Island Travel Guide

Saaremaa island located in Etonia is the largest island in the country, measuring 2,673 km². Kuressaare (population: 15,000) is the capital of Saaremaa island, and the whole island has over 39,000 inhabitants. Saaremaa is the main island of Saare county, located south of Hiiuma island and belong to West Estonian (Moonsund) Archipelago in Baltic Sea.

Transportation

Saaremaa is reached by ferry from Virtsu on the Estonian mainland to Muhu island, which is itself connected to Saaremaa by a causeway, the Väinatamm. Saaremaa can also be reached by ferry from Sõru on the island of Hiiumaa. In summer it is also possible to reach Saaremaa by ferry from Ventspils in Latvia. This service started in 2005 and is run by SSC Ferries.

In winter it is possible to drive to Saaremaa by an ice road between the mainland and Muhu.

There are regular bus services from Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu on the mainland, which use the ferry from Virtsu to Muhu. There is an airport at Kuressaare. It is possible to fly from Kuressaare to Tallinn by Estonian Air, and there are also seasonal flights to Pärnu and Stockholm. The Latvian airline AirBaltic (part of SAS Group), as well as Finnair subsidiary Aero Airlines, operate seasonal flights to Riga and Helsinki respectively during the summer season. There was an air base at Aste during the Cold War.

Plans to connect Saaremaa to the mainland either by the Saaremaa Bridge or Saaremaa Tunnel are being studied. The project will cost at least 175 million euros and will be ready no sooner than 2014.


Etymology

The island is called Saaremaa in Estonian, and in Finnish Saarenmaa — literally "isle's land". In old Scandinavian sagas, Saarema is called Eysysla, which means exactly the same as the name of the island in Estonian: "the district (land) of island". This is the origin of the island's name in German and Swedish, Ösel, Danish, Øsel, Gutnish Oysl, and in Latin, Osilia. The name Eysysla appears sometimes together with Adalsysla, "the big land", perhaps 'Suuremaa' or 'Suur Maa' in Estonian, which refers to mainland Estonia.

History

According to archaeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between islanders and Vikings. Saaremaa was the wealthiest county of ancient Estonia and the home of notorious Estonian pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred Osilians ravaging the area that is now southern Sweden, then belonging to Denmark. In 1206, the King Valdemar II of Denmark built a fortress on the island but they found no volunteers to man it. They burned it themselves and left.

In 1227, Saaremaa was conquered by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword during the Livonian Crusade, but remained a hotbed of Estonian resistance. The crusaders founded the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek there. When the Order was defeated by the Lithuanian army in the Battle of Saule in 1236, the Saaremaa islanders rebelled. The conflict was ended by a treaty that was signed by the Osilians and the Master of the Order. In the following year, the Sword-Brothers were absorbed into the Teutonic Order.

Most of Saaremaa was ruled directly by the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, while some parts were enfeoffed to the Livonian Order. In 1559, the bishopric and Saaremaa were sold to Denmark, becoming part of Danish Estonia. From 1570 until 1645 the entire island was under Danish possession.

In 1645, Saaremaa was ceded from Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Brömsebro. In 1721, along with the rest of Livonia, Saaremaa (then known by its Swedish name of Ösel) was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Treaty of Nystad, becoming a part of the Governorate of Livonia.

In 1840 the first spa opened in Kuressaare (then known as Arensburg), and the town became a resort for Russians and Baltic Germans.

In World War I, the Estonian islands were conquered by Imperial German Army in October 1917 and occupied (Operation Albion) until the end of hostilities. Estonia became independent after the October Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire. As a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the new state was incorporated into the Soviet Union in June 1940 as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Most of the Baltic German population of the island was evacuated to Germany following the Pact.

The island was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941 (Operation Beowulf); German troops remained there until expelled by the Red Army in the Moonzund Landing Operation in October and November 1944.

In 1946 Saaremaa was declared a restricted zone, closed to foreigners and to most mainland Estonians. It remained a restricted area until 1989.

Estonian independence was regained on August 20, 1991, in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Geography

The island forms the main barrier between the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea. To the south of it is the main passage out of the gulf, the Irbe Strait, next to Sõrve Peninsula, the southernmost portion of the island. The highest point on the island is 54 m above sea level. One particularly interesting feature found on the island is the Kaali crater. The island has lots of forested terrain. One of the symbols of the island is the juniper.

