What ocean is tioman island in. Tioman is a picturesque Malaysian island with a coral reef.

Tioman. Malaysia 2008

This is not a report or a fascinating story. Just a brief recap of what I saw this year in Malaysia.
The route was long and started in Vietnam, but ended in Malaysia, where we chose Tioman Island to visit and National Park Taman Negara.
It was known about the first place that it was just the season for turtles, and the jungle of Taman Negara is one of the oldest on Earth (according to scientists, the age is 130 million years). We flew to Kuala Lumpur to Air Asia, having only 1 reservation for 1 night - Fortuna Hotel in the very center tourist place Bukit Bintang, 200 meters from the subway of the same name. The reservation was made much in advance, because. we flew in on Saturday. If anyone does not know what Friday and Saturday are in Malaysia, I will write about it in detail. The choice of the hotel was very good, the rooms are clean, in the heart of the city, with windows on the Twin Towers, and at only 158 ringit per standard. All are nearby shopping centers and Night Food Street - J.Alur. When booking online, simply fill out a form. It does not indicate credit card and no money is withdrawn. Very comfortably. Hotel Fortuna Jalan Berangan, 87 (www.fortunakl.com). As of August 2008, the exchange rate for 1 dollar was 3.25 ringit.

Route: Kuala Lumpur (Fortuna Hotel) - night crossing by local bus to Mersing - morning ferry to Tioman - Salang beach (Salang Sayang hotel) - ferry to Mersing - bus to Kuantan - transfer by bus to Jerantut (Sakura Cartle Inn hotel) - morning boat to Taman Negaru - 2 days in the park - almost a day drive to Kuala Lumpur.

Buses to Mersing leave 2 times a day: in the morning and late in the evening (at night). We chose an evening transfer, intending to walk around Kuala Lumpur during the day. Tickets were purchased at the Pudu Raya bus station, which was reached from Bukit Bintang in 15 minutes. Company - Transnational (http://www.nadi.com.my/transportation_a ... keting.asp). VIP class ticket - 23 ringit.
Before leaving Kuala Lumpur, we went to the office of NKS Hotel #Trevel (www.taman-negara-nks.com) and booked a transfer and a boat to Taman Negara Park from Jerantut. The office is located at the Mandarin Pacific Hotel in Chinatown. For the transfer they gave 35 ringit. We received a piece of paper on how to find their office in Jerantut. The bus leaves from Sri Emas Hotel to Kuala Tembeling Boat Station at 2 pm, 17 km + boat 3 hours up the Tembeling River.

All the amenities of a bus ride. At 9.30 pm we were already standing at the bus station and waiting for the VIP number to be given to us. When the number was given, we saw a simple bus with seating. I got the driver for a long time with questions, but he kept saying - this bass is VIP and we are already leaving. It is clear that you will not be able to sleep in such a bus. As soon as we drove off, another misfortune became clear - the bus had luxurious air conditioners that turned the interior into a freezer. We knew about the cold on the buses and stocked up on sweaters. But after an hour there was a desire to put on a jacket and a hat with earflaps. I had to resort to the old trick - armed with adhesive tape, sealed all the cracks and holes.
When selling tickets, my aunt informed me that we were arriving in Mersing at 6 am. That aunt was, to put it mildly, wrong. 2 buses leave at night - at 10 pm and at 11.30. Boarding the bus at 10pm, we were in Mersing at 3am! We were unloaded at some kind of fence, and left in the dark. The local people immediately disappeared somewhere, and several tourists, including us, went to hang out in the night city. We didn’t have to go far - cafe chairs and travel agency offices were found nearby. We spent the rest of the night on chairs. The bus leaving Kuala Lumpur at 11.30 arrives in Mersing at about half past four, and you probably should have bought tickets for it. The advantage of such a move is saving time and money for a hotel, the minus is that it is impossible to relax, early arrival, dog cold on the bus.

Mersing

The place of departure of tourists around the islands is arranged as follows. Offices of travel agencies selling package tours to the nearest islands, to the boat and buses, cafes, several shops, and after 300 meters - the pier. Ferries of 2 companies are recovering to Tioman (or 3? I got confused in them), the fare for all is standard - 35 ringit. The first boat leaves at 7.30 am and then -10.30, 11.30, 14.30, 17.00. In addition to the island of Tioman, several more islands can be reached from Mersing. Pictures of the most distant islands of Aur and Dayang (77 km) attracted my attention - white sand, palm trees, turquoise water, small bungalows ... well, Bounty! These hotels are mainly tailored for package tours and the main check-in takes place on Friday-Sunday. 3 days / 2 nights with meals, transfer, guide and snorkeling costs from 290 to 350 ringit. Here is the website of one of the travel agencies: http://www.myoutdoor.com/
Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore these islands, but something seems to me that they are no worse, and maybe even better than Tioman.
In Mersing you can buy alcohol, for example, 1 liter of local whiskey at a price of 39 ringit (300m from the boat station there are many shops). On this day, due to the early departure by boat, we did not have time to buy bus tickets to Kuantan. In one of the travel agencies we were assured that there is such a bus. It leaves Mersing at 12 noon and we can buy tickets after 9 am.

Tioman Island

It is written in different sources different time on the way to the island. From 1 hour to 1.5. Probably, all the travel time depends on the beach you choose. We chose the most remote beach - Salang. How many sailed there, I do not know, but we got back to Mersing 2 hours and 20 minutes. The ferry makes stops at all beaches, dropping off and picking up tourists. On Monday morning, there were practically no people, and this made us very happy, because. we did not have a hotel reservation. At first glance, we liked the island, because. had pleasant greenery and fairly clear water.

abandoned hotel

the whole beach

our beach is salang

There are only 1 on the island good hotel. The rest is bungalows, bungalows and huts of average quality with a minimum set of amenities. Also 1 is the only town of Tekek where there are shops, including those with booze. There are no roads or normal shops on Salanga.

