Fodor's Expert Review Palm Bay Resort

This beachfront property houses self-catering travelers at alluringly reasonable rates. Relax in simple but stylishly furnished bures (tropical-style bungalows), A-frame bungalows, villas, and suites, all with balconies and hammocks or daybeds, strung along a palm-fringed, white-sand shore and scattered around the tropical grounds. While there, you'll have free rein of the resort, including its kitchen, dining room, lounge, media room, day spa, tennis courts, saltwater pool, and kayaks. The resort is mostly self-catering, though staff are on hand 24/7 to clean up and make drinks at the bar, and Azure restaurant does basic lunches and dinners five days a week. While the island shop has food supplies, it's cheaper to bring your own from the mainland. Cooking is a cinch in the resort's guest kitchen. With few tourists and no TVs, piped music, or organized activities, the ambience here is peaceful. Wallabies, goannas, brush turkeys, and big-eyed curlews wander freely about the grounds, and kookaburras cackle from the trees. If you're keen to explore neighboring islands, beaches, and the reef, scenic flights, day cruises, and diving can be arranged through the resort.