Travelogue Series – September 2023 – Desaru Long Weekend Trip (3D2N)

After our last day trip to Desaru in April where we went to the Desaru Fruit Farm and beach, we wanted to have more time to explore this region and will make use of September school holiday to do so.

We went in via the causeway to our favourite breakfast place Tea Garden at Mount Austin. We usually order the butter kaya white toast, siew mai, half boil egg, steam man tou, steam rice roll, soya bean curd and coffee which cost about RM50 (SGD15). As it was close to mid-autumn festival, we bought some really delicious and low-sugar mooncakes from Tea Garden. (1 box of 4 cost about RM80 = SGD24)

After which, we drove straight to our hotel Four Points by Sheraton Desaru which is about 60km away from Austin and it took us around an hour. The drive there is pretty smooth with vast plantations on both side of the road and we went through the scenic Sungai Johor Bridge which is the longest river crossing bridge in Malaysia .

We managed to reach the hotel early and park our car (parking is RM5(SGD1.50) per day) just in front of the hotel. We were lucky to do an early check-in (normal check in time is 3pm) as the room was available so that we could chill awhile in the room. As it was the holiday peak period (April – October), we booked the room for about RM1300 ( SGD380 inclusive of buffet breakfast) for two nights which usually cost half of that during off season (Note: Recommended to avoid the monsoon season between the month Nov to Feb)

We choose this hotel because of its location as it is nearer to amenities like a supermarket, convenience store, restaurants, cafes, a small shopping mall and the beach is just a 10 mins drive away. Whereas the usual beach hotels are almost twice as expensive with lesser food options and amenities within the hotel compound. Our room is spacious with two double beds, dining table, small balcony, two large wardrobes and a nice bathroom with rain shower. Their gym is pretty well-equipped where I managed to sneak out on one of the mornings to workout while the kids were still asleep.

We went to the Le Cloud restaurant just opposite the hotel for late lunch which is a family restaurant with a small kids indoor playground. We bought two sets of kids bolognese meal, salmon steak, mushroom aglio olio with a caramel latte and the bill came out to be RM90 (SGD26). Overall, the place is clean, conducive for kids and food is good. Then, we went to a nearby supermarket to get some snacks, fruits, milk and yoghurts.

Next, we made our way to the Desaru beach for our kids to have fun before having a late dinner at Sushi house located inside SKS City Mall just within walking distance from our hotel. We spend about RM90 (SGD26) whereby the sushi came displayed nicely on a wooden ship.

On the next day, we went to the Desaru Mini Zoo which is about 30mins (30km) drive away down south which is highly recommended on google review with rating at 4.9! Entrance fee is RM20/pax (SGD6), but u have to pay extra RM5 (SGD1.50) to feed the animals. We spent almost 3 hours there as our kids simply enjoyed petting and feeding the small animals. They have camels, ostriches, alpacas, fishes, all kinds of birds and many more in the farm. My kids were also given the opportunity to touch the more exotic animals like the sugar gliders, bearded dragons and hedgehogs!

Next, we went to a cosy seaside cafe Yard & Co for lunch which have a google rating of 4.2. We had Japanese Curry Rice, Wildbloom pasta, Fifty Shades Darker beef patty, two strawberry milks and double chocolate hangover for a grand total of RM175 (SGD52). The cafe is tastefully designed with a really nice relaxing atmosphere inside. You could also chill outside the cafe which is rather windy and hear the sound of the strong sea waves. We bought some really nice traditional snacks (Kedai Kek Lim Choo Seng) which is located just around the corner as we drove out of the carpark. (Note: Parking is free but do come early to get a parking lot that is nearer to the cafe.)

We went back to hotel to take a rest before we went to the beach again to play as the kids really enjoy splashing water and building sandcastle there. At the end of the day, we were really exhausted so we decided to takeaway some Chinese Zi char on the way back from YAM 918 restaurant with each packet costing roughly RM8 – 12. It has a google rating of 4.1 (No pork and no lard) and we bought fried rice with egg, beef hor fun and sweet and sour pork rice. The food portion is quite big and its simply delicious.

On the following day after we checked out, we went to Aeon Tebrau for lunch at our favourite Oriental Kopi. We ordered our usual prawn Fried Rice, Fried Golden Mantou, Oriental Polo Bun, Nanyang Curry Chicken and of course their Oriental White Coffee which cost about RM85 (SGD25). We also did our usual grocery run before topping up our petrol at Petronas. We always try to leave Johor by 3 – 4pm to avoid heavy traffic which has worked well for us so far.

Overall, its a really fun and relaxing trip for us and we definitely comeback to explore again. We reckon that this might be one of the nicer beaches nearest to Singapore. This trip to Desaru is our prelude to our future exploration of the eastern part of West Malaysia where we will slowly go up to Mersing, Taman Negara Endau-Rompin, Kuantan and further north.

I have been trying hard to catch up on our travelogue updates and the next one will be our most recent holiday at Japan in December. Hope you enjoyed our travelogue series so far and stay tune for our next road trip update in the land of the sun!