Salang beach

On the beach, we decided to stay at the Salang Sayang hotel - this is the most extreme corner of the beach on the right. Behind him on the hill is an abandoned hotel and a path to Monkey Bay (through the hill through the jungle). From the pier to Salang Sayang - 5 minutes along the path, and across the bridge of the stinky river. On the way we went into a bungalow, which our grandfather imposed on us for 140 ringit by the river with an abandoned garbage dump. They sent him .... In Salang Sayang, they had a conversation with the hostess, Malay appearance and sly eyes:

We want to rent a bungalow with a fan...
- Ooo! What do you! There is nothing! come back in 3 days...
- Okay, but with kondeem?
- There are no cheap ones with kondeem either. There is only deluxe.
- And for what?
- 220 ringit, but there is such a huge room that all five of you can fit there. This is how Singaporeans live here.
- And what? Nobody goes home on Monday?
- What do you! We have such a paradise, no one wants to move out! Well ... .. except that 1 room will be with a fan by the evening for 70 ringit.

We had to take what they offered us, with the condition of moving to cheap air-conditioned rooms for 170 ringit, as soon as they were free. What we saw as a result:
- Half of the bungalow was empty. It was beneficial for the hostess to give us the most expensive accommodation.
- The room with the fan reminded me very much of the $15 bungalow on Lipa. The minimum amenities are a mosquito net and 1 bed. Shower with cold water. The fan is like a helicopter propeller. At three in the morning I woke up from unbearable scabies - I was bitten by small living creatures. Presumably - local bugs. Half the night I fought with them. Another creature entered the gap from under the floor and ate half a pack of cookies. In the morning I went to the manager and showed all my wounds, insisting on immediate relocation. "It was you who got bitten on the beach!" - "I was bitten on the bed by your little living creatures!". Without much arguing (probably the manager knew about these bedbugs), they gave me new keys to bungalow number 7 at a price of 170 ringit. The second room was larger, had a fridge, water heater, 2 beds and air conditioning. By evening, the air condo was dripping, and then it was noisy like Niagara. Water poured straight onto the floor. They threw in a towel so as not to listen to the sound of falling water. A day later, the condo died. It happened at night, and I kept thinking - I'll beat my aunt in the morning. In the morning I received the keys to the third room - room number 13. Thank God, everything was fine there. Although the price of 170 ringit did not meet the conditions.
- My fellow travelers also moved, though only once - from a room for 220 ringit to a room for 170 ringit. They differed only in the presence or absence of a refrigerator and a kettle.

Salang Sayang

Everyone can ask the question: "Why didn't we leave there?" The answer is very simple - it was impossible to move to any place with more normal conditions on this beach. With my fellow traveler, I quickly walked around the area available for observation, and made the following conclusions:
- Most best beach(one might say the only one) at Salang Sayang.
- Palm trees grow near the beach, hotel bungalows behind the palm trees.
- Further (at 150 meters) the stink river, where 2-meter monitor lizards swam and frolicked,
- Next - a garbage dump, exuding a "flavor",
- Next, a few houses of local residents,
- Another abandoned hotel from rickety bungalows,
- And here is the already impassable jungle.

If you go from the Salang Sayang hotel to the pier and further, that is, to the left side of the beach, here's what you can see there:
- Salang Sayang Hotel restaurant (rather expensive);
- rental office;
- Shop "Pepsi-water";
- Bridge over the river;
- Pier;
- Several dive centers;
- A restaurant with European prices, always filled with Europeans;
- A small, but the most important beach house with a sign "booze to go." There you could buy beer in bulk, at a price of RM10 for 4 Chinese crap or RM12 for 3 cans of Kalsberg;
- Local supermarket….type;
- A cheap restaurant where you could eat well, mostly in the morning or in the afternoon;
- Hotel Salang Resort, where the roosters importantly walked around (I can imagine how fun it is there at 4-5 in the morning). The hotel looks good, but has a completely ugly beach:

The entire leisurely promenade along the beach takes no more than 15 minutes. All. There is nowhere else to go.

Food. Local food (and Malay in particular) I personally did not like. No wonder they say "Kitchen of Malaysia is a melting pot of various cuisines from other countries of the world." That's for sure - they mixed everything. On Tioman with food, from my point of view, it was bad - everything was monotonous and not very tasty. There were only 2 exceptions - morning roti chanai with filling, and evening barbecue in the only restaurant that was normal in price and quality (the one located across the river). The average cost of breakfast is 8-10 ringit, dinner is 30-35 ringit.
In addition, we drank a lot of water, juices and beer. It is impossible to buy something tasty in a single supermarket. Very high price for imported fruits and vegetables, and the price of 1.5 ringit for 1 fresh tomato breaks all records. I was very surprised that the island is buried in the shade of coconut palms, but coconuts are not sold or offered anywhere.

Transport and movement around the island. There are no roads, there is only one way to travel - by boat. The price for moving from beach to beach is quite high - 35 ringit one way. There is no such variety of boats and fishermen as in Thailand. There is no competition either. If you want - go to Mersing for 35 ringit, if you want - to the neighboring beach. Or ... There is an option to go along the path through the jungle. We went to the nearby Monkey Bay beach. It took 3.5 hours of active cross-country with a tiring climb up the hill.

Monkey Bay is deserted beach without monkeys (they are just rummaging through the garbage dumps of Salang at this time), with an abandoned small hotel.

top view of salang

decoy bay

It is impossible to swim on this beach, because. corals start almost immediately. On the way to this beach, passing through the jungle (by the way, no worse than the jungle of Taman Negara) we saw deer, monkeys, squirrels, lizards and iguanas.

Life on Tioman Island

The fact that with living creatures on the island is nishtyak, we understood immediately. Such a variety of everything that usually hides here ran, jumped, flew, jumped, crawled, swam ... The largest and closest contact of all the guests of the island occurred with two types of "small living creatures" - with sea fleas on the beach and with biting plankton in the water. Everyone was bitten! On the other hand, everyone has their own body reaction to bites. For some, the bites were painless, for some, real wounds formed. I was not the luckiest of all, probably my blood is delicious)))))) In a day everything itched, after two - wounds formed, after 3 - non-healing ulcers. More than 10 days have passed, and I still have traces of their vital activity. In addition to tourists, they were also bitten locals and hotel staff. In general, this is the trouble of the island, but it is quite possible that this is due to the season. Before that, we were on Koh Samui, there were no fleas, but the plankton in the water "bite" every day.

