Perhentian Island
We spent a long weekend in Perhentian as part of our three months in Kuala Lumpur.
The Perhentian Islands are a pair of tropical islands located in the South China Sea, off the northeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. These islands, named Pulau Perhentian Besar (Big Island) and Pulau Perhentian Kecil (Small Island), are renowned for their stunning natural beauty, pristine beaches, and vibrant marine life.
Getting to Pulau Perhentian
You can fly from KL directly to Redang, which has several fancy resorts. This was more of a budget trip, so we decided to fly from KL to Kota Bharu and stay on Pulau Perhentian Besar. I found Tuna Bay Resort online, and after a few WhatsApp messages back and forth, we booked a Super Deluxe Sea View Chalet (which is a fancy name for a basic room on the beach).
The flight to Kota Bharu was around an hour, and after landing, we were greeted by a drive arranged by Tuna Bay. The drive to Kuala Besut also clocked in at about an hour, with little traffic and minimal hustle and bustle due to the observance of Ramadan.
We arrived in Kuala Besut with a few hours to spare before the 2:30pm ferry, so we dropped our bags at the Tuna Bay Resort office and decided to take a walk around town.
Kuala Besut is a small fishing village and was VERY quiet. Basically everything was closed except the 7/11.
It wasn’t a long walk, mainly because the weather was scorching at 34°C/93°F with a whopping 90% humidity. After picking up some cold water and snacks at 7-11, we retreated to the Tuna Bay Resort office for some (emphasis on the “some”) air conditioning. About 10 minutes later, every chair was taken.
Around 2:30, we all gathered and made our way to the jetty. One by one, we paid the conservation fee, which amounts to approximately $6 USD per person and must be paid in cash. The sea was generally calm and the boat ride took about 45-minutes.
Where to stay in Pulau Perhentian
Tuna Bay Resort is situated on a beautiful stretch of beach with powdery white sand and clear turquoise water. There are other accommodations nearby, however it looked like several had been abandoned and others had not yet opened for the season.
Our beachfront chalet had a deck shaded by palm trees.
Meals were in the open-air dining room, with the best items being whatever they were cooking fresh on the grill.
The Beach Box restaurant next door was great for cocktails, though always booked for dinner.
I’d describe Perhentian as a sleepy backpacker island. It’s the perfect place to get away from the chaos of KL and listen to the ocean (and the call to prayer from the adjacent Masjid Ar Rahman mosque).
Snorkeling in Pulau Perhentian
There was surprisingly good snorkelling right in front of the resort, but we booked a half-day private snorkelling tour for our last day. The water was crystal clear, warm, and had sero current, and the reefs were teeming with anemonefish (clownfish). Our only regret is that we didn’t have our big cameras with us – this would have been perfect for shallow scuba diving.