Nature

More than 10,000 years ago the first parts of Saaremaa arose from the Baltic Ice Dam Lake. The uplift of the earth's crust is continuing even today - 2mm per year. The West - Estonian islands are lowlying plains resting on limestone, their average elevation being about 15 meters above sea level. Limestone has become denuded in a great number of places, resulting in cliffs, limestone pits and quarries at Mustjala, Ninase, Pulli, Uugu and Kaugatuma. Because of its mild maritime climate and a variety of soils, Saaremaa has a rich flora, illustrated by the fact that 80% of the plant species found in Estonia are represented here. Altogether 1200 species of vascular plants can be found in Saaremaa. About 120 of the local plant species are rare ones which have received special protection status. The most famous endemic species is Rhinanthus osiliensis - a rare little flower growing mostly in spring fens; rare and beautiful flowers are widespread - out of the 36 species found in Estonia, 35 of them are found on Saaremaa and neighbouring islands. Over 40% of Saaremaa is covered with forests. They are mostly mixed forests but in some areas one can also find broad - leaved (deciduous), which are relict plant communities of former milder climatic periods. Wooded meadows were still common in Saaremaa before World War II, but many of these unique natural complexes have gradually become overgrown and thus turned into the ordinary forest. The same is true for alvars (limestone areas covered with thin soil and stunted vegetation). Once a typical and exclusive landscape element in Saaremaa alvars are now in decline. Nature conservation planning for Saaremaa now includes protection of the largest and most unusual alvar areas.

Saaremaa has a wide variety of rare wildlife species - ranging from insects to seals. The smallest protected wildlife species include Cloude Apolle butterflies and Roman snails.

The coastal areas of Saaremaa are famous seal habitats. The gray seal which is common here can be found in three large permanent resting areas on the islets off the coast in the western and southern parts of Saaremaa. The local population of grey seal is slightly increasing Ringed seals can also be encountered everywhere in the coastal waters of Saaremaa, but because of their timidity it has not been possible to make an estimation of their number. The islands lie within the East - Atlantic flyway, which is the migration path of waterfowl. This "bird - road" connects northeastern Europe with Arctic regions and each year hundreds of thousands of migratory birds visit Saaremaa in spring and autumn. The barnacle goose, mute swan, whooper swan, eider, shelduck and a great many other bird species have been given protection status. But on the whole, the islands are somewhat poorer in wildlife species than the mainland. Neither mole, mink, nor otter can be found here, the lynx and the brown bear are but infrequent guests.

Kaali

Kaali is a small group of nine unique meteorite craters on Saaremaa. The largest of the craters measures 110 meters in diameter and contains a small lake (known as Kaali järv (Lake Kaali)). The meteor cluster had an impact velocity of 10-20 km/s and a mass of 20-80 tons. At the altitude of 5-10 km the meteor broke into pieces. The largest fragment produced the main crater with a depth of 22 m. Eight smaller craters with diameters ranging from 12 to 40 m and depths varying from 1 to 4 m are all within 1 kilometer of the main crater. The explosion that caused the craters is estimated to have happened 660 ± 85 B.C. (Holocene). The energy of the impact (about 80 TJ (20 kilotons of TNT), comparable with the Hiroshima bomb) burned forests within a radius of 6 km.

Resources

Dolomite, limestone, curative mud, mineral water, sand and gravel, ceramic clay are the major local minerals. Of these local resources the dolomite is perhaps the most famous above all.

Characteristics

The majority of the population is Estonian (97%). The biggest minority nationality is Russian, equaling 2% of the inhabitants. Compared to the Republic of Estonia on the whole, the population of Saaremaa County and particularly of Kuressaare town is younger, whereas the number of the retired people is considerably smaller. Saaremaa is located in the centre of the Baltic region with the most rapidly growing market in Europe containing 70 million consumers. Gates to the West include not only the newly reconstructed Kuressaare Airport and Roomassaare Port, the operation of modern ferries between Saaremaa and the mainland but also the rapid development of the telecommunications, highly important for the island. Saaremaa is a tourist destination, revisited by 35% of foreign and 95% of domestic tourists. Saaremaa has an entrepreneur-friendly, safe, and strain-free economic environment.[4]

Sport

FC Kuressaare compete in the second tier of Estonian football, the Esiliiga.

Saaremaa competes in the biannual Island Games.

More info on Saaremaa

Kuressaare Castle

Saaremaa countryside

Redang Island is one of the most beautiful island in Malaysia.This great tropical vacation island which situated 45 kilometres off the coast of Terengganu state in South China Sea. Famous for its crystal clear waters , the tropical fish that inhibit the numerous reef many within 50 feet of the shore and white sandy beaches.The largest beach is Pasir Panjang on the east side, featuring half a dozen resorts. Marine Park or Taman Laut Pulau Redang (island=pulau , marine park=taman laut) is formed by nine islands in the Redang Archipelago. Redang island is wonderful escape from busy city life, also a perfect place for honeymoon, family trip and so on. In contrast to the neighboring Perhentian Island backpacker hangout, Redang has a more upmarket image, as almost all accommodation on the island is resort-based.

