Beaches: Pulau Redang - Malaysian Islands - Malaysia

TELUK DALAM
LOCATION: Located on the northern side of Redang and hosted by the exquisite Berjaya Redang Beach Resort, which is the only resort here.

From Pasir Panjang beach, Teluk Dalam is considered inaccessible. Either you would rent a boat or there is supposedly a jungle trek that connects these 2 beaches, which I have yet to try (estimated to be about an hour walking or so). Otherwise, the most common access is from Shahbandar jetty in Kuala Terengganu, where you would take a Berjaya Resorts boat to the fisherman village jetty in Redang. From the jetty, a minivan would drive you up about 3-km on an outback road to this beach.

DESCRIPTION: This is simply the BEST beach in Redang and probably in the whole of Malaysia. The beach has been featured a lot in Malaysian ads tourism as a "generic" beach that one could find anywhere Malaysia (which is NOT true, not all beaches are created equal *smile*), yet little that everyone knows where exactly is this amazing-looking beach spot.

The sand is powdery soft and you have to be there to believe it. Honestly, this is the softest sand I have even seen throughout Malaysia. The beach is excellent for swimming, but not so much for snorkeling due to lack of any reef, but one couldnt be bothered anyway. Nonetheless, some metres away from the beach is a decent snorkeling spot called Aziz Reef which I did try while frolicking at Teluk Dalam.

PASIR PANJANG KECIL
LOCATION: Pasir Panjang Beach, or affectionately known as Long Beach, is the longest stretch of white sandy beach in Redang. It is located on the eastern side of the island. There are a lot of resorts on this stretch, ranging for basic ones like Redang Reef Resort to the architecturally-wonderful Laguna Redang Beach Resort. The beach has the highest concentration of sun worshippers since almost all of Redangs resorts are located at here.

DESCRIPTION: The water is extremely crystal clear. During the day, the beach is buzzing with a hive of beach activities. There are at least 3 or 4 beach volleyball courts stretching along the shoreline. Occasionally, you can also find the tourists and locals playing beach soccer or futsal.

The mid-section of Pasir Panjang Beach is devoid of any coral growth, providing sun-worshippers with an excellent swimming area. You will be amazed by the colour of the ocean that ranges from deep blue to light milky blue especially during a sunny day.

For avid snorkelers, there is a family of baby sharks roaming around on the far left-end of the beach in a snorkeling spot called Tanjung Tengah. There is 90% chance of you spotting them, so this is an opportunity not to be missed! Otherwise, on the far right hand side is a decent snorkeling spot called Tanjung Mak Cantik which is fronting Redang Reef Resort.

PASIR KALONG
LOCATION: This beach is quite inaccessible. The closest point to get here is from Redang Kalong Resort, at which you would consult any local guy to bring you to Pasir Kalong beach for a meager RM20 for considerable duration. There could be a jungle trek to get here also, but judging from the jagged and rocky cape separating the beaches, it is probably not for the weaker hearts!

The local boatmen were be happy to bring me here and I enjoyed the beach for a few hours, taking photographs and swimming.

Note that this beach is definitely NOT the one fronting Redang Kalong Resort.

DESCRIPTION: I often regard this beach as Redangs best kept secret! Not many articles or photographs have covered this beach but I thought it is one of the best beaches in Malaysia, smiling up there with Redangs Teluk Dalam and Pasir Panjang, as well as Perhentians Teluk Pauh.

As usual, there is no coral at this beach and the white sand is fluffy and powdery soft. The middle section of the beach is excellent for swimming.

PULAU PINANG
LOCATION: Pulau Pinang is located to the south of Redang. The island is also known as "Marine Park" because the administrative office for Terengganu Marine Park authority is located on this small island. Most tour operators will bring tourists here for a snorkeling trip, hence you may as well enjoy the beach.

DESCRIPTION: Yes, this popular snorkeling spot does also have a beach, although most people tend to neglect it. In general, the beach is quite nice, although not comparable to those world-class quality beaches offered in other parts of Redang.

The water is crystal-clear here that you can actually see the corals and fishes down below from the jetty. The sands are rather coarse and somewhat prickly due to coral rubbles. Hence, if you intend to sun-bathe here, I suggest you bring a mat to lie down on.

While the beach itself isnt particularly spectacular, but for those not interested with snorkeling, you can find your spots along the beach for a relaxing time, until the snorkelers finish their routines.

The information on Malaysian Islands is provided by:

ISLANDS OF MALAYSIA The Independent Travel Guides to Malaysian Islands