Sick of the bustle of big time Bali, tired of the drunk revellers and honeymooners in Phuket? With most of the Perhentian islands uninhabited, there are no cars, no roads and only jungle treks and sea taxis to get you to another beach. Ticked the box? Then the Perhentian Islands offer a second coming of island life.
Taking it a step further, conquer your fear of the powerful ocean, are you ready to snorkel with giant turtles and reef sharks, try basic diving or get your diving licence, double tick!
Watch an unforgettable sunset on a private beach, triple tick!
Where:
Located off the North East coast of Malaysia, the Perhentian Islands are made up of two islands named Pulau Perhentian Kecil (Small Perhentian Island) and Pulau Perhentian Besar (Large Perhentian Island). I stayed with 3 other persons on Besar, where the waters were crystal clear turquoise and dark blue, sand melted like butter through my toes into every crevice while a handful of Europeans sat barbecuing because apparently it isn’t a holiday until you come back red, brown, black or burnt.
If you are looking for catwalk luxury, where people flaunt their designer threads, stop reading now! The greatest luxury out there is the wicked seafood, hot water, WIFI and air con, depending on what chalet you stay in. There are plenty of accommodations from dirt cheap budget to mid range.
TUNA BAY ISLAND RESORT –2012 Trip Advisor Excellence award
With the thought that we would hardly spend time in the room, other than crashing out, I stayed in a comfortable lodging with simple furnishings, hot water, A/C , WIFI and daily room turn down. With activities that have minimal environmental impact, get out there and explore, because entertainment is what you make it! Book ahead if you would like a beach front chalet, and apparently after the Monsoon season (which was completely dry this year) it is booked out as far as August.
Cost of 6 nights: RM$ 1938 / S$750. Looking for other accommodations listing? Click HERE.
TIP: Bring your own toiletries, though there is a shop where you can buy snacks, toilet basics, bikinis and even rash guards. If you are feeling adventurous, bring your own fins, snorkel and mask, I guarantee you will LOVE the underwater life. Bring some mozzie spray, though I got maybe one bite the whole time I was there, pleasantly surprised!
How to get there:
1)One of the easiest ways is to get a direct flight where there are 4 flights per week on AirAsia from Singapore >>> Sultan Ismail Petra airport, Kota Bharu.
2)From the airport grab a local taxi to the fishing village Kuala Besut Jetty, roughly 40 minutes.
3)Upon arriving at the Jetty we looked for the Tuna Bay office (map online), 5 min walk, all accommodation should have an office.
4) Grab a boat over to either of the islands, when you book your accommodation online, the boat fare to the islands will generally be inclusive, ours was called the Tuna Express !
5) 40min boat trip to your accommodation doorstep
Cost of flights: S$100 each way
Cost of taxi to jetty: Roughly RM$80 / S$30
Snorkelling in clear waters
What to do:
Cliff Massage: Overlooking Turtle Point is a man on a cliff on a mission to make you sleep. He gets up, takes a smoke and pours oils over you and on to your face with long, confident strokes. Not the best massage and then he says he doesn’t have change for the RM$90 when you give him RM$100. Sneaky, sneaky.
Burning & Swimming: If you are looking for a great view, check out Turtle point, by far the clearest waters 60m-100m out.
Turtle Point
Beach hopping: Take a boat taxi to different beaches on the island or to the opposite islands. Check with the locals for sunset rides (may cost more) to private beaches like Rawa Island. Very romantic and great for photos!
Jungle Trekking: There are 2 treks on Perhentian Besar, one 20 minutes, the other up to an hour. Make sure you wear proper shoes for the vertical climbs. See Monitor Lizards, grass snakes and plenty of monkeys with their golden haired babies.
Canoeing: Rent a single/double canoe from any accommodation.
Snorkelling & Scuba Diving: You don’t have to go diving to see all that the clear waters offer. Tuna Bay Island resort, is the only accommodation on Perhentian Besar that has a reef right on its beach. Jump right on in to the cordoned off area and get carried away while time endlessly ticks. You can rent gear, but bring your own, because I guarantee if you go once, you’ll go every day!
There are dive shops all over the islands. I wasn’t keen on spending 3-4 days to get my Open Padi cert, so I did Discovery Scuba with Universal diving next door.Apprehensive at first, but always yearning to learn more skills, I did the one hour run down of the diving basics in shallow waters and then I did my first 50 minute dive, up to 12m in depth. It blew me away.
Swimming with local fish. Respect the rules of the ocean!
My first dive with Yuey!
Under the sea: Black tip reef sharks, giant turtles, bump head parrot fish (they are huge), barracuda and plenty of small tropical fish like clowns.
Blue spotted Stingray
Black Tip Reef shark
Clown fish aka Nemo
Giant Turtles
Bumphead Parrot fish, you can hear them eat crunching on coral
Cost of Discovery Scuba dive: RM$270 / S$104
Boat taxi rides: RM$30-$80
TIP: Wear a rash guard, as there can be very tiny jelly fish, that sting for a couple of seconds. Also for the first time in my life I used Banana boat 50 SPF cream and the whole tube. The rash guard helps not looking like lobster and peeling like a burnt potato. Be smart and enjoy your holiday! Also, wherever with the boat taxi’s, bargain, bargain, bargain!
The trick to Scuba is efficiency and breathing, Learn to calm yourself and to take deep breathes inhaling and exhaling.
Eating:
There are a mass of restaurants all up and down the beaches. From Western to Local delights, there is a great range of choice. Don’t expect premium western menus, but do try the Sambal Fried Rice and Sotong.Plenty of seafood, so dig into your hearts content for these kind of prices.
Must Eat: Fried rice, sotong, fried banana and ice-cream, garlic butter prawns. Mars or Snickers milkeshake.
Tip: Visit Nia’s Cafe on the left of Tuna Bay Resort. With lots of attitude, Auntie Nia has setup a little beach hut , which dishes out different Roti Chenai ‘s, Fruit shakes and Lassi’s! Possibly my most preferred eating joint every time I was ravished.
Amazing fresh seafood
Have fun, respect the island rules, don’t touch the coral, clean up after your mess and enjoy the beach