Stay safe

There are no unusual health risks on Redang. Wear sunscreen and heed the warning flags on the beach, although they're more or less permanently set on green.

Get in

No matter which way you choose to arrive, a marine park fee (RM5) is levied on all visitors to the island. Transfers can be arranged directly with resorts.

By plane

Berjaya Air has recently opened an airstrip on Redang Island (code RDN), located on the north side of the island near the Berjaya Redang Beach Resort. As of July 2005, there is one daily flight each to and from Kuala Lumpur (RM249 one-way) and Singapore (RM350 one-way). Tha airport is connected by roads to both of Berjaya's own resorts and to the southern fishing port, however transfers from the airport to anywhere else will require a combined car & ferry ride that must be arranged in advance. Note that the flights utilise the secondary airports of Subang(SZB) in Kuala Lumpur and Seletar(XSP) in Singapore instead of KL International(KUL) and Changi(SIN) respectively.
A considerably cheaper if somewhat less convenient option is to fly to Kuala Terengganu (capital of Terengganu), a one-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, and continue from here by boat. There are half a dozen flights daily on MAS and Air Asia, with a full one-way fare costing around RM170, but advance fares can go as low as RM80.

By boat
The traditional way to get to Redang is by boat. The main jetty is at Merang, some 30 km north from Kuala Terengganu. From Merang, the trip to Pasir Panjang takes about 40 minutes on comfortable, large speedboats and prices are more or less standardized at RM40/80 one-way/return.

In season (March-October), there are also ferries directly from the Shahbandar Jetty in central Kuala Terengganu to the Berjaya Jetty on the west side of the island, with approximately 1 hour 15 minutes journey.These are operated by and intended primarily for guests of the Berjaya resorts, but they'll take non-guests on board if there's space available. Ferry Fare (two-way) is chargeable at MYR 100.00 nett per adult and MYR 50.00 nett per child (Aged 2-12 years old).
There are no scheduled ferries between Redang and the Perhentian Island, however day-trip and dive boats are constantly travelling between the two so a relatively economical transfer can usually be arranged if you have the time, inclination, patience and flexibility to ask around and wait for a boat that's departing with seats still available.

Get around

In a word, you don't get around Redang Island much. Roads on the west side of the island connect together the airport, Berjaya's jetty and two resorts as well as the southern fishing port, but provide no connectivity elsewhere and there is no public transportation along them either. While the main strip of Pasir Panjang is easily covered on foot, traveling from one beach to another will require either chartering a boat (there are no organized water taxi services) or clambering across the 1.5-hour jungle trails leading from Pasir Panjang north to the Berjaya Beach Resort and south to Redang Kelong Resort.

Climate

Redang Island has a tropical climate with temperatures steadily around 30°C and frequent but brief thunderstoms. Like the rest of Malaysia's East Coast, Redang is affected by the northeast monsoon in winter, so most resorts are closed and ferry transport schedules are severely restricted between November and February.

See

Redang is very low on sights and most visitors spend their time lazing on the beach or exploring the corals. There's some fairly active wildlife though, including inquisitive monkeys (don't feed them) and large monitor lizards.

Buy

Shopping opportunities on Redang are largely limited to touristy gewgaws in the resorts' little convenience stores. One of the larger operations, open until 11 PM, can be found at the Redang Bay Resort with one store for food and drinks and another for clothes and souvenirs. Similarly, in Redang Pelangi Resort, the convenience store opens until midnight, offering a variety of snacks, can drinks, and toileteries; and the sourvenier shop which offers a wide range of unique sourveniers.

Eat

Every resort has its own restaurant, serving up burgers, pizza and bland local food at outrageous prices (at least by Malaysian standards); a few better options can be found lurking in the gaps.

Redang Laguna Food Court, Pasir Panjang (at Redang Laguna Resort). Don't be put off by the name, this is a simple full-service restaurant offering the some of the most authentic local food on the island. The menu covers the usual Chinese and Malay favorites, but throws in spicy Thai-style salads (called here kerabu, RM10) as well as Terengganu's state dish, the fish sausage keropok lekor (RM2). Still, the best deal here is the curried fish heads, a huge bowl of which costs just RM8 and feeds three (reservation 24h in advance required). Open for dinner only.

Sandfly Cafe, Pasir Panjang (next to Redang Bay Resort). Serves up basic local fare at half the price of the hotel restaurants as well as a limited Western menu, and the second-floor seating is pleasantly breezy. Try the beehoon ikan masin (fried rice vermicelli with fish, RM5) and the ais kacang (shaved ice with syrup and goodies, RM3.5). Open all day.

