Beaches: Pulau Perhantian - Malaysian Islands - Malaysia

TELUK PAUH
LOCATION: The beach is located to the northwest of Perhentian Besar (the Big Island). There are two resorts fronting this beach, namely Perhentian Island Resort and Coral View Island Resort.

There are water taxis available for about RM10 per way to get here from the Long Beach at Perhentian Kecil (the Small Island). Crossing the narrow channel that separates this two islands will take about 10 minutes before you get to Teluk Pauh.

DESCRIPTION: The beach is extremely beautiful by any standards. Your first impression would be something like being in a huge natural swimming pool.

Walking from Coral View Island Resort to Perhentian Island Resort will involve passing through elevated wooden planks along the rocky cliffs, hence fantastic views can be enjoyed if you embark on this short walk.

Naturally there are plenty of tourists here, some were sunbathing while reading their favourite novels while the kids definitely were having fun in the clear blue water. To me, the beach is long and wide enough to find a space to call your own.

It comes to no surprise to me when I snorkeled at the beach. The marine life variety is astounding. Not to mention you can easily spot a number of green turtles here too!

PULAU RAWA
LOCATION: Pulau Rawa (not to be mistaken by the one in Johor) is only accessible by snorkeling and diving boats, a 30-minute journey from either Perhentian Besar (Big Island) or Perhentian Kecil (Small Island).

There are no resorts here, hence the water clarity is probably one of the best in Perhentian. Nonetheless, the beach still attracts a hive of activities since most snorkeling day trips will include this island.

DESCRIPTION: The beach is downright beautiful. Crystal-clear water, azure blue ocean, and soft powdery sands are the given attributes that make this beach one of the best within the Perhentian archipelago.

Anyway, the beach is quite small to actually cater for the arriving tourist boats. Nonetheless, I did notice that the beach was far from crowded because most of the visitors will spend the bulk of the time snorkeling in the clear waters surrounding it.

The beach also has some decent snorkeling that can be done by swimming along the rocky outcrops.

LONG BEACH
LOCATION: Located on Perhentian Kecil (Small Island), Long Beach is highly regarded as the center point of activities during the day as well as at night.

It is a long crescent-shaped beach with crystal clear water, excellent for snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing. There are plenty of resorts, from basic to high-end ones, flanking by the beachside.

DESCRIPTION: This highly-reputable beach was supposed to be one of the best beaches in Perhentian, but much to my disappointment, the weather was not cooperating during the time I was there (indeed, 3 days of overcast sky and light drizzles weren’t really the kind of weather you will expect during the peak season).

Nonetheless, even without the help of the sun, I could gauge that the water is indeed clear, and the sands are powdery soft.

The house-reef on the left-most side of the beach is a good leisure snorkeling spot. Most parts of the beach has no corals, making it an excellent spot for swimming.

At sun down, the life becomes abuzz with night activities and events, with Bubu Long Beach Resort hosting hula and fire dance at the beach pub.

TOKONG BURUNG
LOCATION: The island of Tokong Burung (or sometimes called Bird Island) is accessible by boats. The journey will take about 40 minutes from either Perhentian Besar (Big Island) or Perhentian Kecil (Small Island).

DESCRIPTION: The beach is quite beautiful, although for my standard, it is probably one notch below the spectacular beaches at Pulau Rawa or Teluk Pauh.

If you think the beach at Pulau Rawa is small, you may not fancy this beach. It is definitely much smaller because the island itself is made up mostly of towering boulder rocks and not much sandy area. For the more adventurous, you may also climb the rocks to enjoy the bird’s eye view of the island and the beach, pun intended.

You can also do some snorkeling at the island especially around the shallow boulder rocks that are partially submerged underwater. During my snorkeling trip to this area, I thought the visibility was extremely good and the coral as well as marine life varieties were outstanding.

I guess the attraction of Tokong Burung is not on the beach but what lies underneath.

TELUK DALAM
LOCATION: Teluk Dalam is located to the south of Pulau Perhentian Besar. Journey from Kuala Besut jetty will take about 30-45 minutes. There are a number of resorts flanking this long sandy bay such as the Arwana Perhentian, Samudra Beach Chalet, Fauna Bay Chalet, Flora Bay as well as Everfresh Beach.

DESCRIPTION: My first impression was the beach is amazingly long! I think Teluk Dalam is somewhat longer than the much-acclaimed Long Beach (or Pantai Pasir Panjang) in Pulau Perhentian Kecil.

Anyway, in general, the beach leaves much to be desired. The water is not exactly crystal-clear but somewhat murky. There are plenty of white sandy spots that you can pick for sun-bathing, but there is a portion on the eastern end of the beach that is best avoided because of sharp debris, be it natural (dead corals washed ashore) or man-made (glass and plastic bottles, etc).

Also during my visit, the low tide was noticeably significant, exposing bare coral heads and rocky outcrops. In fact, one had to walk some distance away for a decent swim.

Be that as it may, Teluk Dalam is quite secluded and there are plenty of spaces for you and your loved ones. In the afternoon and right before sunset, the beach does come alive with sport activities such as football, volleyball and even kayaking. Some snorkeling can be done on the eastern portion of the beach, but it was nothing particularly interesting except occasional sights of hard corals, giant clams as well as sea anemones.

The information on Malaysian Islands is provided by:

ISLANDS OF MALAYSIA The Independent Travel Guides to Malaysian Islands