The second misfortune is flocks of impudent, gluttonous monkeys. Paying no attention to the people, they were busily talking to the dumpsters of the bungalow several times a day. They plucked everything that lay badly. We must pay tribute to the hotel staff - the garbage was taken out several times a day and the territory was cleaned. A specially hired uncle drove monkeys. In addition to monkeys, you could see:
- giant ants
- butterflies,
- various birds,
- bats,
- geckos,
- giant lizard lizards.
I will write about marine life separately. The monitor lizards of Tioman Island are much smaller than those on Komodo Island, but they look no less intimidating. You don’t really need to look for them, for this it’s enough to go behind the last house of the hotel and look at the stinky river. At low tide, when the water left the river, monitor lizards simply crawled along the muddy bottom. At high tide, they swam or basked in the sun. I walked along this river towards the jungle and in one place I counted at least 20 of them. The maximum number of lizards crawling out from under the foliage is at noon, when it is most warm. According to some sources, monitor lizards of the island reach a length of 2 meters. Some of the specimens seemed simply gigantic to me.

Salang beach

Salang Beach is small and only the right side is suitable for swimming. The sand is medium-sized, yellowish. The entrance to the water is good only at the Salang Sayang hotel. After about 20 meters at the entrance to the water, coral fragments begin, turning further into real living corals. While we were there, we noticed that swimming is only possible until 13-14 hours. Then a strong low tide begins, exposing part of the corals by 4-5 pm. It is possible to enter the water at this time, but one must very carefully walk ankle-deep among stones and sharp debris. It's very easy to cut your legs. We divided our time on the beach into two periods - before lunch (when the tide was high, we swam) and after lunch (just lying around or walking around the local cafes). You can swim at low tide, but not very interesting - shallow and you have to constantly monitor the corals so as not to cut yourself.

Sea of ​​Tioman.

With all its disadvantages of life and service, Tioman conquered me with its underwater world. In any country South-East Asia I always went at least 1 day for snorkeling. Snorkeling from the shore is not always interesting, the best solution is to go on an excursion or rent a boat. Swimming in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma, I already had a good idea of ​​what a reef is, who lives there, what you can see and who you can catch. But I didn’t even imagine such a variety of living creatures that is present on Tioman, and not somewhere in the sea - 5-10 km, but right here - 100 meters from the coast.

What I liked very much - real live corals.
- Schools of colorful fish;
- Flocks (under 50 cm) of silver edible "herring";
- Napoleon fish, at least 1 meter in size;
- Stingrays;
- Squids;
- sea ​​urchins and cucumbers;
- Thousands of fry fry, creating the impression of an underwater silvery river;
- Turtles;
- And much more.

Turtles. They were my dream, I really wanted to see them in their natural environment. And I saw it right away, on the first day. Turtles, as divers told us, swim up from the depths to shallow water closer to dinner to crunch on corals. It was during this activity that I saw my first green turtle (species name), about 70 cm. For 20 minutes we swam with her, then she briskly swam away somewhere. The remaining days, every day from 11 am to 1 pm we saw and swam with turtles, and not with the same one. On the last day, we saw the largest one that we met near the Salang beach: a shell of at least 1 meter. All the turtles we encountered were swimming next to the beach, in front of the Salang Sayang Hotel between rocks and an artificial pontoon.

Visibility. In August, visibility in the water was not very good, maybe no more than 10 meters. A lot of plankton swam, creating the impression of semolina mixed in the water. However, this did not interfere with viewing various fish from the surface. Maybe because these fish were crazy.

Water temperature and diving. According to divers, the water temperature was +29 degrees. It seemed to me a little cooler, I would rate it at 26 degrees. There were 2 divers in our company who immediately ordered diving for themselves. There are several dive centers on Salanga, the prices are the same for all, without bargaining. RM180 for 2 dives on day 1, RM170 for 2 dives on the second day and also night diving, the price of which I don't know. The guys had an underwater camera, filmed a lot. For those who want to dive for the first time, diving costs RM180 from the shore and RM200 from the boat. For a full 4-day training course, they asked for something like 900 ringit.

One day, my fellow travelers and I went on a day snorkeling trip to neighboring islands. The cost is 70 ringit, from 9 am to 2 pm, they promised to show 4 places. So, snorkeling to the nearest islands. All beach travel agencies offer this snorkel at a price of 70 ringit, but with a stop at 3 places. Salang Sayang Hotel offers tourists visiting 4 places, water, fins, masks.
The first snorkeling spot was the most interesting of all. We stopped near the rocky shore. We saw a lot of big and small fish. I constantly caught myself thinking that here you can shoot half a bag from an underwater gun in 5 minutes. Often the fish stopped and hovered not far from me, within 1.5 meters. Very beautiful corals, different in shape and color. At some point, they saw a 1.5 meter shark and shouting "Shark!" rushed to the boat. The boatman said that this is a "vegetarian shark", there is no need to be afraid of it.

Second snorkeling spot: Having circled the island, the boat moored at a small beach. White sand, blue water .... We were given 1 hour. Most of the tourists collapsed on the beach, but in vain! Literally 20 meters from the shore, a real fish soup began! What have you seen:
- octopus,
- turtle,
- a flock of sharks under 70 cm.
There is no underwater photo, but there is a photo of the exact same shark that I saw at the fish market in Qatar. When approaching the cape from the right side, I felt a strong current and barely carried my fins away. Fins for rent are short, semi-children's. Moreover, these fins at the box office look the same throughout Salanga. So, if you want a normal snork, bring your own.

