Perhentian Islands – Hidden Paradise in Malaysia [Full Guide]

Perhentian Islands (Pulao Perhentians, in Malay) are a couple of Islands on the northeast coast of Malaysia, not very far from the Thai border, that stole our hearts! In this article, we will share everything you need to know, from tips to personal recommendations, so you can have an experience as good as ours in these incredible islands.

After 8 months in Asia, we can surely say, the Perhentian Islands were the most paradisiac place we were! And, without a matter of doubt, the favorite place of our 3-month trip around Malaysia. White sand beaches, crystal clear waters, beautiful sunsets, and incredible marine life. Great vibes and during the night lots of fire shows and social life below millions of stars. Perhentian Islands will offer you this and much, much more!

Content List

• Which island to choose
• When to go
• How to get there
• How to move around
• Where to stay
• Best to do
• Where to eat
• Security
• Top advices

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Which island to choose

Perhentian Islands are a couple of very different islands. Both are super beautiful with amazing beaches and incredible marine life, but there are some differences that you should know before you make your decision!

The smaller one (Perhentian Kecil) is more active, and has more low and mid-end options, being more popular among backpackers. The nightlife only happens on the east coast of this island, so if you choose Perhentian Besar you will need to take a taxi-boat to have some fun! The only local village (with police, medical installations, and markets) is also in Perhentian Kecil.

The big island (Perhentian Besar) is quieter, with fewer people around, and has more mid and high-end options, being more popular among families and vacationers.

We opted to stay in Perhentian Kecil for the majority of our stay with a short break in Perhentian Besar. We loved our decision, and if we ever get back to Perhentian we will do the same!

Related: Ultimate Travel Essentials – 3 things you can’t forget for your next trip!

Best time to go to the Perhentian Islands

Due to the eastern monsoon season, the best time to visit the Perhentian Islands (and any other east-coast island) is between March and October.

Outside of this period, seas are rough, skies are covered and most of the accommodation options are closed. Even if you get a room, most of the restaurants and shops (water, food, common items, etc) will be closed. There will be only some options in the local village. Be careful, some travel agents may induce you in error!

We stayed for three weeks in May and the sun smiled at us every day 🙂

How to get to the Perhentian Islands?

There is only 1 way to access the Perhentian Islands and that is by speed boat from the small fisherman village of Kuala Besut (35RM/person each way).

From Kuala Lumpur to the Perhentian Islands, you must first head to Kota Bharu, Jerteh, or Kuala Terengganu to reach Kuala Besut. 

Foreigners pay a marine fee for maintenance of the island 30RM (~ 6€), and locals pay 5RM.

Tip: If you go in the first boat to the island, at 7 am, you will not have to pay this maintenance fee, since the counter isn’t open yet.

Transportation on Perhentian Island

The only transportation available on both islands is relatively cheap taxi boats. Fares vary from 5 to 25RM/person around and between islands. Even though prices are fixed and shown on boards, you can negotiate a little bit, sometimes.

Walking and trekking are also an option, especially in Perhentian Kecil. There is a path all around the island. Conditions are not perfect since these roads haven’t had maintenance for a long time, however, it’s cool trekking in nature where you can find some amazing beaches empty just for you.

Tip: Don’t be like us, give it between 2-3 hours. It’s not a very good path to do without daylight.

Where to stay in the Perhentian Islands

Perhentian Kecil

Perhentian Kecil has several options for low, mid, and high budget spread in 2 different zones. Coral Bay and Long Beach are 2 amazing beaches 10 min walk from each other. We recommend staying in Coral Bay since it is a smaller and quieter beach. The night scene only happens in Long Beach and the sunset can only be watched from Coral Bay (an important point for us!).

Our accommodation recommendations are:

Low Budget [$]

Tropicana Inn – Bed in a dorm for 30 RM in the middle of both beaches (the cheapest option)
Maya – Private room 50RM in Coral Bay (the cheapest private room)
Butterfly – Private room 60RM at the end of Coral Bay (best views in contact with nature)

Mid – High Budget [$$-$$$]

(we didn’t stay in any of these, but heard and investigated a lot)

Ombak ($$) – Great location in Coral Bay, several activities including a dive center
Keranji Beach Resort ($$) – Beachfront bungalows on a private and quiet beach 20 min from Coral Bay
Mimpi Perhentian ($$$) – A beautiful and modern resort at the beachfront in Long Beach.

