Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Dive sites exist on both the west and east coat of peninsular Malaysia. However most of the dive sites are on the eastern side. The western side of the peninsular runs parallel with the straits of Malacca with just a few dive resorts to the north west towards the border with Thailand.
Notable Dive Sites
West Coast
Langkawi
Located about 35 km off shore near the Thai/ Malaysian Border, Langkawi is made up of 99 small islands or Pulau. Langkawi is served by an international airport with connecting flights from most of the region's main airports. Langkawi also attracts visitors because of its status as a duty free port.
Palau Langkawi
Most diving takes place in the Palau Payar Marine Park. The waters are plankton-rich in this area which means that the viz is not always gin-clear in the classical tropical diving sense. However, the plankton means the marine life is plentiful, with regular sightings of jacks, fusiliers, Barracudas, groupers and black tip reef sharks. There are also good examples of both soft and hard corals at this location.
Pulau Kaca
Noted for shallow wreck diving with many fishing trawler wrecks forming sanctuaries for marine life.
Coral Garden
Hard and soft corals in depths from 5-18 metres. Large boulders are festooned with dendronephthya soft corals. Viz averages 5-15 metres which is typical of the area. There are also frequent sightings of lion fish and large grouper.
Grouper Farm
Not a structured marine farm as such, but an area noted for large grouper
Pulau Segantang
This site comprises two rocky outcrops with a depth of about 20 metres at the outcrop base. Good for sightings of nurse sharks, barracuda, jacks, lobster, moray eels and molluscs.
Pulau Pangkor
This area is made up of nine uninhabited islands off the central west coast. This location is normally reached by a 2.5 hour drive from Kuala Lumpur to Lumut in the Perak region. A one hour boat ride from Lumut will then enable divers to reach the local dive sites.
The dive sites are swept by currents so care is needed and expect to find yourself doing a drift dive. Expect to see hard corals and large boulders dominating the underwater terrain. The boulders are carpeted with sponges and there are good stocks of fusiliers, jacks, parrot fish, hump head wrasse, barracuda and for macro life enthusiasts, nudibranchs and on occasion, sea horses.
One of the most popular sites is White Rock, which is easily identified as it has a light house. viz is better if there is a current. Stingrays and large grouper may be seen sheltering from the current if you look carefully in between the boulders.
East Coast
Pulau Perhentian
Noted for its golden beaches and relaxed pace, Pulau Perhentian is the most northerly of the of dive locations that cascade down the east coast of eastern peninsular Malaysia.
To get to Palau Perhentian, the traveller can either drive up the coast to Kuala Besut or take a domestic flight to either Kota Bharu or Kuala Terengganu with a taxi or bus connection to Kuala Besut. You then need to take the daily ferry crossing from Kuala Besut to Pulau Perhentian.
The dive sites are located around a group of islands which are reached by boat from Pulau Perhentian,
which is the northern most island in the group.
Tokong Laut
Is a rocky outcrop about 30 minutes away by speed boat. The sea bed is strewn with large boulders and currents sweep the area and bring plankton. This means that sightings of pelagic species, including whale shark is possible.
All the usual reef fish can be found in the area, but the currents do bring in the larger fish in search of prey. Expect to see barracuda, king fish, black tip and nurse sharks.
Pulau Susu
Good for soft and hard coral with better water clarity than other local sites if you plan to take a camera under water. Damsel fish, wrasse, trigger fish and moray eels can be seen here. Maximum depth is about 18 metres.
Terumbu Tiga
Translates as 'Three coral blocks' and considered to be one of the best dive sites in the area.
The sea bed is dominated by granite boulders with a sandy sea bed at 20 metres. Drift diving is the order of the day. All the usual marine life can be found on this site but viz can be as low as 5 metres depending on tidal conditions.
Pulau Lang Tengah
Take a trip south and the next dive destination you will encounter is Pulau Lang Tengah. This is a resort type location and is reached by a 30 minute speed boat ride from Merang Jetty.
Batu Kuching
Boulder terrain under water with about 20 metres depth. The sea seascape is dominated by hard corals and barrel sponges. Fish life includes glass sweepers, wrasse, butterfly fish and snapper.
Terembu Kuning
Also known as Yellow Reef. Good viz and many hard corals that provide a refuge for groupers, barramundi cod and nurse shark. Also good for schooling bat fish.
Tanjung Nibong Laut
Rocky formations on the sea bed with a depth of approx 25 metres. Strong currents make this a good
drift dive site. Good for sightings of barracuda and schooling jacks. The coral garden will yield
butterfly fish, wrasse, rabbit fish and turtles.
Pulau Redang
Pulau Redang is a group of 9 islands and quite well known as a resort destination. The whole archipelago has been designated a marine park since 1985. The marine park is well developed and managed from Pulau Pinang. Most travellers visit Palau Redang during the high season, which is from March to October. Travel by speed boat from the mainland town of Merang. Transfer time is about 45 minutes by speed boat. Check on transfer departure times in advance as this service can be erratic at times.
