Perhentian Islands are slowly developing as a popular tourist destination in Malaysia. The Perhentian Islands consist of two main islands, which are Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil which means big and small islands. The other ones are uninhabited.
Perhentian islands are not the biggest islands in Malaysia but offer amazing views of their crystal clear blue water and sandy beaches. Where you can go scuba diving, snorkeling, and swimming or enjoy the bars, and restaurants dotted along the beach. Or you can go exploring the island.
In this post, we will go through things to do in the Perhentian Islands Malaysia. Let’s get started!
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Where Is Perhentian Islands Malaysia?
The Perhentian Islands are a small group of beautiful islands off the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu.
Best Time To Visit Perhentian Islands
The Perhentian Islands have tropical temperatures staying close to around 30°C (86°F) all year round. The best time to visit the Perhentian Islands is between February and August.
October and February are the monsoon season that brings stormy conditions and heavy rain.
Are Perhentian Islands Worth Visiting?
The Perhentians Islands is a traditional beach getaway. Other than beach activities such as sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving but other than that there is not a whole lot to do. Partying is a hit or miss depending on how busy it is. Perhentian Islands are worth visiting if you enjoy the beach but not if you don’t.
Things To Do On Perhentian Island Malaysia
Perhentian Islands may be a small set of islands in Malaysia but it is only a beach destination there are interesting things to do that will keep you busy for a few days while you are in Perhentian Islands.
Here is our list of things to do in Perhentian Islands Malaysia.
Go Snorkelling or Scuba Diving
The first thing to try when you visit Perhentian Island is to go snorkeling or scuba diving. Perhentian Islands have clear blue water with a wide variety of sea life. It is a great place to go snorkeling or scuba diving, to see the sea life and coral reefs.
You can rent some snorkeling tools or scuba diving equipment nearby and they will tell you where the best spots are. This is a fantastic opportunity, especially if you have never tried these before.
Enjoy Perhentian Kecil Beaches
Perhentian Kecil is one of the islands that you can visit because it offers some awesome beaches. This is a place where you should try and go snorkeling. Or you can relax on the beach and soak up the sun or go swimming.
Most visitors prefer Perhentian Kecil island because it has a good range of resorts and a beautiful beach.
Visit Long Beach
Pantai Panjang or Long Beach is one of the reasons to visit the Perhentian Islands. As the name suggests, the beach is quite long and it forms a crescent moon. It is a beautiful and clean beach, that offers an awesome snorkeling spot.
Long Beach has no coral and it is a great place to go swimming. When the night comes, you can enjoy the amazing shows that are held by Bubu Long Beach Resort such as fire dance and hula dance.
Visit The Fisherman Village
If you are curious about how the local people live and what they do for a living. You can head to a fisherman’s village to mingle with the local people who work as fishermen.
The village is located on the Perhentian Kecil Island. The village is also completed with a lot of facilities such as schools, firefighters, a police office, and a village clinic.
If you come from a modern lifestyle it is a great chance to see how the locals live on this island and to interact with the community.
See The Big D’Lagoon Windmill
When you want to travel from one place to another place on the Perhentian islands, you can rent a water taxi that will take you along the coast. Where you can see the D’Lagon Windmill.
D’Lagon Windmill is a generator that provides electricity for the local community. The view of the windmill offers a great photo opportunity as you can also see the amazing scenery of the island.
Visit The Turtles At Turtle Bay
Since the Perhentian island is a set of small islands, you can easily get to beaches and areas where you can see some turtles. You can go to Turtle Bay where you will find loads of turtles there.
The location is also not far from Teluk Pauh. It only takes about 10 minutes by boat to get to Turtle Bay. Also, you can go snorkeling or scuba diving at Turtle Bay.
Try The Local Food
After you finish exploring Perhentian Island, you might be feeling hungry. Why don’t you try to take a rest at some restaurants available on the island?
In this case, you can also enjoy some typical meals of Malaysia such as Nasi Lemak, Asam Laksa, Nasi Kandar, and much more. Make sure that you choose a restaurant that has a direct view of the beach while eating.
How To Get To Perhentian Islands Malaysia?
To get to the Perhentian Islands, you will need to first get to Kuala Besut (port city for Perhentians).
From the port, there are several boat operators in Kuala Besut offering boat services to the Perhentian Islands, which takes about 30 to 45 minutes by speed boat and one and a half hours by slow boat.
Here are several ways to get to Kuala Besut. The bus is properly the cheapest and best option.
From Kuala Lumpur
Some buses travel from Kuala Lumpur Sentral to Kuala Besut. This journey takes about 9 hours.
From Penang/Langkawi
Get the bus from Butterworth to Kuala Besut. The journey takes about 8 hours.
USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES
Book Accommodation
Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.
Booking Flight
Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.
Booking Transportation & Things To Do
Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.
Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.
Wrapping Up
Finally, as you see there is a decent range of things to do in Perhentian Islands Malaysia that will keep you busy for a few days. Most of the activities are beach-related as it is mostly a beach destination. Perhentian Islands are worth visiting if you enjoy the beach but not if you don’t like the beach.
And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on things to do in the Perhentian Islands Malaysia has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.
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