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Actually, I had imagined the journey to the paradisiacal Perhentian Islands in Malaysia differently. The waves were crashing harder and harder against the little nutshell we were sitting in, and by now I was thinking about how much camera equipment I would have to say goodbye to when the next wave sloshed into the boat, or even worse, we all fell out of the boat.
Funnily enough, I was not afraid for my life or to drown. This may be because I always feel safe in the water and, thanks to years of swimming lessons at a young age, I can move around in it quite well (at least it’s a sport I find easy!). Or the fact that the crossing from the Perhentian Islands back to the mainland takes only forty minutes and leads over fairly clear and well-traveled waters – someone would fish us out of the water if all else failed. And with a life jacket (luckily there was one) and at 27 degrees bathtub water temperature you could stand it for some time in the water. The seemingly rough sea was not the problem, but the not really seaworthy boats that connect the Perhentians with the mainland as water cab or ferry service. On a large ferry, you probably wouldn’t have noticed anything. But they can’t even get close to the Perhentians in the first place. Because there is no port. Asphalted roads? Neither. Buses? Cars? No. None of the above. And so the two Perhentian Islands, Perhentian Besar (the big island) and Perhentian Cecil (the small island), lie like two lost islands off the coast of East Malaysia.
Hey, I’m Tatiana and I’m the blogger behind The Happy Jetlagger. Since 2014, I’ve been sharing my personal travel stories on this blog. I don’t have a big team behind me, so I’m pretty much a one-person show: I’ve researched and tested all recommendations myself!
According to Lonely Planet, the Perhentians are said to be the fifth most beautiful diving area in the world. As a diving novice, I didn’t know that before. In general, I was always suspicious of diving. Water itself is my element, but then really dive down, only with an oxygen tank to breathe, and then the thing with the pressure! Afterwards, I can’t stand the difference in pressure, I have problems with pressure compensation, my ears go crazy, I go nuts, my eardrums burst and won’t recover – and bang, hello, flight incapacitation forever. Pretty stupid as an old flight attendant who doesn’t really want to retrain in her old age. Well, maybe dramatic now, but that’s just me with diving. Sometime in the last few years I approached snorkeling on Koh Phangan – and there I thought for the first time at the sight of colorful coral reefs and cute little fish: Diving might be something after all.
But it took one more snorkel in the Perhentians to really be sure – I’ll be back, and then with more time to dive! Unfortunately I did not take any pictures under water. But I have the most beautiful ones in my head, and that’s worth something: On our snorkeling trip we saw pretty much all the underwater life that the reefs directly at Perhentian Besar have to offer: glowing clownfish, huge and incredibly fast sea turtles and one and a half meter long sharks.
And since it was the end of the season, there were only three of us on the boat anyway. You also didn’t feel like you were invading the underwater world, but could simply enjoy nature. Unfortunately, the end of the season also means the beginning of the rainy season, and so the weather was no longer quite so bright and our guide assured us that the water, which was already smooth as glass for me, would be even smoother, clearer and generally more awesome in the season. I’ll have to take another look at that myself. Because even with bad weather, the Perhentians were quite impressive.
A complete Malaysia round trip is also worthwhile!
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Water cabs serve both islands, and due to limited local capacity, it is advisable on the Perhentians, contrary to general travel habits in Southeast Asia, to look for accommodation in advance. Relatively expensive it is also, Malaysia is anyway not the accommodation paradise Thailand, but here on the islands is staying overnight again a little more expensive. In addition, you can not really provide yourself with food, except for a few small resort stalls with chips and crackers I have not seen much. Lonely island just.
By the way, I had the pleasure of testing accommodations on both islands. Actually, I was only on Perhentian Besar and have visited a day acquaintances on the neighboring island Perhentian Kecil – and noticed that is not so easy with the water cabs that connect the island, against the end of the season. Or sometimes it doesn’t work at all because the swell is too high. So I had to spend an unplanned night on the other island – with nothing but my beach bag. But that’s how the most beautiful stories come about, isn’t it? Anyway, the spontaneous beach party among locals with a few lost tourists like us, who were now already clearly in the minority, pulled it out again. And a little adventure in paradise is never wrong.
So my tip is: Be sure to check out and reserve accommodations beforehand. Then ask yourself what you would rather have: peace and quiet and a family-friendly environment? Then I recommend accommodation on Perhentian Besar. Or are you more in the mood for relaxed hippie style and backpacker atmosphere with occasional nightly fire shows on the beach with cheap booze from the improvised cooler beach bar? Then rather Perhentian Kecil. I liked both, by the way!
Basically, however, both islands are very quiet, there is not much except beach, snorkeling and diving – going out to eat is mostly limited to the resort’s own restaurants, which are, however, freely accessible. And unfortunately, mostly not very good, as I found. But I was probably just still spoiled from foodie heaven Georgetown, where I was before the Perhentians.
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The fabulous water cabs take you from the pier in Kuala Besut to the islands. If you come by plane like me, the nearest airport is Kota Bahru, which can be approached directly from Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Find cheap flights to Kota Bahru* here
From there, it takes another approximately one-hour cab ride to reach the boat dock. Right at the baggage carousel there is also immediately a stand selling cab tickets. There are certainly cheaper solutions, but usually you can find someone to share a cab with. Despite the relatively long distance, it doesn’t cost the earth in my memory. Flights can always be found spontaneously at good prices.
Accommodations are such a thing on the Perhentians. Malaysia is not one of the cheapest countries for budget travelers. On the Perhentians Islands the price level is a bit higher. And the capacities are limited.
Hotels in the Perhentians are best booked in advance!
Find the best prices here*
Especially in the high season, the European summer, it is advisable to book your accommodation in advance. Personally I always find this difficult in Southeast Asia, I rarely book anything further in advance, but on the Perhentians the better options can get booked up quickly. However, one should not have any illusions, the price-performance ratio is not special. Especially the food situation on Perhentian Besar I found difficult, apart from a small store in the Perhentian Islands Resort with lonely chip bags I did not find any possibility to supply myself. So you have to rely on the resorts’ restaurants around the clock, which unfortunately are not very good. Of course, it’s an island to which everything has to be delivered. On Perhentian Kecil the situation seemed a bit better to me, but it is not quite as quiet and tranquil as on Perhentian Besar.
I stayed at The Barat Perhentian*, simple huts near the beach, if you don’t need luxury you should be satisfied. On Perhentian Kecil, there was a lot of construction going on at Long Beach during my stay, so I spontaneously spent a night there at the Rock Garden Resort* This is really mega basic, but somehow also very pretty due to the hillside location. However, this is only for you if you don’t mind climbing stairs, because the cabins are located on a steep slope. All around are new and better facilities. However, the way it seemed to me, it could also become a bit too much in the future.
It is important to note that the season on the Perhentian Islands lasts only from March to October – I was there towards the end of October and while the outward journey was still okay, the return trip by boat was quite a bit more adventurous as described above. Out of season, all resorts close and it gets monsoonally uncomfortable – so the Perhentians are not a year-round paradise.
But if you like paradisiacal beaches and a great underwater world and want to relax, then I can only recommend a trip to the Perhentians!
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