Mala Island Resort

Tonga , Vava'u
Vava'u Area, Mala Island
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20 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

17 Nov 2025

Jim

Most beautiful place I have ever seen. Cool refreshing water. I was well cared for. I was treated like a family member. The food was fantastic. So peaceful. “Off the grid” experience.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

03 Oct 2025

Laureline

Mala island resort is not a flash resort but this is largely compensated by the environment. The cabins have great views on the sea and sunset, the island is quiet,and the marine life next door is incredible. Our hosts organised the transport from and to the airport, plus our whale swim day. The room we were had mosquito nets around each bed, but there was not many mosquitos when we were there in September. Meals are cooked by our hosts at a reasonable cost. However, I recommend to buy some snacks before heading to the island at Neiafu during the transfer, as we were a bit hungry after snorkeling and couldn't wait until diner time. The menu includes several options so my child who doesn't like fish could always have the option of a salad or chicken.
Snorkeling is great from the beach. The so called \"Japanese gardens\" are next door with plenty of colourful fish. The coral reef suffered from the last cyclone and there is a big part damaged or dead, but there are still some live reefs that will satisfy any snorkeler. We saw some bigger animals too: a couple of reef sharks and turtles. We didn't have snorkel.equipment for everyone as I thought the resort will have some spares. They don't. So bring all snorkel gear. In September, the water temperature was around 25 degrees. I didn't put any wetsuit but I was a bit cold after 2 hours snorkeling. My family wore wet suits.
The reef had enough diversity that we consider coming outside the whale season.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 Sep 2025

Temika

We had an amazing 3 night stay at Mala resort.
This family run accommodation is a great location within the Vava’u island group. The rooms are comfortable with spectacular views. With wifi in the common areas, it’s a great space to digitally detox while still being connected :) The hosts are so friendly and welcoming, happy to help with any request. We would recommend this property to anyone staying in Vava’u.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Aug 2025

Martin

Amazing views, superb local kitchen.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jul 2025

Jason

Wonderful stay at this quiet, friendly, rustic retreat at a family-run eco-resort. Good food as well!

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jul 2025

Verified traveler

Chill place on a remote island :-)

A great stay on this small private island. It is remote, so make sue that is good for you. Has a small beach with good snorkeling. There is a bit of current. This place is great for whale watching…sometimes you can see the humpbacks from the island! Room was excellent and comfortable, good hot water. Great meals. Owner arranged for whale swim tours to come and pick me up from the island..a bonus! Thanks so much for a wonderful, relaxing stay!

Self

8/10

Excellent

01 Sep 2024

Nicholas

The family running the resort were very friendly and ready and willing to do all they could to fulfill your requests. Transport to and from the airport were arranged with no hassle. When we needed to change dates they were very easy to work with. This was a great experience.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Aug 2024

James

We had an amazing 5 days at Mala Island Resort. Our host family were very hospitable and friendly and went out of their way to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. The snorkelling 100m off the island is incredible

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Aug 2024

Robert

We really enjoyed our time there and it was an opportunity to really get off the grid. Beautiful location. Nisha and his family treated us like royalty. He helped us arrange a great boat tour around the islands along with a scuba dive and swim with the whales at the last minute. They cooked our food to order which was excellent. We have already recommended him to friends

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jun 2024

Salvatore Flavio

A little resort in a wonderful location managed by an amazing family we had the pleasure to spend some time with!
Great experience overall and … thank you to our hosts!!!!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jun 2024

Verified traveler

Great island experience; a real opportunity to disconnect

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Oct 2023

Michael

What a sweet stay this was. It’s on its own little island. The family is just delightful, the food was great and I would totally stay there again.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

11 Sep 2023

Gabriel

This is truly a mom-and-pop resort. Their teenage children help and are always happy and smiling. This is not a luxury resort but has comfortable nice lodgings with million-dollar views of the gorgeous water, surrounding islands, and stunning sunsets and starry skies. Each room has its own full bathroom comfortable bed, refrigerator, and balcony. The owners cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for an additional reasonable charge and the food is excellent, we had a Tongan traditional pig roast which was fantastic. Excellent place to stay, they have wifi in the main dining room/deck and the snorkeling is amazing. Highly recommend staying here.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Sep 2023

Sophie

What an incredible slice of paradise! Nesha, Oli and family were so incredibly welcoming and friendly. The island is so tranquil and relaxing and has the most amazing private beach.

Oli prepared the most delicious meals. Breakfast was fit for a champion (toast, eggs, bacon and fresh fruit) and the dinners which were mostly fresh fish were super tasty and fresh and all meals were good value.

The resort itself is a little tired but amazing by Tongan standards (we have stayed at many other places in Tonga). The resort also has hot water which is a rarity in Tonga.

The resort is next to the Japanese Gardens which can be snorkelled from the island with relative ease, the reef had a large range of different fish and we saw a turtle (the best snorkelling we have had in Tonga)!

We also used Mala Resort’s kayak and kayaked to Swallows Cave which was quite a challenge but very doable from the resort.

The transport to and from the resort was also well arranged.

Thanks very much for our stay.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

14 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

On an island, private trail (920 metres), could walk around island at low tide. Staff tried to be helpful, with limited resources. Did a great job of organizing transit to and from the resort.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

01 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Wow, where do we even start with Mala Island resort, Neesha, Olivia and the girls were amazing. The location is out of this world incredible, situated on a secluded island, it’s the perfect sanctuary to unwind and relax. We bought food over but mostly ate Olivia and the girls cooking because it’s was always so tasty and fresh. We had the most amazing tuna! I would highly recommend this island for anyone who wants to truly experience a relaxing holiday. This has to be one of my favourite holiday destinations in the world, we will 100% be back next year.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

19 Jul 2019

Vega

I booked but didn’t stay there as the communication with them was less than reliable. Since they are several miles off shore and require a water shuttle it did not look like I would make an 8AM flight departure.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

24 Jun 2019

Verified traveler

This island is very back to basics and great if you want to get away from everything. The food offered is wonderful and Neisha and Oli are very accomodating. Remember to bring games to keep you amused and snacks and drinks, as you can only get to the shops by boat.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Nov 2024

maarten J

Little peace of paradise! Facilities a bit run down so don't expect anything fancy but compensated by lovely caretaker family and good value for money for Tongan standards. Ideal place for digital detox. Great meals. Would stay here again as an island retreat.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

16 Aug 2024

Maria

Wir waren 4 Nächte hier u es hat uns sehr gefallen. Die Gastgeberfamilie ist überaus bemüht u sehr freundlich/hilfsbereit. Bei Bedarf können Dinge aus dem Supermarkt bestellt werden. Vor Ort wird gekocht u es gibt vom frischen Tuna oder Mahi Mahi über Pasta u Sandwiches alles was das Herz begehrt.
Die Zimmer selbst haben einen fantastischen Ausblick über die Bucht u wir haben aus nächster Nähe mehrmals Buckelwale vorbeischwimmen sehen.

Das Gesamtpaket stimmt u lässt somit über den ein oder anderen Punkt was die Zimmer angeht hinwegsehen (etwas abgewohnt). Kühlschrank im Zimmer vorhanden :-)

Wir würden wiederkommen.

Leisure Family