us know how the meals and activities would work, warning us about bug bites, and reminding us to keep our eyes peeled for unique wildlife (including the endangered hawksbill turtle and the islands two resident sloths), Claudia and Leon brought us over to our Junior Suite to settle in. CALALA ISLAND - Updated 2022 Prices & Resort Reviews (Nicaragua) Arriving into Calala Island is not for the faint-hearted. LOL. (Housekeeping at Calala also includes simple laundry: if your clothes have been soaked or soiled from the days activities, simply leave them in a pile and theyll be returned the following day after a quick wash.). More details The island is only accessible via boat or helicopter, the latter of which can only be chartered out of Managua at an enormous expense. Even though the port was a bit crazy, I felt totally safe and comfortable. Perpignan Railway Station. In our case the transitions from inland waters to the open ocean and back were quite dramatic, as it occurred at the mouth of a river with a strong current. Paradise and luxury if you can handle the boat transfer One of the crew had to jump out and sort of guide the boat.