Water villas closest to Bali

Serving as one of the world’s most popular and famous tropical islands, a vacation on the island of Bali brings in most of the tourists that power Indonesia’s tourism. When looking into vacationing here, you may become a bit confused on whether or not there are any overwater bungalows on-site. This is because there is a resort, Club Bali Hai, that claims to have invented the first overwater bungalows.

What you’ll find however, is that resort is on the island of Moorea, just off Tahiti, in the South Pacific, thousands of kilometers from Indonesia.

Water villas closest to Bali
Overwater villas closest to Sri Lanka

Due to it being both a beautiful and impressive island nation, Sri Lanka, which is located just off the southeastern tip of India, is fast becoming a popular vacation destination. On this tropical island you’ll find sandy beaches, a tropical jungle, large ruins, and even a few arid delights.

The island itself is also home to a variety of accommodations, that are scattered throughout the entire island. However, you won’t find any overwater villas here.

Overwater villas closest to Sri Lanka
AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort: Pro review with videos & photos

The AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort opened in 2011 with much higher room rates and the early reviews were quite poor, but they have been getting steadily better ever since, and room rates are now very appealing for a “water villa.” So I booked myself 2 nights here as part of a short trip to Malaysia, after two nights in Kuala Lumpur.

The AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort has 392 water villas, which made it by far the largest such resort in the world until a nearby competitor called the Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson recently opened with 522 water villas.

AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort: Pro review with videos & photos
World’s largest overwater resort, with 522 Pool Water Villas, is now open

Until about 2010, the resort with the most overwater bungalows in the world was the Four Seasons Bora Bora with 100 overwater rooms. Then the AVANI Sepang Gold Coast Resort opened just south of the Kuala Lumpur Airport and it looked unbeatable with its mind-blowing 392 Water Villas (some of which share a structure). Move over, AVANI Sepang, because the Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson Resort is open and it has an amazing 522 water villas, each complete with a private plunge pool.

World’s largest overwater resort, with 522 Pool Water Villas, is now open
Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa changing over to Conrad Bora Bora Nui

A choice location plus a beautiful resort equals a vacation destination like none other. The luxurious Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa is one of your best options in the South Pacific with gorgeous views, raving reviews and top-notch activities. However wonderful the resort has been in past years, it’s now getting a makeover and name change promising to make it even better than before. In fact, this makeover is a rather large one with a few million dollars of refurbishments and design alongside a brand new name.From here on out, the resort is now known as the Conrad Bora Bora Nui.

Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa changing over to Conrad Bora Bora Nui
Meeru Island Resort: Pro detailed review with videos & photos

The Maldives has close to 90 resorts that feature water villas, and about 15 of those offer full-board and/or all-inclusive plans. For years I’ve been comparing them all as I work on this online guide to overwater bungalows, and I frequently noticed that Meeru Island was among the cheapest water villa resorts in the Maldives, and also had some of the best guest reviews.

Stranger still, Meeru Island has all guests on a full-board plan, or they can upgrade to what they call the “All-Inclusive Plus” plan for a surprisingly modest fee.

Meeru Island Resort: Pro detailed review with videos & photos
Overwater bungalows in Mauritius

With an isolated location and a fascinating mix of international cultures, a holiday in Mauritius is the dream of many. The Indian Ocean island of just over one million people has been making gains with international tourism, and plans to make it a duty-free zone in the coming years should keep the momentum going.

Of the dozens of fabulous resorts in Mauritius, only one has overwater bungalows (water villas), and fortunately it’s one of the finest of them all.

Overwater bungalows in Mauritius
Overwater villas in Cambodia

Most international tourism into Cambodia centers around the stunning Angkor Wat temple complex just outside of Siem Reap in the north of the country, but increasing numbers are also heading to Cambodia’s beaches and jungle areas as well. There are now two very unusual resorts with overwater villas in Cambodia, although at opposite ends of the price spectrum.

The vast majority of the overwater bungalows in Asia are located in the Maldives, just southwest of India.

Overwater villas in Cambodia
Overwater bungalows in Malaysia

Most of the world’s overwater bungalows and water villas are located in the Maldives, which is just southwest of India, but more resorts are opening every year around the world. Malaysia now has six overwater resorts of its own, which is the third most in the world behind the Maldives and Bora Bora.

Even more impressively, Malaysia now boasts what is by far the largest overwater bungalow resort in the world, with an amazing 392 overwater rooms just off the coast south of the Kuala Lumpur Airport.

Overwater bungalows in Malaysia
Overwater bungalows in Thailand

Thailand is perhaps the most popular country in Asia for sunny holidays we get a lot of questions about whether there are overwater bungalows or water villas in the Land of Smiles. The answer is a bit complicated because there are two resorts that currently have something along these lines, but neither are the classic design that most people are looking for. There are no overwater resorts in Krabi, but there’s one on Phuket and another on Koh Samui that sort of fit the definition.

Overwater bungalows in Thailand