The claimed 70 ringit ($22) is the cost of a place in the boat, where there were 12 other people. I enjoyed the snorkeling very much. The only frustrating thing is that there is no such thing as in Thailand - you hired a boat and sail wherever you want. There are almost no boats on Salanga, the price is fixed and very expensive.

conclusions

Pluses of Tioman - gorgeous sea with good diving and snorkeling both from the shore and from the boat. The jungle of the island is no worse than the Taman Negara park, you can not only walk in them, but also see various animals.
Cons of Tioman (subjective opinion) - poor service, expensive accommodation with low quality housing, lack of entertainment, monotonous and not always tasty food, expensive travel between beaches by boat, lack of competition, abandonment of many hotels, grandiose garbage dumps just 100 meters from the beach, the presence of sea fleas, bad transport connection between Tioman and the mainland.

I would like to finish this part of the story with the words from the famous song "And the rest, beautiful Marquise, everything is fine, everything is fine."

Transportation across the country and to Taman Negara.

I already wrote about bus travel to Tioman. Now I would like to focus on transportation to Taman Negara and around the country in general. Back in Kuala Lumpur, at the Pudu Raya bus station, we tried to buy bus tickets from Mersing to Kuantan, and then to Jerantut. Having run around all the windows of the ticket kiosks, we made only one conclusion - it is impossible to buy tickets from one city to another without being in the first one. That is, the Transnational company has its own website and a scheme for moving around the country. Arriving in Kuala Lumpur at the office of the company, we not only could not buy tickets from Mersing to Kuantan, but also could not find out the bus schedule. I don't know if you can buy online.
- And what do you want? In Russia, everything is arranged the same way! - my companion thought, - try to buy bus tickets from Tambov to Saratov, while being in Moscow.
Therefore, we left the purchase of tickets to Kuantan for last, and decided to leave Tioman Island on Thursday. That is until Friday. Whoever said how lucky he was to travel freely in Malaysia on Friday, we wanted to avoid moving on that day. A year ago, my fellow travelers got into a complete w ... in some Malaysian outback, when all train and bus tickets were sold out in 4 days, and the taxi did not run due to some kind of holiday. We didn't want to repeat that mistake. Because Friday is a day off for Muslims. And if in some Arab countries you don't see a lot of people on the streets on Friday, the Malaysians are not like that. Having an admixture of Chinese in their blood, they are removed from their homes, and move in rows and columns throughout the country. Curious Singaporeans also join them. All this is reminiscent of an invasion of locusts.

On the beach of Salang, Tioman Island, passing by one sign, we saw the cherished inscription "Sale bus tickets Kuantan was also there.
- We want to buy!
- When?
- On Thursday.
- Alas, this bus runs only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- And then, from Kuantan to Jerantut, can you sell us tickets?
- No, you have to buy them at Kuantan bus station.
Frustrated, we considered the situation. We had to lose 1 day, which we allocated to Taman Negara Park. At the same time, it is not yet known whether we will buy tickets at the next point. On Friday we had booked a boat to the park. In the current situation, it turned out that we would reach Jerantut only in the evening and we would be able to get on the boat only on Saturday. Can we? We buy tickets for 20 ringit (their real price is 13) for Friday. We only hope for further successful movement. Already in Mersing we saw a bus to Dungun, which probably runs every day and passes by Kuantan. It was not possible to clarify the information for the reason .... no one knows anything. And who knows - it is not clear ....

The bus station in Mersing is half a kilometer from the pier. It took 10-15 minutes with backpacks. When approaching, they heard a call
- Where are you going?
- In Kuantan.
- There are no seats.
- We have tickets.
In the absence of tickets, they traveled on a bus, where there were 5-6 empty seats. I still can’t understand the logic of the transport company - why drive half-empty buses? Or is it some kind of game with local taxi drivers? By the way, they wanted 300 ringit for moving to this outback. The transfer took 3.5 hours.

Kuantan

Just a city in the middle of nowhere, a junction station for transfers. Let's go look for tickets to Jerantut. Again we find out that only 1 company is walking, the same Transnational. The bus just left, the next one was canceled, and the other one will be at 8 pm (only 3 buses - at 9 am, 3 pm, 8 pm). There are still tickets, 12 ringit each, and they are few. From Kuantan to Jerantut another 3-3.5 hours. If we arrive at Jerantut at night, we have a big problem finding accommodation. We decide to look for an alternative. An alternative nearby in the form of mustachioed taxi drivers of Hindu appearance. They want 220 ringit. We think. To better think, we went to a local catering. Local catering left an indelible impression. And a conversation with Indian chefs - too. After inspecting the food, there were two omnivores left - me and my fellow traveler ... After eating some simple Malay food, we decided to look for a taxi. We found an official booth and bargained for 2 cars (there were 5 of us) for 180 ringit.

We arrived in Jerantut in 2 hours and 20 minutes. We stayed at the Sakura Castle Inn, 170 ringit, there were no cheaper rooms. We called the travel agency where we ordered a boat to Taman Negara, they said that we were late for the day and we want to leave tomorrow at 9 am. We got consent. Travel agency that organizes transfers to the park in Jeranthut: Otel Sri Emas, 46 Main Road, T. 09-2664499. The return transfer from Jerantut to Mersing is possible in exactly the same way or by contacting the travel agency of Taman Negara Park, for 750 ringit / person.

Tioman. Malaysia, 2008

One of the most beautiful islands on the planet is Tioman Island, the locals call it Pulau Tioman. This is a small but very popular area where lovers, honeymooners and Singaporeans often relax. Tourists are attracted here by pristine beaches, clean mountain rivers and waterfalls.

general information

Where to stay?

The Tioman Islands differ among themselves in the quality of the services provided and the level of service. The most popular of them are:

1. Japamala Resorts - By Samadhi is a comfortable hotel that offers private wooden rooms with private terraces, 2 restaurants, an outdoor pool, a massage parlour, and a seating area.
2. Simukut HillView - The hotel is rated 2 stars. It has a terrace, garden, private beach area, shared lounge, laundry. The restaurant serves national dishes and the staff speaks English and Malaysian.
3. Tioman Cabana - the price includes breakfast and bed. Bicycle and canoe rentals are available, as well as a library, barbecue and tour desk, laundry and dry cleaning services.
4. Bagus Place Retreat - Cooking chalets with a sun terrace and a shuttle service. The staff speaks 2 languages.
5. Tunamaya Beach & Spa Resort– a four-star spa hotel where visitors can enjoy health center, infinity pool, children's playroom and restaurant.

