Perhentian Island
ACTIVITIES
Perhentian Islands are the ideal place to relax and forget about your cares and most people that visit here laze away their days in the sun. Some activities you can do here are snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking or jungle trekking.
Snorkeling
Various operators and resorts offer snorkeling outings around the two islands, ranging anything from one and a half hours to a full day. Trips cost RM35-60 per person, depending on the duration, stop points and whether equipment rental is included or not.
Some of the popular spots for snorkeling are Shark Point, Turtle Point (Teluk Pauh) , Teluk Keke and Tanjung Basi. These points are an amazing snorkeling site with black reef tip sharks, humphead parrotfish, cuttlefish, blue spotted rays and green turtles. If you are lucky, a combination of these stops may mean that you see a turtle, some black tip reef sharks and an abundance of colorful fish and coral all in one trip.
The great location is Teluk Pauh, is right in front of the Perhentian Island Resort (PIR). Right in front of the beach of PIR there is a small strip with underwater sea grass where green turtles go to for food. The chance of spotting a turtle over here is very big.
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving around the Perhentian Islands is a superb experience and many people visit here time and time again to explore the deep. Perhentian Island also is an ideal place to get your scuba diving license.
There are various diving schools on the island and the sea conditions (visibility and currents) are usually perfect for beginners. In Malaysia, you will pay around RM1,100 - RM1,500 for your PADI license, considerably cheaper than in many other parts of the world. If you plan on getting your PADI, you will have to stay on the island for at least 5 days.
There are numerous dive operators on both islands and there is hardly a beach that does not have at least two options for you to choose from for recreational dives or certification. Competition for divers is fierce and consequently diving is quite cheap, averaging out to RM70-90 per dive depending on how many dives you do and whether you bring your own gear. All dive shops also arrange introductory dives (no training required) and PADI training. Take care when choosing your dive center. Look closely at the state of the scuba equipment. Its not only about price, it's also about safety. Ensure that your dive centre is environmentally friendly and takes safety practices seriously.
Some of the top spots are Tokong Laut (Temple of the Sea, also known as the Pinnacle) and the Sugar Wreck. Tokong Laut is a pointed rock protruding from the seabed, surrounded by all kinds of coral and home to numerous species of reef fish and other marine life. The Sugar Wreck is an eerie-looking sunken freight ship that lies at around 15-22m.
Marine life is in abundance here and apart from the many species of hard and soft coral that form the backbone of these ecosystems you can also expect to encounter turtles, several species of sharks, mackerel, jacks, moray eels and various other reef fish.
Kayaking
Each island individually can easily be circumnavigated as an easy day trip, and it is possible to do both islands in a day.
Perhentian Kecil is about 8.5 miles in circumference, and takes about 3 hours of constant easy paddling. There is plenty of opportunity to stop and explore some of the more isolated beaches and snorkel. Perhentian Besar, is about 10 miles in circumference.
There are plenty of places to rent kayaks on both islands. The rental depend on type and condition of the kayak, roughly RM 20 -RM 30 per hour or RM 50 - RM 8O per day.
Jungle Trekking
The islands are crisscrossed by small paths connecting one beach to another, but be prepared to sweat and swat off bugs if you tackle any of these. On both the islands there are a number of jungle trekking trails, there are no roads however. The trails are light and usually don't take more than 30 minutes to complete.
Perhentian is too small to spot real wildlife, but there are monitor lizards, monkeys, fruit bats and some species of birds on the island. Because walking in the heat is not very pleasant for many, you can take water taxis to return to your resort after the hike. When going to secluded locations, come to an agreement on the pickup for the return trip. Expect to pay around RM 10-25 per person for 5-15 minute transfers.
Perhentian Kecil
There is a good chance to see big monitor lizards and large spiders between Long Beach and Coral Bay, and if you are walking off the main trails, you are likely to spot some wild monkeys if you are lucky. There is a paved walking trail from Coral Bay to Mira Beach (30 minutes) and on to Impiani beach (20 mins) and to the main fishing village on Kecil (20 mins). This is a great trail to see monitor lizards
Perhentian Besar
There is a wide trail (30 mins) between Watercolours Paradise and Arwana on Besar, you can see large termite trails, monitor lizards, big fruit bats and sometimes monkeys. The other trail is between The Mama 's Place and The Cocohut Chalet