Perhentian Besar

In Perhentian Besar, we recommend staying at the Barat Beach Resort. It’s in a central location on the island, super comfortable and the food is just unbelievable! The Wi-Fi is one of the few working properly on the islands.

Related: 7 Types of Accommodation for Different Travel Styles

Best things to do in Perhentian Islands

Prepare to embrace island life. Laidback atmosphere, shiny sun, clear waters… It does not need much creativity for a paradise island, right? Just relax and enjoy the clear and warm waters while working on your tan on a tropical white-sand beach.

The marine life on the islands is incredible and it is mandatory to do Snorkeling or Scuba Diving. Kayaking is also an option as well as visiting the turtle conservation volunteers.

At night you can start by watching a movie session while eating popcorn in Ombak every day at 7:30 pm (we did this like 10 times lol). After that, we recommend heading to Long Beach, where an awesome fire show will take place around 10:30 pm, followed by dancing music around some drinking Kiosks. It happens every day and it is amazing to meet new people, have some fun dancing or just be impressed by the fire artists!

Snorkeling in Perhentian

Snorkeling in the Perhentian islands was probably the best experience of our 8 month trip around Asia. It was just unreal, and it didn’t take long for us to get addicted to it and want to repeat it every single day. The huge diversity and amount of coral reef surrounded by thousands of different fishes of every color and size you can think of. We were swimming with sharks, turtles, and stingrays daily and that experience is not possible to describe!

Many reef sharks roam around the island and even knowing they are harmless to humans we felt for our lives when we encountered some bigger ones haha. But I guess this is the adrenaline that makes it such an unforgettable experience, right?

Many tours will take you to the best snorkeling spots (starting at 40 RM/person) but it’s not needed.  We recommend renting gear, asking locals about the best areas around, and exploring by yourself. Our favorite area was around the Romantic beach (probably the most beautiful beach we have been to despite all the trash) but you will find great snorkeling everywhere. All you need to do is swim near the rocks and you will be mind-blown with what you will discover.

Tip: To get to Romantic Beach without having to pay for a taxi boat, you can swim from the beach in front of Rosmary cafe.

Scuba Diving

Perhentian Island is a very popular destination for first-time and beginner divers. There are dozens of diving schools and the diving community is huge! The license is cheaper than in many other places and you can even have a non-license dive for 20-25$. It might be a good place to start diving, even though you’ll be totally satisfied with only snorkeling (like we did).

Visit Rawa Island

4 secondary islands near Perhentian (Rawa, Tokong Kemudi, Susu Dara, and Serenggeh) are worth visiting. You can get a day or half-day tour and visit all of them with a group, or just grab some friends and get a taxi-boat to Rawa Island and set the time for pick up back to the main islands (like we did). There are no infrastructures on these islands, but Rawa has an incredible paradise beach, which can be all yours if you are lucky.

Also, if you are crazy enough (like us), you can visit Tokong Kemudi Island by swimming from Rawa Island. It’s still a 30-minute swim so, if you feel the courage to do it, take with you a floater, so you can rest and feel safer.   

Trekking in Perhentian Islands

The nature in the islands is beautiful and it is not only inside the water. There is a trek through the jungle around the small island (Kecil) which is great for a day trip. Enjoying nature, visiting some amazing and empty beaches as well as stopping in the local village for a traditional meal (fresh fish/seafood). Amazing!

Where to Eat in Perhentian Islands

There are plenty of great and economical places to eat. We recommend enjoying the traditional food or the popular barbecues (of fresh fish) on the island. We haven’t tried every place but after 3 weeks, our best recommendations are:

Perhentian Kecil

Ewan’s cafe ($) – On the way to Long Beach – Great price/quality. Where we used to have our big breakfasts.
Amelia’s cafe ($) – Situated in Coral Bay – Cheapest cafe/restaurant/mini-market in the island (with humble conditions).
Rosmary cafe ($)– On the way to Romantic Beach – the Best place to eat local food.
Ombak Restaurant ($$) – Situated in Coral Bay – you will find the prices more expensive, but the quality and the service will make it worth it!
BuBu Resort (Santai) ($$) – Situated in Long Beach – also more expensive, but it has delicious Thai dishes at 3 € and you can (for a change) enjoy some (good) wifi time.