Where to eat?

Food on Tioman will please every tourist with its variety. Dishes are prepared mainly from rice, which is stewed, boiled and fried here. It is used both as a side dish and as an additional ingredient. Tourists will also be offered seafood, coconut milk, local fruits and vegetables. For example: shark fin soup, cuttlefish salad, fish curry, fried scallops, rendang meat or sati ayam, as well as various fresh juices.

A large number of restaurants are located in the settlements of Salang, Dzhuar and Tehek. The most popular catering establishments are:

• Berjaya Resort - Malaysian and Chinese dishes are served here;
• Tioman Cabana Beach Bistro - guests can try Asian cuisine and seafood, suitable for vegetarians;
• Mia Cafe - the cafe serves traditional national dishes;
• Restoran Delima - the restaurant will offer you local and Asian cuisine;
• Warong Syahirah - they specialize in seafood.

Beaches on Tioman Island

The coastline is famous for its crystal clean water(visibility reaches 33 m), white sand, a variety of marine animals and corals that surround the island and create unique conditions for diving. Diving on Tioman is considered a real paradise not only for professionals, but also for amateurs. Those who dream of swimming with whale sharks come here.

The most popular beaches on Tioman are:

• Mentawak;
• Air Batang;
• Mukita;
• Salang;
• coast near the villages of Tekek and Gentings.

Here you can go fishing, swim in a canoe, a yacht, a boat and a boat, the bottom of which is completely made of glass.

Shopping on the island

Tioman is a zone duty free, but it is not so easy to take goods out of here. For example, to travel to Singapore with alcohol or cigarettes, you will need to pay a tax. Mostly tourists buy local souvenirs (t-shirts, bathing suits, figurines, magnets, national beads, wooden clogs or local jugs) and delicacies (sweets).

Transport on the island

Answering the question of how to get to Tioman from, it should be said that there is a small one on the island. Flights from the capital of Malaysia and from Singapore arrive here, the travel time takes 60 minutes and half an hour, respectively. A single concrete road leads from the runway. It takes you to Berjaya and Tekek.

If you want to save money, you can get here by ferry from the city of Tanjung Gemukili (Pahang) or by boat from the village of Mersing (Johor). The cost is approximately $5 per person one way. Tioman Island coordinates: 2.770351, 104.145927

Tioman Island, which lies 60 kilometers off the east coast of mainland Malaysia, is part of national reserve Pahang and is under state protection. This is not surprising, because the nature of Tioman is so rich and magnificent that it has long been recognized as one of the most beautiful Asian islands. Moreover, Tioman entered the top ten most beautiful islands of the Earth.

If nature endowed Tioman with incredible beauty, then people surrounded him with many ancient legends. According to one of them, the Chinese dragon princess, who was heading to her fiancé in Singapore, was so impressed by the beauties of these places that she turned into Tioman Island.

Holidays on Tioman are recommended to all travelers who dream of being in a remote place with azure sea, white sand, coconut palms and wild flowers of the brightest colors. Here, tourists are waiting for excellent hotels and entire resort areas offering wide range recreation and entertainment. Also, the island can become a real find for divers, as undersea world Tiomana is no less rich than the flora and fauna of the island itself.

Climate and weather

Tioman Island is located in the humid equatorial climate zone, so hot weather always reigns here. The air and water temperature is stable throughout the year and practically does not change. So, the air here warms up to at least +30°C, and water to +29°C. The dry season, which is also the tourist season, lasts from May to September and is the perfect time for a beach holiday. The rainy season runs from November to March. It is characterized by showers and strong gusts of wind, which form quite dangerous waves. Some hotels are closed during this period.

Nature

Tioman Island, which is part of the Pahang National Reserve, has an incredibly rich and truly unique nature. For this reason, the whole animal and vegetable world this island, as well as its natural landscape, are under the protection of the state. On the territory of Tioman there are many virgin beaches, picturesque mountains, mountain rivers and waterfalls. Also, a large number of various animals live here: lizards, the bats, iguanas, monkeys, pygmy deer, turtles and others. And of all the birds living here, it is worth highlighting minahu, whose singing is recognized as one of the most beautiful among all birds.

No less rich and unique is the underwater world of this paradise island. During diving, you can see schools of neon fish, whale sharks, parrot fish, as well as bizarre outlines of magnificent coral reefs.

Attractions

There are no mosques and temples, museums and historical monuments– the main attractions of the island are rich flora and fauna, underwater beauty, picturesque beaches and tropical jungle.

Several unusual and rare species of animals live here, such as giant black squirrel, panda, mouse deer, red flying squirrel, long-tailed macaque, etc. Guests of Tioman can see them in close proximity.

It is very popular with tourists Juara village which is famous the cleanest beaches and a sea turtle sanctuary. Here you can always not only look at these amazing reptiles, but also feed them. Also, the main attractions of the island are overgrown with lush tropical forest. Mount "Donkey Ears" And mountain "Dragon Horns", only a few people were able to climb to the top.

Tioman is part of the famous "coral triangle", so in its water area there are a huge number of different types of soft and hard corals, including rare corals akropora and alikonarian. The easiest way to get acquainted with these riches is to visit marine park marine park on the coast in the village of Tekek.

Nutrition

Tioman is famous not only for its magnificent beaches and excellent hotels, but also for its excellent restaurants offering cuisine for every taste. The best restaurants are located near the Berjaya Resort, they offer a wide selection of Malay, Chinese and European dishes. Also, many different restaurants and eateries can be found in the towns of Tekek and Juar and in the village of Salang.

Of course, the vast majority of the island's gastronomic establishments offer national cuisine, which is replete with many fragrant and spicy spices. The basis of most local dishes is naxi rice. Most often it is cooked fresh and used as a side dish. In addition, rice is fried, stewed in coconut milk and used to make desserts and noodles. The most popular dishes from it are cha kwai tew noodles with eggs, herbs and shrimp, nasi goreng fried rice and fish curry with nasi dagang rice.

