My wife and I stayed for 4 nights. We had a lovely relaxing time.
The speed boat journey is approximately 25 minutes, you arrive on the jetty at the edge of the reef to be greeted by friendly and informative staff and get your first glimpse of the marine life.
We were shown our room and I loved the small privacy pool and hot tub which runs into a semi outside bathroom which I also though was great. The room was very comfortable.
The best part of the holiday was the snorkelling and diving.
We had a great time with the team who do daily snorkel tours on either the banyan tree or their sister island 2 minutes away.
They feed the stingrays at about 5pm every evening on the beach next to the jetty which also brings in some of the baby reef sharks. This is fun to see. I believe they also have yoga on the far end of the Island on a jetty.
There is one main bar and one main restaurant on the island which we used, you can also go across to the other island on the speedboat for dinks and good as well.
The room was decorated in a lovey manner almost every evening by the very friendly Kaheel.
I only heard one sea plane in the 5 days I was there.
The staff were very friendly and chatty and made us most welcome. Especially Nick, Esther, Hamdan, Gaby and Sam. I would definitely go back.

After arriving on the island on a late night flight, we were welcomed immediately with warm smiles and kind service. The consistent warmness and friendliness of each and every one the staff is definitely something to be praised, as they will go out of their way to make sure you are well looked after.

Our cool and cozy room overlooked the beach and the endless horizon. The rooms were cleaned impeccably and spotlessly every single day. The outdoor shower and indoor pool was nice to make use of during nice and sunny days. On rainy days it's just as nice to have a relaxing lie-in under the fan/air-conditioned room on the soft and comfortable bed.

There were a number of things I looked forward to every day, including:

- The delicious choice of food and fresh fruits for breakfast, lunch and dinner

- Stingray feedings in the afternoon (very cool that the stingrays have become friends with humans!) and sometimes Mario the seagull who joins in on the fun

- Seeing the cute white and black tipped sharks swimming in close proximity

- Relaxing by the beach or sunset jetty and listening to the sea undisturbed

My highlight was snorkelling around the Vabbinfaru island (and on another occasion at the sister island Angsana) and swimming with turtles, sharks, colourful fish and stingrays.

Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru is a perfect piece of paradise on earth, not just for couples but also for families who wish to enjoy a relaxing and calm getaway.