Travel: Malaysia - Tioman

[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!

[osim]

bryannn:

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

We were in Tioman 2 weeks ago. We had a lovely time. Stayed at Berjaya Tioman and the rooms were so clean and comfortable. Service was prompt.

We had only 3D2N. Went snorkeling at Coral Island and Renggis Island. It was exciting for my kids as it was their 1st time snorkeling in the deep blue sea. The corals and the fish were awesome.

We also went jungle trekking. The trail was quite challenging as some parts have to use rope to help but was rewarded with a dip at a small waterfall. We were the only one there so our time at the waterfall was like a private family activity, the guide just lie on a rock and took his nap.

I wish to check with you. Would Juara be a better place to stay. The beach at Berjaya has a lot of dead coral chips and can cut our feet. Heard the best beach is at Juara but there not good for snorkeling.

We never see whale, dolphin or turtles. The corals in the sea bed were not as colorful as We expected. Guess all mati already. What's the best spot to snorkel?

On the whole we enjoyed Tioman but would like to try other islands. If we drive there, where is the safest place to park in Mersing?

[joyceharper]

This was one of my considerations for a holiday - but everyone I talk to seems to say it’s a diver’s spot? I was looking for something a little bit less adventurous.


Is there anything to do in Tioman other than diving?

[bryannn]

Sorry, late reply, but, as they say, better late than never


Actually, I found there's plenty to do in Tioman. Examples? Snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, swimming, fishing, golf, tennis, karaoke, lounging by the pool, lounging by the beach, caving, fishing, stand up paddling, jetskiing, wakeboarding, sailing. And now they even have sea walking. Yes, sea walking, which is walking along the bottom of the sea, allowing you to see all the beautiful corals and gorgeous fishes without your hair even getting wet - awesome.

Of course we didn't do all of these activities. But we could have, because they're there and they're quite accessible. And fairly low-cost too, since the Ringgit is pretty low at the moment.

So, yeah, lots to do. And foodies will have a blast too, because there's a lot of makan stalls all over the place.

Enjoy!



Edit: typo.

[I_belive]

better late than never! Thanks!