Vegetables, fruits and coconut milk are also widely distributed here, which are added to most Malay dishes. For example, the national gado gado salad is made with vegetables, peanut sauce, and coconut milk, while the rojak salad is made with pineapple, cucumber, and shrimp fritters.

Meat is rarely prepared by local chefs, but dishes from them are very unusual and tasty, such as chicken sati ayam skewers with sweet and sour sauce or rendang meat stewed in coconut milk. But seafood treats are ubiquitous: fish curry, shark fin soup, fried scallops, cuttlefish salad, etc.

Of the drinks, coconut milk and juices are especially popular. Alcohol is served in all hotel restaurants. In addition, since Tioman is a duty-free zone, strong drinks can be bought at any duty-free shop.

Accommodation

Tioman offers its guests a variety of accommodation options, from luxury hotels to affordable hotels with basic amenities, as well as many small houses and chalets on the coast. I must say that all Tioman hotels consist of detached villas in the traditional Malay style. Most of them are located on the west coast of the island.

Suitable for lovers of comfort luxury hotels Tunamaya Beach & SPA Resort (from $145), Japamala Resort by Samadhi Retreats (from $144) or Berjaya Tioman Resort (from $109), which offer a luxury vacation with all amenities and a full range of entertainment.

Most of the less expensive accommodation options are concentrated on the west coast of the island in the villages of Tekek, Salang and others, such as the Sun Hotel Beach Resort(from $37). Also in the villages and their environs you can always find a place in a hostel (from $ 6.5) or a room in an inexpensive hotel (from $ 20).

Entertainment and recreation

One of the main tourist attractions on Tioman is beach holiday. All white sandy beaches the islands are clean and picturesque, and the water has an amazing emerald hue. The most popular beaches include Air Batang and Salang, as well as beach areas near the villages of Tekek and Gentings. Well, the most popular water entertainment of the island is diving. The abundance of marine life and corals, the warm sea and excellent underwater visibility provide ideal conditions for diving here. Moreover, in most resort areas and villages there are good diving centers. No less common here are such types of water activities as snorkeling, fishing, water skiing and boat trips on a canoe, boat, yacht or boat with a glass bottom, through which you can see all the underwater beauties and their inhabitants.

Fans of extreme sports and rock climbing are advised to try to conquer the slopes of the Dragon Horns Mountain or the tropical thickets of the Donkey Ears Mountain. There are also many scenic routes that fans will love. hiking. And for eco-tourists, a route has been laid to the village of Mukut.

Nightlife on the island is not very popular, the largest number of noisy parties takes place in the village of Genting, where night club with disco and restaurants. You can also visit Kontiki bar in Tekek village or Ari’s Cafe in Air Batang village. Well, Tioman hotels and resorts offer a wide range of restaurants, bars and cafes, as well as swimming pools, sports fields, spas and much more.

Purchases

Despite the fact that Tioman is a duty-free zone, local shopping cannot be called rich and profitable. The largest number of shops and shops are concentrated in the village of Tekek. First of all, you should visit the duty-free shops, which offer a good selection of alcohol, cigarettes and sweets at very competitive prices. It should be borne in mind that if you are going to bring purchased alcohol or cigarettes to neighboring Singapore, you will have to pay a fee. Also in Tekek you can buy an original T-shirt, a bathing suit and some memorable souvenir, such as a pumpkin-shaped jug, national beads or wooden clogs.

Other villages of the island (Paya, Salang, etc.) also have small shops and shops, but the choice of goods here is quite small. There are also shops on the territory of each resort area, they mainly offer souvenirs and the most necessary things for a holiday, such as mosquito repellants and personal care products.

In general, for buying souvenirs, Tioman is not the most the best place. The fact is that goods are brought here from the mainland, as a result of which they cost an order of magnitude more expensive here. Therefore, fragments of corals that washed ashore can become memorable trophies for vacationers. However, in no case should you try to break off and take away the living part of the coral with you.

Transport

Not far from the village of Tekek there is a small airstrip where direct flights arrive from Kuala Lumpur (1 hour) and Singapore (35 minutes). You can also get to the island by boat from the city of Mersing (Johor state) and by ferry from Singapore or the city of Tanjung Gemuk (Pahang state).

There are practically no roads on the island, and transport is limited to SUVs and boats. The only exception is the short concrete road that runs from the airport to the village of Tekek and the neighboring resort of Berjaya. The cheapest way to travel between villages is by ferry from Mersing to Tioman. It usually stops at most settlements this island. The cost of the trip ranges from $ 3 to $ 5 per person. This is much more profitable than taking a private boat (about $16).

From the village of Tekek to Juara, so-called "off-road taxis" drive. The fare in this type of transport is $ 24 per person, $ 38 for two and $ 11 per person if there are at least four of them.

Connection

Mobile communications on Tioman do not work everywhere; it is easiest to catch a signal in the southern part of the island. Internet access is a little easier, although this service is not available in all hotels. Broadband Internet is available in Internet cafes in the villages of Tekek and Air Batang, as well as in the resorts of Berjaya Tioman Beach, Tioman Cabana, Panuba, Golf & Spa Resort, Paya Beach Resort, etc. The cost of a session is approximately the same everywhere and is about $ 3 per hour . Some resorts offer wireless internet access.

Wired telephone communication is not available in every village, and almost all telephone boxes on the island are out of order. Therefore, it is most convenient to make basic calls from hotels in the territory resort complexes. In addition, in areas where there is Internet, it is always possible to call via Skype (calls can be paid online).

Safety

On the island, both in the resort area and in the villages, tourists can feel completely safe. Crimes are very rare here, and the local population is very friendly. Of course, despite this fact, you should not completely neglect the precautionary measures. Resting women should remember that frank and defiant appearance allowed only in the resort area, but not in the villages.

No special vaccinations are required to travel to the island, although prophylaxis against hepatitis A and B, as well as malaria, is recommended. Local water should not be drunk, it is better to give preference to boiled or bottled.

