[phamilyman]

This is a triplog of an in progress trip (written at site ) of this awesome island where I have not seen any indians, and hence this TL to make folks aware of the awesome beauty of this place: Perhentian Island.
http://www.perhentian.com.my/

I was in KL for some work, and had the weekend free. You can take the bus from KL to Kuala Besut (cheap at only 40 MYR) but please book in advance. I ended up deciding literally last minute and had to go to Kota Bharu, and then take a second city bus from there.

The ferry ride costs MYR70 round trip. It is definitely stiff but is FUN and bone-rattling for all the bumps you endure.

I will stop talking now and let the pics (excuse the crappy blackberry pics but I had no camera!) do the talking.

I stayed at Abdul's Chalet. Nice and decent for the price (#1 B&B on tripadvisor for a reason

That's all for tonight, folks

Twice I have been timed out, so here are the pics:
Kuala Besut from where u start:


The first view!


Approaching:


My resort/jetty:



My room:



The view:



The food:





The views:








What is most awesome is that you have really world class snorkelling AT the beach itself. Pristine and unbelievable.

Cheapest way to do it?
Take an overnight bus from KL - 40 MYR one side.
Take the 8am ferry, return by the 5/6pm ferries. Take the night bus onwards

No hotel required if u just wish to touch/go.

[girishglg]

Say this is real education of one of the yet another hidden beauties of our very own Earth! Truly greatful for brining it out in the open.

Malaysia has many nice getaways on offer, some are now quite popular such as Langkawi but some of these are tiny jewels.

One thing that really stands out is the amount of decent infrastruture that has been built around these destinations, which get the tourists drawn to them sooner or later. This is sorely lacking in our destination and added to that the issue of cleanliness or say the lack of it

[SS-Traveller]

Looks like a very relaxing place to spend a few days in, doing nothing. The food looks enticing (never a good idea to look at food pics before dinner! ), and the beach and deck chairs look super-inviting!

How about a research roundup of the other hotels available on Perhentian? And what are the tariffs like at this time of year?

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Say this is real education of one of the yet another hidden beauties of our very own Earth! Truly greatful for brining it out in the open.

Malaysia has many nice getaways on offer, some are now quite popular such as Langkawi but some of these are tiny jewels.

One thing that really stands out is the amount of decent infrastruture that has been built around these destinations, which get the tourists drawn to them sooner or later. This is sorely lacking in our destination and added to that the issue of cleanliness or say the lack of it

This has limited getaways, no infra by itself. There are no roads on the big island (like Koh Phi Phi) - i didnt go on the smaller one. You just walk on the beach. It is mostly forest - untouched unlike India.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Looks like a very relaxing place to spend a few days in, doing nothing. The food looks enticing (never a good idea to look at food pics before dinner! ), and the beach and deck chairs look super-inviting!

How about a research roundup of the other hotels available on Perhentian? And what are the tariffs like at this time of year?

Tariffs are like 150-220 MYR at Abdul's (#1 B&B). Others are 250 MYR+ easily.
http://www.tunabay.com.my/2013_Room_With_Breakfast.html is #1 hotel.

I don't normally post triplogs. I posted this because I was the only Indian around - which is a shame!

[Lukeskywalker]

Have always looked for first hand reviews of these beautiful islands, thanks a lot for sharing. How good is the place for a family getaway and how many days is an ideal vacation here?

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Have always looked for first hand reviews of these beautiful islands, thanks a lot for sharing. How good is the place for a family getaway and how many days is an ideal vacation here?

Thanks and welcome.

a. Define "family getaway" - each family is different. If your family loves water sports and vistas, it is nice. That said, it is a snorkeling/diving heaven. There is little else to do. Unlike phuket, you can't get a "family suite with xBox room type resorts. There are a few more premium ones, but nothing too grand with too many facilities.
b. I spent 8hours / day just snorkeling. It depends on you. I would suggest 2 days here is nice - i.e one night hotel stay only.

[Lukeskywalker]

a. Define "family getaway" - each family is different. If your family loves water sports and vistas, it is nice. That said, it is a snorkeling/diving heaven. There is little else to do. Unlike phuket, you can't get a "family suite with xBox room type resorts. There are a few more premium ones, but nothing too grand with too many facilities.

Yes, my wife and kid love playing in the water, what I meant was, how habitated and safe does it feel? How safe are the beaches? And you already have spoken about the accommodation so that is answered. Thanks.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Yes, my wife and kid love playing in the water, what I meant was, how habitated and safe does it feel? How safe are the beaches? And you already have spoken about the accommodation so that is answered. Thanks.

There are about 20 resorts total on each island, the second island has a fishing village, so couple of hundred people in that. Do the math

The beaches are a bit sharply sloping but the waves aren't strong. The sharp slope is helpful because the corals are literally 25m from the shoreline. You can easily head out some 100m into the water before there is a demarcation and the fishing trawler / speedboat (transportation mode) zone starts.

That said, at the major points, there always a few people (20-25) by indian standards, around. But no lifeguards per se.

[phamilyman]

Oh, and for your reference, morning and evening, atleast where I stayed (near the park center) you will easily find 10-30 life jacketed folks snorkeling in the waters. So there's always someone around. At the rocky outcrop I showed, you have 15-20 people as well at most times.

[phamilyman]

Oh, and how to get there?
The relevant bus station for north / east (Kelantan, Terengganu and parts of Pahang) is Hentian Putra. Unlike the awesome TBS station, here you need to go to every small counter (most staff have a mild challenge with English) and ask for availability.

You can also try online at http://www.eticketing.my/ but the interface is crappy and quite rudimentary - you need to register for each bus service separately, and half have weird sales logic that lets you buy tickets in one direction but not the reverse etc. That said, the website will tell u whether any tickets are still left or not (during national holidays, it is sold out 1-2 weeks in advance).

The buses of the main operators (Mutiara, Seni, Mahligai, Perdana, Cepat, Mara Liner etc) are good (i.e bit better than good Indian volvo services). Prefer double decker buses over single decker anyday.