Small exotic island with swimming horses and world’s best hotel to be next big holiday hotspot

WE'VE all heard of Bali, but its neighbour could soon become the next big holiday hotspot.

And with swimming horses and one of the best hotels in the world, Sumba Island should be on your bucket list.

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With the success of Bali, it's said that other neighbouring islands are 'prime targets' to be turned into tourist hotspots, according to Robb Report.

One of those places is Sumba Island in Indonesia, which receives about 25,000 tourists annually.

Meanwhile, the popular island of Bali saw 5.27 million international tourists during 2023.

This was a 144.61 per cent increase compared to 2022.

With Bali being turned into a holiday hotspot, it's believed that neighbouring islands are being looked at to turn into places of tourist luxury.

Maikel Pare, who grew up in one of the local villages before moving to Bali to work for a hotel previously told The Sun: "Sumba offers so many things on one island. You’ll see beautiful waterfalls, beautiful hills, beautiful people and beautiful animals at the same time.

“It’s still undiscovered and not that many people go there. It’s slowly growing, but it’s untouched and still so pretty.

“We Sumbanese love tourists, and we celebrate them in our lives. If a foreign visitor talks to a local kid, they will be in awe all day.

“We love to welcome visitors to our beautiful island to show them our homeland, our people, our culture and traditions – we are so proud of them all.”

Sumba is known for having horses which are called the Sandalwood ponies.

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They are a small breed with ancient Mongolian and Arabian bloodlines and are very important to the culture and economy of the Indonesian island.

The island is also home to the exclusive NIHI Sumba eco-resort which has been twice been named the best hotel in the world.

The hotel has been recognised by Travel + Leisure as the World's Best Hotel in 2016 and 2017. In 2024, it was ranked number ten in the world by The World's 50 Best Hotels.

In 2024, the hotel received a Global Recognition Award for its sustainable luxury approach and community impact.

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The hotel has 28 villas with ocean views, plunge pools and infinity pools as well as culinary delights from seafood feasts and open fire cooking.

With the hotel you can do a spa safari, which is a trek around the island, horse riding, swimming with horses, surfing, padel as well as wellness activities.

The resort features a spa where you can have open-air treatments with ocean views.

There's also a chocolate factory and an organic garden that supplies much of the produce for Nihi Sumba’s three restaurants.

The resort is also renowned for its horse-riding, and it has a herd of horses that are brought to the beach for a swim every morning.

The hotel is a popular holiday destination for celebrities too.

Heidi Klum, Christian Bale, Cindy Crawford and the Beckhams have all journeyed there for a holiday.

And Jennifer Lawrence is said to have splashed out tens of thousands of pounds a night to stay for her honeymoon in 2019.

You can reach Sumba Island by air from Bali or Kupang.

There are daily flights from Bali to Waingapu, the main town in Sumba Island.

You can also take a ferry from Bali or Kupang, but the journey can take up to 24 hours.

Read more Bali's plans for a massive £15billion underground train network.

And head to Lombok to relax and find instant zen in a tropical paradise.

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