Perhentian Besar

Barat Resort Restaurant ($$) – The food is awesome and the prices are not much bigger than in the local restaurants. Also, don’t think twice about trying a mango smoothie there, is their specialty and it’s amazing!

Are Perhentian Islands safe? – Security tips

While we were there (May 2018), we heard some reports of break-ins and thefts in Kecil Island, however, we never felt unsafe or seen anything! You just have to be prudent and never walk alone during nighttime and always keep your belongings in sight. Sometimes locals even advise you to keep your flip-flops with you, but honestly, some basic cautions may keep you safe.

The police and medical presence on the island are almost minimal. There is a small medical reception a police station in the local village and a small police post in Ombak Cafe in Coral Bay. Closed on weekends and holidays.

Our recommendation, based on personal experience, is: don’t take risks and Heymondo. Why? Because sh*t happens… And in case it does, the last thing you want is to be worried about where to get good medical attention without exploding your wallet. Or screw up your trip because your cell phone was stollen.

We recommend Heymondo because they are made for travelers with the best prices on the market, flexible plans, and high medical coverage.

Related: Is Travel Insurance really worth it? Everything you need to know

Top tips for Perhentian Islands

• The maintenance fee when entering the island is only charged between 8 AM and 5 PM, which means you can avoid the fee outside of this period. The first boat leaves at 7 AM and, if you have a group big enough, you can manage to get a boat after 5 PM. We are happy to share this information since the maintenance fee is not going for maintenance of the island, and you can easily see that.
• Wifi is a luxury on the island, consider an offline experience. Even though many cafes claim to have Wi-fi, it is normally super slow. It is a good chance to be offline for some time (we did it and we loved it). If you need it, we recommend BuBu Resort in Long Beach. You can access their high-speed Wi-fi by consuming at least 10RM/person (~2$) and, even though the prices are not cheap, the Wifi is great and the food is amazing (card only above 80RM)!

• AVOID PLASTIC. Such beautiful islands but with huge problems with plastic. There isn’t much awareness on the topic and you’ll see plastic everywhere. Avoid consuming plastic and OBVIOUSLY don’t throw it anywhere you go. If you see anyone throwing plastic to the ground don’t be afraid to give them a lesson. Maybe you’ll create awareness not only in that person but also in everyone around. Also, try to pick up some plastic trash before you leave the water/the beach, we always did this and you will also see some divers doing the same!
• Refill water bottles. Water is a precious good in the islands but avoid buying new bottles. You can refill your old bottles in an automatic machine in Amelia cafe (1RM per 1.5L) or in Senja Hotel (2RM per 1.5L), both in Coral Bay. Probably there is also a machine in Long Beach, but we didn’t look for it.
  You can also save money and plastic, by getting a good filtered bottle.
• There is no ATMs on the island, and places accepting card payments are not many, so we advise you to take cash from Kuala Besut. If you run out of cash you can get a cash advance from Tropicana Inn with a 10% charge.

Related: Ultimate Travel Essentials – 3 things you can’t forget!

• Prepare before getting on the island. The resources are limited on the island and, when existent, are almost double-priced. Make sure you get everything you need before getting on the island (hygiene products, repellent,  packed food, snacks, cigarettes, sunscreen, etc).
• Be careful with the sun. Especially when swimming or snorkeling. It can get strong and you can get easily burned. It’s worth a minute or two for precaution.
• Perhentian Island is probably one of the worst places we have ever been regarding mosquitoes. It can get seriously annoying, especially after 5 PM, but if you don’t forget to protect yourself it is ok… (Don’t forget to bring your mosquito repellent before getting to the island)
•  The majority of the electricity in the islands is provided by generators and, in a few cases, solar panels and wind turbines. Blackouts will happen daily in most of the places in the afternoon. Take it into consideration! This means no air con, charging phones, or refilling water bottles, so make sure you take care of these things during the night time.

Once again, these are our humble recommendations after three super happy weeks in the Perhentian Islands. We probably forgot some things but if you feel there are some things that should not be missing, please leave a comment. That will help us and everyone that reads this.

We loved our time there, and we really hope you enjoy yours too! 

Share it with someone that might go to Malaysia soon!