Indonesia Honeymoon Part 2: Nihi, Sumba Island
After our time in Ubud, we were off to stop #2 of our Indonesia honeymoon - five nights at Nihi Sumba!
When we were in the initial planning of our Indonesia honeymoon, I reached out to a fellow hospitality contact who had been working in Bali and he recommended a few amazing options as the itinerary was developing. He told me all about Nihi Sumba and only had amazing things to say about it. Once I started researching it, I knew we had to build our itinerary around 5 nights there. Our stay dates there were firm as Brody Jenner’s wedding was taking place after we left and they bought out the entire resort! The time spent on Sumba was so special and certainly a place we will never forget and I looked forward to reliving it through this post.
ARRIVAL
We arrived to the Bali airport for our flight to Sumba and were greeted with a Nihi sign at the drop off area. They handled our luggage, printed our boarding pass, escorted us to the gate, and checked us in. I had never experienced customer service like this and it set the tone of the incredible service we would be receiving all week long. The flight to Sumba Island’s Tambolaka Airport (TMC) was pretty quick - just over an hour. Once at the airport in Sumba, the Nihi staff gathers your luggage and takes you to the air conditioned vans to continue the journey to Nihi! We drove in with another couple who shared our wedding day and also come from Ubud, so it was fun to have some built in friends before arriving. It is about an hour and half to get from the airport and the drive is takes you through the rijewa mountain ranges, market towns, rice fields, and a range of open spaces and winding streets before arriving to Nihi.
Upon arriving to Nihi, all of the staff was there to welcome you by name and we got introduced to the entire team. It truly felt like we arrived in a magical summer camp for adults. We were there with a group of about eight or so couples who all arrived that day. Everyone is assigned their own free standing villa and on our first night there, there was a scheduled happy hour, dinner and video presentation about the Sumba Foundation.
OUR VILLA
ACTIVITIES
From releasing newly hatched baby sea turtles into the ocean, reading (and finishing!) entire books, doing yoga overlooking the ocean, swimming in our private pool, and just exploring the property, we were able to truly feel like we were on vacation. One of the other highlights was an afternoon visiting the malaria clinic and schools that the Sumba Foundation started and supports.
This was an absolute must during our stay. Imagine starting the day hiking and hour through untouched land, stumbling upon villages and wildlife and then ending at your destination to freshly squeezed juice and a coconut to drink before day of spa treatments. We enjoyed a healthy breakfast over the waves crashing below us before going in for eight consecutive spa treatments in your private treatment room.. whaaat. We did break for lunch, but this was beyond and felt so indulgent. You are quickly blissed out and grateful for being in that moment. We knew we were living a dream day and I wish I could re-live it often!
DINING
All meals are included in the room rate, so you get to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner through the resort. We got to enjoy a few group dinners that were more like themed parties. The only item not included in the rate was cocktails and alcoholic beverages ordered during meals. From the fresh juice every morning, mini bar and snacks replenished everyday and incredible options through the resort, we never went hungry! Everything was full of flavor, incredible quality and fresh. We had so many favorite meals during that trip, especially the sashimi made from
Hopefully, you can have the chance to travel to this paradise one day! For now, during quarantine, they are doing a really fun Nihi at Home on their Instagram page so you can see some of the magic virtually!