“Friendly resort on a beautiful beach” Perhentian Island Resort

We had a fantastic stay at the resort. The staff were very friendly if a little bit laid-back at times. When we arrived there was no-one there to meet our boat and our driver had to resort to shouting at the guys on reception to get their attention. In the end we got ourselves off the boat which wasn’t a problem. The boat ride over had been great fun. There were only a few of us on a speed boat with two 200hp engines. The driver had us going a full throttle and we crashed over the waves on the 25 min trip to the island.

We paid extra for a semi suite on the beach – which was definitely worth it. I had a walk round the rest of the resort and some of the chalets at the back looked a bit tatty. There was also a funny smell down the far end of the resort past reception (stagnant water?). When we arrived we had not been allocated connecting chalets for us and the kids. I queried this and they changed them without a problem. We arrived early (12 noon), which was good for making changes. However, we had to wait for our rooms because check in time is not until 3pm. We got our rooms at 2pm so we had a leisurely lunch in the restaurant while we waited.

The chalet was clean and comfortable. The connecting chalets are the best because they are closest to the beach. We had a lovely veranda where you could sit and drink tea looking out at the clear blue sea. The walls are a bit thin. Luckily it was only our kids whose noise we had to put up with. If they’d been someone else’s it could have been annoying.

The food is OK. You can choose from a standard menu (with European or Malyasian options) which is limited or a buffet. We had the menu for lunch and buffet in the evening. The buffet tries to cater for all tastes and so is a mish mash of cultures. However, there was usually something that suited both me and the kids. Food is quite expensive (about 50RM a head).

The beach is beautiful. The resort pretty much has the whole of a beach to itself. There is another resort at one end but this is on the rocky bit. We went in high season and the resort was full. However, the beach was pretty quiet. Most people were in the sea or out on boat trips. There are reefs at either side of the bay where you can see lots of fish (hire snorkels at 10RM a day from the dive shop). Unfortunately a lot of the coral on the reefs looks dead.

We went on two boat trips. The first to shark point and turtle point (30RM per person) was good and we saw both sharks and turtles. The second trip was even better. We took a boat out to Rawa island (40RM per person) which is uninhabited. The sea here is crystal clear and there is lots of coral. We also stopped at a lighthouse where you can see huge shoals of anchovies. The boat rides in themselves are fun. They have speed boats which they race around in.

We also did a half day Discover SCUBA Diving course for complete beginners. The instructors were very helpful and friendly. The diving was great but my ears complained about it.

The resort provides free safety deposit boxes which we made use of because we had heard tales of robberies on the islands. The resort takes credit cards, which was just as well because we hadn’t brought enough cash to the island to pay for everything we did.

The Perhentian Islands

The Perhentian Islands are a small group of beautiful, coral-fringed islands off the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, not far from the Thai border.

Perhentian (pronounced Perhen-TEE-AHN, not Perhen-SHEN) means "place to stop" in Malay, and the islands got their name as a staging point used by traders traveling from Malaysia to Bangkok.

The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Big Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Small Perhentian"). Kecil attracts more travellers as it has cheaper accommodation, while Besar is a little more expensive and caters more to families and those who want to avoid the backpacker party scene.

The small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara, Seringgi and Rawa lie off Kecil. All the islands belong to a protected marine park, which means that fishing, collecting coral and littering are strictly prohibited.

This being the case, the islands are currently suffering which is soon to result in an environmental catastrophe due to the non-removal of waste, such as bottles, bags and much more.

Garbage barges in the coves/bays are generally being collected by the marine park. However, when they are not, the garbage falls off the barge, washing up on the shores of the beautiful beaches. When you arrive at the jetty in Kuala Besut, you are made to pay a marine park fee, which is used to pay for services such as this.