Tioman or Perhentians?

[Robertson]

Hi all,

I am wondering whether it would be better to go to Tioman or Perhentians for a week of diving at the beginning of May? I've heard the Perhentians are a bit more of a "party island" and Tioman is quieter?

Thoughts and advice?

Also, any recommended dive shops?

Thanks!

 

[Zippsy]

You are coming all the way from Canada to go to one of these places??? These are great places to do weekend dives from Malaysia / Singapore IMHO but if I was coming this far, I'd put several dozen places before these two sites. Do you have to be limited to islands off the coast of peninsular Malaysia for some reason?

BTW, I'm not knocking the diving at these places but they don't stack up to equally accessible places around east Malaysia, Philippines & Indonesia.

 

[Quero]

You are coming all the way from Canada to go to one of these places??? These are great places to do weekend dives from Malaysia / Singapore IMHO but if I was coming this far, I'd put several dozen places before these two sites. Do you have to be limited to islands off the coast of peninsular Malaysia for some reason?

BTW, I'm not knocking the diving at these places but they don't stack up to equally accessible places around east Malaysia, Philippines & Indonesia.

Hmmmm. Not sure I agree that Robertson is necessarily narrowing options to second-rate choices when looking at east coast Malaysia destinations, particularly if relatively easy diving and gaining experience and bottom time are considerations. While it's true that there are many--justifiably more famous--dive destinations in the SEA region, east-coast Malaysia offers good, relaxed diving. Having said that, I should probably also say that my personal favorite east-coast diving is off Tenggol Island rather than Tioman or Perhentian.

And, at least for me (based in KL), East Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia are all *far less* accessible for short trips because, in addition to the increased travel time getting there (a whole day's journey to Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai from K.L., for example), they inevitably involve flights, which in turn result in no-fly days on the return :frown: Even if you decide to fly to Tioman or Redang (for Perhentian), you get there much quicker than to East Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines. (As opposed to Thailand, which you can also get to quickly and easily).

More to the question of Tioman vs. Perhentian in regard to a party atmosphere, you can find peace and quiet or revelry either place.

 

[Zippsy]

Mi amigo... I'm sure you love Tenggol, Perhentian and Tioman as much as I do but if you were flying 24 hours to get to Asia, what is another little bit of time to get to a much nicer spot than our little islands. If he's flying through KL or Singapore, he can be diving in Bali almost as soon as Tenggol. If he flies direct to Manila, he can be underwater near Cebu faster than coming direct to KL then Tioman.

Again, I'm not knocking our neck of the woods; just thinking that he can get more bang for his expensive airfare than we can offer.

 

[Robertson]

Thanks for the info. Just to clarify, the "he" is a she, and I'm not flying from Canada just to go to Tioman. Not that I don't love SE Asia, but it's not worth the 36+ hrs of travelling for me...

I'm already in Asia, Singapore to be exact, and I'm just looking for a quick and easy getaway for a few days where I can do some diving. Cebu is definitely noted and is next on my list, but for Malaysia I'm just looking for a trip of max 4-5 days. Bali, done it but definitely want to go again sometime soon.

Thanks!

 

[jiveturkey]

I didn't make it to Tioman but I'ved dived Redang and the perhentians. Very good value in my opinion. Lots of things to see and for very cheap. I heard Tioman was too commercial so I chose the more northern islands.

 

[ssra30]

If you are thinking of the Philippines, Puerto Galera is definitely easy to get to. Fly into Manila then the resort will arrange to pick you up, 2 hours car ride then about 45 minutes boat ride so you can get there in one day easily. Diving there is excellent, not much in term of palegics but lots of macro stuff, some decent coral here and there and nice easy dives where most divesites are within minutes from the resorts.

 

[Hank49]

Thanks for the info. Just to clarify, the "he" is a she, and I'm not flying from Canada just to go to Tioman. Not that I don't love SE Asia, but it's not worth the 36+ hrs of travelling for me...

I'm already in Asia, Singapore to be exact, and I'm just looking for a quick and easy getaway for a few days where I can do some diving. Cebu is definitely noted and is next on my list, but for Malaysia I'm just looking for a trip of max 4-5 days. Bali, done it but definitely want to go again sometime soon.

Thanks!

I've been to Tioman and Redang. I liked Redang a bit more. Maybe it was luck but it had better vis than the three times I went to Tioman. But if you're in Singapore, Tioman is about 5 hours closer. And Perhentian is even farther.

 

[isurus]

I've been to Tioman and Redang. I liked Redang a bit more. Maybe it was luck but it had better vis than the three times I went to Tioman. But if you're in Singapore, Tioman is about 5 hours closer. And Perhentian is even farther.

JMHO but personally I thought Perhentian was different class to Tioman. I just loved it. I dived with Coral Sky Divers who I thought were excellent - very thorugh briefings when I was there. A dive I really liked if you get the chance was one they call mystery reef. Its deep (30m-ish) with low viz but is absolutely stuffed with more unusually critters - no real reef stuff but loads of small sharks, scorpionfish, stonefish etc. a bit different from typical E. Malaysian dives.

 

[Zippsy]

... Just to clarify, the "he" is a she, and ...I'm already in Asia, Singapore to be exact, ....

Now that's a horse of a different color! You'll be able to find quiet places and good diving in Perhentian, Tenggol, Redang AND Tioman but with 4 or 5 days, the first three would be on my list. Weekday diving from Tioman is a little harder to come by although I'm sure you could find some people to dive with. Finally, Tioman too commercial? That's new to me - it must have happened in the last couple of weeks since I was last there. My vote would be in the order Perhentian, Redang, Tenggol then Tioman for an extended trip.

If you are in Singapore for a long enough period to consider changing the location under your avatar, you might also want to do weekend trips to Tioman or Aur.