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If you are visiting Penang, and have extra time, and wonder what to do, why not visit Pulau Payar or Langkawi? Langkawi is situated on the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, very close to Penang Island. It is not the best in Malaysia, the best ones are in Sabah and in the east coast of the peninsular Malaysia i.e. Redang and Perhentian Island in Terengganu

Langkawi

If you enjoy snorkelling or diving but havn’t got extra time to visit other Malaysian beaches (In my previous post), then you could take a Ferry to Pulau Payar, Langkawi for a dive or just snorkelling, It is 1 hour away from Penang jetty. There are only 2 ferries that brings you there, the ferry leaves the jetty at 8am and 8.30am everyday and brings you back in the evening. You will have lunch there as well but there aren’t any hotels around, it is just for snorkelling and diving purposes. The water is very clear, as good as the water in Phuket, Thailand, you get to swim with the sharks too

Berjaya Langkawi Beach and Spa resort

If you want to stay in Langkawi, you can go by the same ferry, but it takes a longer duration, approximately 2.5 hours to get there, but there are plenty of hotels in Langkawi, and many activities you can enjoy whilst you are there. My family and I have stayed in Berjaya Langkawi Beach and Spa resort in the past and we absolutely loved it.

Lumut and Pangkor Island, Perak

If you like to play golf, you can visit Swiss Garden Golf Resort and Spa Damai Laut in Lumut, Perak, it is 3 hours drive from Penang. There is really nothing much to do if you stay in Damai Laut, Lumut, but if you do not want the hassle of traveling by ferry to pangkor, and worrying about car parking etc, then this would be ideal just for a relaxing holiday.

The hotel is quite isolated from the city centre, if you want to drive out to town for food i.e. in Setiawan, it would take about 30 minutes drive. But it is worth driving if you have nothing much to do, the food in Kampung Cina (Chinese village) is really good, and there are more than 10 chinese restaurants you can choose from, they are equally good. When you are in Setiawan, you must order their coconut drink, its famous there, and very refresing especially in this hot weather, dont forget Perak is famous for their mangoes too, make sure you get some on the way home, its yum and cheap! RM 10 for 8 mangoes, relatively huge ones too. These restaurants cater to seafood lovers, they have very fresh fish, crabs, prawns, clams, squids and you can ask them to cook it in any way you prefer.  However if you don’t fancy seafood, they do normal chicken and vegetable dishes too. However it is all Halal (no pork). For a full review on the chinese restaurants in Setiawan, check my post in www.mysavourylife.com

Pangkor Laut Resort

Pangkor Island is 30 minutes away from Lumut Jetty, you can take a ferry across to Pangkor conveniently, the ferries are quite frequent, 1 every 30 minutes and it brings you to your hotel. There are more choices of hotels in Pangkor Island and more things to do there, one of the most prestigious resort is Pangkor Laut Resort, it cost over RM1,000 a night, it is a chalet style hotel, some of the chalets are on water where you get direct sea views, but you pay for what you get, it is very expensive. Pangkor Laut is a privately owned island located three miles off the West Coast of Malaysia along the Straits of Malacca.You will find no other resorts there, just secluded bays curled around pristine beaches, evening skies woven with colour, and a deep sense of serenity reserved exclusively for their guests. It is the ideal place for honeymooners or couples to enjoy a quiet time together.

One warning for all, do not go snorkelling in Pangkor Island, they make u pay RM70 and bring you out on a speed boat to the ‘snorkeling paradise’ but there are limited sea life there, and most of the corals are dead, and the sea water is filthy, it is by far the worst snorkelling place I’v seen so far, it is a con! Besides the snorkeling, everything else is fine.

Malaysian Best Beaches

Malaysia is famous for their beautiful beaches and its tropical weather, warm and humid all year round, with no winter, spring or autumn. It is ‘summer’ all year round, at about 27-31 degrees. I am not surprised at all many doesn’t know Malaysia hasn’t got the four seasons – winter, spring, summer and autumn. So at least now you know

If you are a beach bum and want to do some snorkelling or diving, or just relax at a sandy beach? Here are the few best beaches in Malaysia. Many tourists visit the Langkawi Island, I personally think it is not the best beach in Malaysia.  Most of the best beaches in Malaysia lie along the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Beaches in Sabah, Malaysia

 

Pictures showing – Mabul Island, Sabah

Sabah beaches are the best e.g. Sipadan Island, Mabul Island and  Layang-layang Island however they are not so convenient as Sabah is not in the peninsular Malaysia, but is situated to the east of Peninsular Malaysia across the South China Sea. You will need to catch a flight to Sabah.

Mabul Island, Sipadan Island

Mabul Island is 15 minutes away by speedboat to Sipadan Island, Mabul is great for diving, if you are a serious diver, The Mabul Water Bungalow may be the right place for you, it is a new floating-dive resort at Mabul which is built over the water, furnished with contemporary decor, with air-conditioning. The dive boats collects you daily and head out to Sipadan for 2 dives, and back to Mabul for the 3rd dive. Most of it is included in the dive package, normally 5days 4 nights package. Check the youtube video I found online, there’s a vast variety of marine life that you can see in Mabul and Sipadan, and water is so clear, I think for beginners or even serious divers, you really dont want to miss this chance!

There are many other things one can do in Sabah besides diving, you can go mountain climbing (Mount Kinabalu), visiting the Orang Utan, and seeing the Rafflesia, largest individual flower in the world, it is only found in the forest of Sabah and Sarawak and some in phillipines. It is also named the corpse flower because of its strong odour of decaying flesh.

Redang Island, Terengganu

Pictures above showing Redang Island, picture on the right is Laguna Resort

Next option would be beaches in and around Terengganu which is in the east coast of peninsular Malaysia e.g. Redang Island, Perhentian Island, Lang Tengah Island.  Tioman Island and Cherating is in Pahang. They all have crystal clear water, and are suitable for diving and snorkelling. I have visited Langkawi, Pangkor, Redang, Tioman, Penang, etc.

So far I think Redang and Tioman are the best, Perhentian Island is more run down and has less luxurious hotels to offer, but their marine life is great! In both Redang and Perhentian, you have a chance to encounter turtles, nemo fish, moray eels, a variety of fishes, very large ones to tiny anchovies , and also baby sharks! I have seen Moray eels and sharks and taken pictures with moray eels under water in Redang Island The best time to spot the sharks is at 5-6pm, near the rocks, you can access this through the beach in front of Laguna Redang Resort, go to the rocks to your left not right.

 

Laguna Redang Resort, Terengganu

You can booked for a package holiday for most of them, it is normally a 3days 2nights package,however you can extend and pay for the extra night(s), package normally include several trips for snorkelling, you can ask for half board or full board, depending on what you and your family wants. I suggest staying in Laguna Redang Resort, the food is great there! The last time we went there, we had full board, the breakfast, lunch and dinner were fabulous! There will be grill seafood, roasted meat of choice at night, sometimes they do noodle soup as well right on the spot for you, and of course you will get a range of buffet hot food. Learn more about Malaysian Food here

Tioman Island, Pahang

Check out Tioman Island as well, it has got a range of activities e.g. rent a bicycle and go around the island, or to another beach, jungle trekking, water sports, diving and snorkeling. Find out more about Tioman here

More about holidays in Malaysia – Cuti-cuti Malaysia