All guests of the island should use mosquito nets and insect sprays, especially outside the resort area. It is strongly recommended not to neglect hats, sunglasses and protective creams, as the sun is very insidious here. Some species of the local marine life are poisonous, so before diving it is necessary to clarify which of them can be dangerous.

Business climate

Tioman Island has long been one of the most popular beach resorts country, so its economy is based on serving tourists. The entire island is a free trade zone, but there are no large shops or other massive buildings. The fact is that the island is an important part of the Pahang National Reserve, so building a large building here is almost impossible.

Real estate

Now all the cities and resorts of Malaysia are experiencing an investment boom, so real estate prices here are gradually increasing. In this regard, the island of Tioman is no exception. Of course, local real estate is not as diverse and numerous as in the country's capital. Mostly foreigners are interested in villas on the coast, where you can come for a vacation. In addition, they can be rented out. True, their number is very limited.

In general, any foreigner has the right to purchase local real estate. However, there is one important condition for this - its cost must be at least 500,000 ringgits (about $ 161,000). Also, foreigners do not have the right to own more than two objects of any type of real estate.

During the rest, you should be wary of the local monkeys, who here are the full owners of the villages and streets. The total number of expensive phones and cameras torn from the hands of touching travelers, as well as every little thing, simply cannot be counted. In order to protect yourself from this kind of theft, you should hold valuables tightly and do not approach animals with enthusiastic exclamations of “uti-way”. It is also advised not to leave your belongings and food on the verandas and balconies of the rooms, as all the same monkeys often make organized raids for the purpose of profit and leave chaos from overturned chairs and broken cups.

8,0

First, about the cons - there are few grocery stores, and products ...

First, about the cons - there are few grocery stores, and there are even fewer products in them (no dairy products, mostly water, chips and cookies). Accordingly, in a cafe, too, the choice is the same everywhere and is small: rice, noodles, fish, seafood, chicken, eggs, simple salads. You can move around the island on foot or by bike. There are places where cars drive from time to time, but they are not connected with other parts of the island - the road is interrupted. There are areas where there are no beaches or they are rocky. There are no umbrellas or sun loungers. People are very friendly, but they do not curry favor with tourists, they are not intrusive at all. Lots of monkeys, monitor lizards and cats. If you want to be cut off from the bustle of the city - then the separation will be complete :) There are many diving centers. But there is nothing special to do - just relax.

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I have never had a better vacation - this is a wonderful nature, ...

I didn’t have a better vacation anywhere - it’s wonderful nature, crazy sunsets, marvelous ocean, the bliss of a family vacation.

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Anonymous Russia

Amazing nature!

Amazing nature! If you want privacy and beautiful nature and the underwater world, it is a must to visit. Get away from this clean sea it was sad.

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Anonymous Russia

4,0

The island is beautiful.

The island is beautiful. Perfectly clear water. Ideal conditions for diving. There are sea turtles. Highly overpriced hotels. The quality of the rooms is disgusting. There are hotels overgrown with mold and filled with mosquitoes. There are practically no fruits on the island. Food in restaurants is expensive and monotonous - chicken with rice. Seafood is very expensive. Ferry problem. The information on the websites of the ferry companies is not reliable. It can be very cool to "hit", because Ferries run depending on the weather and tides. Compared to neighboring Thailand, everything is much worse.

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Vladimir Russia

The impressions from Tioman Island are the most delightful.

The impressions from Tioman Island are the most delightful. We liked nature, water, gourmet food, staff and much more. The nature on the island seems virgin. We swam long and far. The water is clear and very warm, the salinity is moderate (not like, say, in India). Fish of different colors and species swam under us, a beautiful bottom was visible. On the coast of the island in the neighboring villages there are many restaurants with seafood. The restaurants of the hotel also have gourmet cuisine: Italian and Thai! In general, relax on this island, you will not regret it!

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March 10th, 2011 09:28 am

Tioman is a huge mountainous island, overgrown with tropical rainforests, with beaches of pure yellow sand. Located two hours by ferry from Mersing. The island is almost wild, there are no roads between neighboring beaches, so communication between them is only by boat. I really liked the sea here, and we went for it. The beach with the best snorkeling is Salang Beach, located in the northern part of the island.

There are two ways to get to Tioman. 1. Ferry from the city of Mersing, the price is about 40 ringit (~400 rubles) per person, sailing for about 2 hours. Mersing can be reached by bus from Kuala Lumpur or by bus from Singapore or Johor Bahru.
The second option is a Berjaya Air plane, a ticket from Kuala Lumpur costs about 3500 rubles, it takes about 1 hour to fly. I also heard about ferries from Singapore, but I can’t confirm the info, I didn’t find it.

We settled on the Salang beach, in the Salang Sayang resort, in this place the sea does not go so much at low tide, so you can swim in the evening, a good entrance to the sea, for those who need it =)

We met a couple from Moscow, they saw several turtles on snorkeling, to the left of the pier, where there are two cell towers, there are fewer boats and there are no cafe lights, so there are more chances to see macro.

Near the island in the photo there is an artificial reef (heaps of boards and pipes), there I saw cuttlefish more than once and two large Napoleon fish, no less than a meter and a half, I won’t even count stingrays and moray eels. Could not resist, touched the tail of a small moray eel when she was hiding in the corals.

In terms of atmosphere, Tioman turned out to be very similar to thai island Tao, the same bunch of European backpackers, only less than ten times, the same atmosphere of relaxation, the underwater world is only many times brighter and more likely to see macro, for example, the same turtles or eagle rays.

A coconut tree next to our gazebo, where we sometimes sat at night and drank local beer. By the way, only Tiger is sold and the price is 5 ringit. (50r). Immediately behind the pavilions, a river flowed, where large monitor lizards lived, about them later.

Cozy beach, next to our resort. On the horizon is the island of Pulau Tulai, where locals are taken by boat, 70 ringit for the whole day. Very a nice place and absolutely wild, it was there that I saw turtles and a flock of squids on snorkeling. There is a sandy spit, about a kilometer long, they usually land on it for a walk, a very beautiful place, I will write a separate post about it. Monkeys periodically jump along this palm tree, rustling with leaves and shouting loudly.

