The two Perhentian Islands are rated as some of the most beautiful islands in the world…a virtual paradise for snorkelling and diving in crystal-clear water or just for lazing on one of the white sandy beaches waiting for the coconuts to drop …
Pulau Perhentian is located in the South China Sea 25 km from the coast of Kuala Besut. It consists of two islands, Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil. Both islands are surrounded by beautiful palm-fringed sandy beaches andcrystal-clear turquoise-blue sea.
All manner of aquatic life is visible both near and far from the beach such as turtles, sharks, coral and thousands of tropical fish. The interior is covered by jungle with a wide variety of species. You can watch monitor lizards, monkeys, geckos, flying squirrels, butterflies and many other types - sometimes right in front of your chalet. There are no roads and not many paths, so the islands are mainly peaceful and untouched - so far.
Tourism is relatively new to these islands, in fact, the past five years have seen rapid increases in tourism numbers and there are now many new rooms and services to accommodate guests. Perhentian is fast developing, possibly too fast.
But there is still not enough accommodation on public holidays, long weekends and in the main season July/August. Therefore you should book your room as soon as possible.
Perhentian Besar is the bigger one of the two islands (Besar means big in Malay, kecil means small). The accommodation is distributed over three very nice beaches. The Teluk Pauh in the north in front of the Perhentian Island Resort, the main beach with most of the resorts at the west coast and Teluk Dalam on the island's south-east coast.
The best beach on the islands is Teluk Pauh, a beautiful half-moon bay with white powdery sand and water as clear as in a swimming pool. There are good coral around the points on either side. Here you can snorkel with some turtles, black tip reef sharks and hundreds of reef fish.
At the western end of the bay a wooden footbridge leads over a few rocks to Coral View Island Resort's small beach, which consists almost only out of broken up coral pieces. The main beach of the island starts at the resort's western side and stretches over 1 km to Abdul's Chalet only interrupted by some rocky headlands. The beach has fine sand with scattered coral pieces and is bordered by many coconut palms.
Teluk Dalam, on the south of the island is a beautiful wide curved bay with a white fine sandy beach. The water is quite shallow here, the corals mostly destroyed. You can laze away in hammocks under shady casuarinas. Here it is in contrast to the other beaches still quite peaceful.
On Perhentian Kecil you find the only village, Kampung Pasir Hantu, which is a cluster of wooden houses, police station, school, clinic and mosque. Accommodation on Kecil is distributed over more beaches than on Besar.
The best and most popular beach of the island is Pasir Panjang (Long Beach) providing dazzling white sandy beach and crystal-clear shallow water. The back of the beach is now almost completely covered with chalets, restaurants and cafes. Better don't expect a peaceful, deserted beach.
Also the many arriving and leaving boats are quite noisy. Those who have been here before will probably be disappointed about the way Long Beach has been developed. But nevertheless it is still a fantastic beach, even if it's not unexplored any more. The atmosphere is meant more for the young and adventurous (backpackers, in their twenties) for even though it is quite relaxing and laid back, it is still quite rugged. You can hang out in one of the many cafes, play beach volleyball, go diving or just laze away on the beach.
Please note that waves at Long Beach can be quite high and hazardous at times, so there is a chance that boats cannot land. If that is the case, you will have to take a 15-minute walk to Long Beach from Teluk Aur on the other side of the island.
Teluk Aur (also known as Coral Bay) is not as attractive as Long Beach, but it is not so crowded - yet. There are good corals for snorkelling in the bay and around the short beach behind the Rajawali Resort. Further more here you get a great view of the breathtaking Perhentian sunsets.
The rest of Perhentian Kecil's beaches are more secluded and peaceful. They are home to only one resort each or are entirely uninhabited.
source: perhentian.com.my
