Travel: Malaysia - Tioman

[BigDevil]

Can't find a thread on Tioman, so starting one in hopes of attracting inputs.


So when is a good time to go?
Where is a good place to stay?
How many days should I spend there?
What else to do beside sun, sand, and sea?

All inputs are welcome!

[smurf]

Went to tioman many many years ago. It was the nicest beach that I went to. Water is very clean. But now, not sure, especially with inconsiderate patrons.


There are not many hotels and hotels weren’t those five stars kind, thoug simple and clean lah. Think the best hotel is berjaya?

[BlurBee]

Wow, went there many many yrs ago too. :lol:


I think the monsoon season is abt the same as Redang.

[BigDevil]

So it's no longer a popular place to go since both of you went many many years ago.

[verykiasu2010]

year end is the north east monsoon season, water is choppy and risky. mid year is better


year end is good to visit langkawi on the west cost because their monsoon season is the westerly monsoon around the middle of year

just general idea. there should be more experts around

can also google on the tide and rainy season expected before deciding to go

[Cheerfuldad]

In fact, family of five just came back from Tioman last week. We enjoyed our stay at Berjaya Hotel, standard charlet (the only international hotel at the island). We drove there and took a ferry in the morning (RM70 for adult and RM60 for child, two ways). The ferry ride will take 2 hours. On Day 2 we hire a boat to bring us to nearby island for snorkelling and fishing, you can also book other sea activities, eg banana ride, etc from the hotel. On Day 3, we hired a four wheel drive to visit the waterfall and marine park. Marine park is a must as you can see a lot of fishes come to you for food (bread). The rest of the free time, we visited the pool and walked around the beach. During low tide, we managed to catch small crab, star fish, shrimp and sea cucumbers, etc. The kids really enjoyed themselves. Total stays: 4 days 3 nights.


The best time to visit Tioman is between March to Sept period.

[BigDevil]

Thanks for the input, Cheerfuldad!


How was the boat ride? DW is always concerned she might get sea sick.

[bryannn]

We’re Tioman regulars, stayed at all kampongs over the years, apart from Juara.


Tioman is your bread and butter diving snorkeling location; the visibility is reliable, generally good, sometimes excellent, though sometimes less then impressive. If it’s been raining prior to your trip, then expect slightly lower water clarity, as the downpours tend to flush sediment from the hills into the waters below. It settles quickly though, so on most days diving/snorkeling is great. (Barring the NE monsoon months of course, November-February).

The flora and fauna are surprisingly abundant, given the crowds during peak season. There are regular sightings of migrant pelagics, like whale sharks, manta rays, turtles and dolphins. There’s plenty of resident fish too, large and small, and vibrant coral sites too. I guess nature is coping well with the presence of the throngs.

The resorts are mostly ok, nothing all that fancy; even Berjaya is getting slightly long in the tooth. For revelers who just want a roof over their heads, most chalets are good enough, though. But if you insist on hot-water showers that always work, linen that smells fresh, walls that aren’t peeling, and chirpy helpful staff, you’ll find it a bit hard to find a resort to your liking. I suspect that Paya and Sunset Beach may do well on this front, however, as they’re quite new. (We haven’t stayed there yet, but the buzz is promising).

The resort food in Tioman is mostly decent. Best makan we had was at Berjaya, though obviously it’s a bit pricey there.

In short, Tioman is still a stunning natural treasure, a mainstay if you like to dive or snorkel and enjoy raw natural beauty, gorgeous beaches and coconut trees waving in the breeze.

It’s fairly easy to reach for a little get-away island and will definitely deliver an ample dose of blissful peace and quiet.

The ferry takes about an hour, up to two hours if it’s choppy and your resort is located in the northern section of Tioman.

Speaking of choppy, yes, occasionally it gets windy in that neck of the woods. Windy = choppy. Some people may get seasick. But generally, so long as the chop is steady and not the weavy random kind, most people will be ok. In any case, in all our years going to Tioman, we’ve only had one choppy crossing.

If you’d like some specific details on the various resorts, by all means let me know.

[bryannn]

Those thinking of going to Tioman after the Northeast monsoon, now there's no more need to be worrying about ferry ticket availability.


As I mentioned above, we're quite the Tioman regulars and we've found that lately more and more travellers arrive at the Mersing jetty too late to catch their ferry, because by then it's full.

The reason is that until recently you could only buy ferry tickets tickets on the spot, i.e. at the Mersing jetty. This obviously is not ideal, because ferry departure times are fairly irregular die to the tides and the weather.

In practice, this meant that a lot of Tioman-bound travelers are forced to wait for the next ferry out or even stay in Mersing overnight after missing the last ferry to Tioman. A bit of a pain obviously if your resort in Tioman has already been booked for that night.

Anyway, I found this nifty site where you can book your tickets online. See http://www.tiomanferry.com.

[avocado1]

we are thinking of bringing our 2 kids(age 2 and 4) to tioman in june 2012. besides feeding fishes at the beach, will it be possible for them to go snorkeling?


we go to the kids’ swimming pool regularly but they are not swimmers.

also any recommendations for B&B type of accommodation in tioman?

thanks lots!