Drink

Tap water is salty and not drinkable. Bottled water is widely available at around RM3 for a 1.5L bottle.
Unusually for Terengganu, alcohol is widely available both in convenience stores and the resort restaurants (probably because most resorts are run by chinese businessmen), although it's not exactly cheap. A can of beer purchased at a store starts at RM7.8 and a flask of cheap Malaysian vodka at RM15, but the restaurants will happily gouge you over RM100 for a bottle of wine. Self-catering aside, nightlife on Redang is limited to resort bars offering blinking lights and Chinese tour groups belting out karaoke.

Do

Snorkeling is the number one activity on Redang. Many resort packages include snorkeling tours by boat to nearby islands, but there are some decent reefs right off Pasir Panjang. The best of the lot is at the southern end next to the aptly named Redang Reef Resorts, and the small hill/island in the middle of Pasir Panjang is a nesting ground for baby sharks.
Running a close second in the popularity contest is scuba diving. The waters around the island are usually crystal clear - although visibility can drop dramatically after a storm - and home to a host of sea creatures including turtles and reeftip sharks. While Redang caters to divers of all levels and is a popular place to complete a diving course, some of the sites further out can have fairly strong currents. More or less every resort on the island has its own dive shop, but it may be worth looking beyond the house shop as quality varies considerably.

Coral Redang Divers, Pasir Panjang (at Coral Redang Island Resort). Very professionally run PADI outfit with custom-built dive boats. Single dives from RM70/105 with/without your own gear.

Redang Bay Divers, Pasir Panjang (at Redang Bay Resort). Lowest prices on the island - RM50/85 with/without your own gear. Dive station her is not as fancy and sophisticated as the one in Coral, but the friendly and helpful staff make up for it. Only MAUI instructors on the island.

Redang Pelangi Dive Centre, Pasir Panjang (at Redang Pelangi Resort). Competitive price, offering dive services, courses as well as Scuba Discovery for non-divers. Professional Dive Master and Instructor from either PADI/SDI certification. Contact: tengjanshir[at]yahoo.com for more details.
Other available sports options include beach volleyball and sea kayaks, but jet skis and water skis are mercifully absent (banned to protect the coral). Fishing within the marine park is not permitted, but fishing boats can be hired for excursions beyond the 2-mile park limits.
Underwater cameras also available for rental at RM30 per day with pictures burnt in CD at the end of the day. Walk in to Redang Pelangi to enquire for more.

Sleep

Redang does not have any backpacker accommodation. Most resort rack rates are over RM300/night, always quoted for two people staying together, but steep discounts are available if you book a package or visit in the off or shoulder seasons.
Budget

One budget option is the campground at Teluk Kelong, but even this is more of a mid-range affair with prebuilt tents with beds, toilet/shower, electricity, etc. From RM80/tent/night with full board, can be booked via travel agents.

Mid-range

Redang Pelangi Resort . Wooden rooms with airconditioning and bathroom attached. Cozy and friendly staff to provide a home away from home services. Ideal for snorkeling and diving packages. Contact: +609 6242 158 or shkho[at]pc.jaring.my

Redang Lagoon Chalet . Offers simple wooden rooms in traditional malay arhitecture with built in bathrooms and air-conditioning at RM100-150/night. Food can be bought at the canteen at ~RM10 for an all-you-can-eat buffet meal (halal food only)

Redang Bay Resort . Reasonable rooms with air conditioning. It's a bit like a Butlins resort, with announcements made on a speaker system. Mostly caters for package deal snorkeling trips for Malaysians. They fill boats with up to 30 snorkelers in life jackets. Food at the canteen is reasonable, though it offers no choice.
Splurge

Ayu Mayang, Pasir Panjang, tel. +60-9-6248617, . A basic operation offering simple but functional chalets with air-con, hot water, 23.5-hour electricity and limited pest control. Rack rates from RM180/chalet with breakfast, rather overpriced for what you get.

Berjaya Redang Beach Resort, tel. +60-9-630-8866. Located in Teluk Dalam Kecil, this Malaysian-style resort offers a wide range of recreation activities. Better rates available during non-peak season.

Coral Redang Island Resort, Pasir Panjang, tel. +60-9-6920110. A small 40-room operation offering comfortable beachside chalet accommodation with a pool. The perfect place for a quiet island getaway. Food is reasonable.

Laguna Redang Resort, Pasir Panjang, tel. +60-9-6977888. The largest and one of the newest of Redang's resorts with 212 rooms, fairly pleasantly done in a pseudo-Thai style, and with good access to the beach. Rooms are set in large buildings and some are quite a distance from the beach. Pool, jacuzzi, three restaurants, Internet cafe. Can be quite noisy due to night activities. Rates from RM240/night.