Tiny Lelei, along with its even tinier neighbour Guraici, boasts the very finest white-sand beaches I have seen in North Maluku.
They are part of the Kayoa Islands, located west of Pulau Kayoa itself.
Lelei has two small villages inhabited by ethnic Makianese and Galelarese. The reefs off the beach are rich in fish and coral, despite some damage from fishing with poison. They are also a great spot for shark-watching. I saw several harmless reef-sharks while snorkelling here - one in knee-deep water!
Should you be afraid of these, note that they stick to the reefs - you won't encounter them on the sandy beaches. :-)
Lelei is locally famous as the home island of the current governor of North Maluku. Perhaps partly due to this, it has recently received healthy funding for tourism development. Several fine wooden chalets have been built to accommodate visitors, and there are several jet-skis, speedboats, banana boats and even diving facilities for the guests!

Lelei

Lelei is the main island of the Guraici archipelago as far as transport and tourism infrastructure is concerned.
It has all the accommodation and watersports facilities, a walking trail up its hill, and a paved walking path right around the island.

Guraici

Tiny, uninhabited Guraici is just a few hundred metres from Lelei.
It is surrounded by splendid beaches and reefs teeming with colourful marine life, but infrastructure on land is limited to a few picnic shelters - hopefully it will stay that way!

Watersports

Preparing for the yet-to-happen influx of visitors, the North Maluku Tourism Office has invested heavily into buying and depositing various watersports equipment on Lelei.
This includes several jet-skis (a mixed blessing IMHO), speedboats, a "banana boat" and diving equipment.
Back in 2007 they were all available for use by visitors free of charge, and this included the diving, but those days are now over and a modest fee is being charged for using the dive equipment.

"Hiking"

For those who are looking for a diversion from beach-based activities, a hiking trail has been built up to Lelei's small "peak", complete with several resting shelters along the way and a viewing tower on the top.
Obviously, you should not expect a serious climb! :-)

Welcoming Ceremony

Visitors to Lelei might be treated to a welcoming ceremony, involving a nice dance by traditionally clad Makianese youth.
Of course this is more likely to be arranged for groups than for a single visitor! ;-)

Togal Dance

Togal is the traditional dance and music style of the Makianese people.
It is still very popular and is often performed for traditional festivities and ceremonies.
On Lelei visitors might be treated to it, too.

Makianese Music

The Togal music accompanying traditional Makianese dances is played on gongs and drums much like most traditional music in Indonesia.
However it also uses a string instrument and may be accompanied by signing.
Overall, it has a strongly Islamic/Arabic feel to it, more so than most other traditional music styles in Maluku.

By Sea

There are ships to Lelei from Bastiong harbour in Ternate at least twice weekly.
They go on to the islands of Taneti, Muari and Lata Lata before ending their voyage on Kasiruta or Bacan.
If you don't want to wait for these, you could take one of the more frequent ships to Pulau Kayoa (make sure it goes along its western coast) and charter from there.

The "Cottages"

The North Maluku Tourism Office has erected sg. like a dozen large chalets (imported from North Sulawesi!) on Lelei, each of which has three double-bed rooms and bathrooms, as well as spacious sitting and eating areas.
They should ideally be booked through their office in Ternate, or better still, by contacting their English-speaking officer Azis (+6281334435241).

Places to Eat?

There are no warungs on Lilei and accommodation doesn't automatically come with meals.
You can still organize simple rice and fish meals easily, but several visitors have found the quality of meals poor and the prices high. And of course if you want anything more fancy, you should bring it with you from Ternate!