Macaques behave very impudently, they come to Salang after twelve, from the south side, from the forest by wire. They dig in trash cans and bare their teeth at people. They perceived it as a local flavor, nothing more. In the photo, the macaques were picking in the trash a second ago, when they saw me, they growled and bared their teeth, it’s a pity I didn’t have time to take a picture.

After a couple of seconds, he had already climbed onto the pole and proudly walked along the wires into the forest. Noticing the surveillance, he posed a little.

Right behind the bungalow Salang Sayang flows a river where these monitor lizards live, this one is about 1.5 meters long. It is said that on the island of Komodo in Indonesia, they grow up to 3 meters and are called Komodo dragons. Monitor lizards are very afraid of people, at least these ones. At the sight of the camera, they embarrassedly hid under the bridge and in the sewer pipes. So it remains a mystery what they eat here.

I stand with my back to the booked hotel, the most eastern point Salang beach. Pier view. Alas, the sand on Salanga is not white when compared with the standard, the label of Singha =) it is yellowish, sometimes with pink patches of dead corals.

I liked to walk on it barefoot. It is impossible to go fast, it tickles my feet. I tore my favorite coral slippers here.

All the same Salang, view of the pier, or rather the bush. In some places on the beach there is marine debris thrown by the surf. And at night the sea is very noisy, it’s great to fall asleep to the sound of waves rolling ashore. There is no such thing as sea view, the first and second line of hotels. Life is only on a narrow strip along the sandy spit, literally ten meters deep - and already the jungle.

It gets dark almost instantly. The island has no nightlife, no discos or noisy pubs, people sit in cafes, eat bbq fish, and then by ten o'clock everyone goes to bed. I understand that this trend is not only in Salanga. In general, complete relaxation. I noticed that many Europeans just lie on the beach and read books all day long. This is the cardinal difference from Koh Tao, where there is grass, booze and Thai prostitutes. No one meows and invites you to the gogo bar, there are no annoying sellers and barkers. There are practically no asphalt roads on the island, so there are no bikes or cars.

On weekdays, not so many guests live on Salanga, everyone knows each other by sight and greets each other. And on the weekends, many Malays and Singaporeans come to relax. Diving with a guy in a buddy from Kuala Lumpur, he said that this is the most accessible place for recreation (in terms of time). Apart from the Perhentian Islands, in comparable proximity.

Tioman is an island of cats. Didn't see any dogs. Cats cluster near cafes, especially a lot of them near cafes to the left of the pier. With us, the cat tracked down a small monitor lizard, first played with it, and then twisted its neck and began to eat it. Tom Yam shrimp, a large bowl - 100 rubles, fried rice with spices, with chicken leg - 70 rubles, fresh orange 50 rubles.

On such bots they carry diving, this is at best. There are just motor boats, for 4-8 divers, where there is no place or even stairs. This is not Egypt, in general. But the underwater world is amazing. Of course, I have not been to Sipadan yet, but from what I have seen, this is the best place.

Napoleon fish struck, they constantly swam about fifty meters from the shore, just opposite our bungalow. Unfortunately, I didn't see any sharks on this trip. Only at the water park in Singapore, but that doesn't count.

I liked the cuttlefish, I saw not big ones up to half a meter. Squids are very nimble, do not catch up, they swim much faster than fish.

Two dives cost about 160 ringit. This is from a bot. I did 6 dives, probably, then I got tired of paying, since all the living creatures that I saw during this time were already present in shallow water, I just had to sail away with a mask. At the end of our stay, there was a storm at night and visibility dropped to 8-10 meters. The guides said that 15-20 meters is quite normal for Tioman in the season.

Of the land animals, they were struck by some black woolen animals in the likeness of lemurs (or maybe they were), with long legs. In the evening, bats swept in abundance, in the bungalow someone was constantly chirping and scratching. I suspect they were geckos.
Well, I already talked about macaques. In general, the tropics.

The bay between Salang and Monkey Bay is a whole story.
Between these two bays there is a path through the mountain and the rainforest. Very narrow, almost overgrown in places, but it is there. There, both stones and ropes are tied to make it easier to climb uphill in a downpour. I found it hard to get through. go up wild beach thirty minutes at a brisk pace. There is no one there, absolutely wild sandy spit. Out of my own stupidity, I went there in just shorts and flip-flops, without taking any water. On the way, I constantly heard all sorts of rustling next to me in the leaves, it was already starting to get dark. And then, passing by another bush, some kind of lizard falls on top of me, in my opinion it was a monitor lizard, but I'm not sure. Apparently, he was frightened and tried to escape, but broke loose .. In general, it was scary.

The main thing is to follow the wires. It's almost impossible to get lost. Once turned the wrong way, but returned back and quickly found the right path. In some places the road is blocked by trees that have fallen directly on the wires, but it is not difficult to pass, in general. The next day I saw a couple from Australia, they were all sweaty coming out of the jungle, so everything is real. So to say, free trekking with a light share of extreme sports.

The beach is absolutely wild, shallow. It was cloudy and it was getting dark, but it was beautiful. There are only traces of old fires around, apparently someone went there for a picnic. For about twenty minutes I sat on the sand, rested from trekking and just admired the sea.
They are brought here by boat from Salang. In comparison, a ferry to the mainland costs almost the same.

I met monkeys, they screamed very unfriendly and bared their yellow teeth, I had to go back to the forest. Too bad I didn't get to take a picture. I suspect that they still eat meat, the fangs are quite large.

The island is very similar to the one in the King Kong movie. It was very sad to leave.

Summing up, I would return to Tioman for a couple of days, and again to Salang. And then I would fly to Kota Kinabalu to dive on Sipadan. Judging by other reports, it's still better there. It’s not worth going here just for diving, after all, this is not the Red Sea. But definitely better than in the Gulf of Thailand.

At prices, everything is very budgetary, as in all of Malaysia, so you don’t have to worry.

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