Big Mount
This pinnacle is submerged and can be found about 50 metres off the northern tip of Pulau Lima. The depth is in the 20-30 metre range. There is something for everyone on this highly regarded site.
Pulau Lima
Depths up to 30 metres and all the usual coral and fish life representative of the area can be seen here.
Mini Mount
Maximum depth about 20 metres and a good site to do a night dive. Some interesting marine life can be seen under the fronds of soft corals. Cowries, banded shrimps, crabs, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, squids, spiny lobsters and octopus have all been reported by night divers.
Terumbu Kiri
Maximum depth about 20 metres with a good variety of coral types and fish life.
Marine Park Centre
The centre incorporates a visitor centre and is a popular location for snorkelers. Slightly further a field, lies a wreck in about 15 metres. The current picks up around the wreck so expect to see all manner of fish sheltering within the confines of the wreck.
Pulau Kapas
A small island location. To get to Pulau Kapas take a 20 minute speed boat ride from Marang. There also refurbished fishing boats that now operate as tourist ferries on the same route but the transfer time increases to about 1 hour if you choose this method of transfer.
The close proximity of the island to the mainland means that there is scope for other activities if there are non-diving members in your group or you tire of the few dive sites around the island.
Berakit
A reef dive flanked by two large boulders festooned in corals. All the usual fish life can be observed. There have also been sightings of bamboo sharks.
Japanese Landing Craft
There is a landing craft wreck at 25 metres. The anti aircraft guns are reported as still being intact and carpeted in soft coral.
Pulau Gemia
Depth varies from 5 to 15 metres. There are many examples of hard coral. Fish life includes chromis, damsels, wrasse, parrot fish and bump head wrasse.
Pulau Tenggol
Located about one hour by speedboat from the small coastal town of Kuala Dungun. Not easy to get to as there is no scheduled ferry service. If you intend to visit Pulau Tenggol, make sure you also arrange a speedboat transfer with the travel company or dive operator.
Pulau Tenggol Bay (AKA Tokong Air Tawar)
This small bay is used for shore dives and is also a popular night dive. There is a gentle 20metre slope. There are many hard corals and several varieties of nudibranch. In addition, expect to see chromis, fusiliers, garden eels, butterfly fish and the less common snake eel. For the night divers, encounters with Spanish dancers, morays and crabs are common.
Batu Tokong Laut
This is a site for the more experienced diver. This unsheltered site has a diverse topography under water with large boulders and swim-throughs. The nooks and crannies make for interesting sightings for the patient diver prepared to explore.
Batu Tokong Kamudi
Slightly deeper at 30 metres, this site has porite mounds as the dominant coral which are covered with Christmas tree worms in places. There are also sea anemones, wrasse, butterfly fish, nudibranchs, parrot fish and large snappers.
Pulau Tioman
Pulau Tioman is one of the better-developed dive locations with a variety of dive operators and accommodation to suit all tastes. The island was also the setting for the 1950's Rogers and Hammerstein film- South Pacific. The Island is located within the Pahang Marine Park.
The vast majority of the diving takes place from the western side of the island. There are some dive centres that have provided technical diving trips in the past to some of the deep wrecks in the South China Seas but on researching this possibility earlier in 2005, I was told that the centre offering this facility had withdrawn from this activity.
For the non- diver, there are well developed resorts and hotels to spend time relaxing as well as excursions to the mountainous interior of the island on nature treks. Places of interest to visit are the Asah waterfall, twin peaks and mount Kajang.
To travel to Pulau Tioman, there is a daily speed boat or catamaran transfer from Mersing jetty on the mainland. Transfer time varies between 1.5-2 hours. In addition, there is an airport on the island with daily direct flights from Kuala Lumpur.
Northeast Pulau Chebeh
This site slopes down to about 25 metres with large boulders littering the bottom. However, the terrain makes for interesting swim-throughs. There is a plethora of hard corals, punctuated with soft corals, sea fans and black corals.
Away from the corals on the sandy bottom, divers can expect to see blue spotted rays. Closer to the reef system, expect to see moray eels, parrot fish, butterfly fish and sweetlips.
Tiger Rock
Considered by many to be one of the best dive sites in the area. The currents can be quite strong but tend to ease off as you descend. The currents bring with them larger pelagics and the reef fish can be seen sheltering in the crevices on the reef.
Sea Fan Garden (Pulau Tulai)
No prises for guessing what you might see at this site. The sea fans are large and colourful. You will also see shoals of glass sweepers and nudibranchs on the coral blocks.
Pulau Aur
We have now reached the southern most dive locations on the eastern coast of peninsular Malaysia.
The sites are within the Johor Marine Park. The islands here are surrounded by deep waters with the
possibility of seeing bigger examples of marine life. Pulau Aur is located 65 km from the mainland. Boat transfers take about 4.5 hours. Most of the transfers leave late evening and arrive early the next morning.
Rayner's Rock
This solitary outcrop breaks the surface at about 4 metres high. There is a sheltered area under water where you will find soft & hard corals that also provides a sheltered area for many species of reef life.
Away from the reef, there are schooling yellow tails, trevallies and rainbow runners.
Pinnacles
This submerged reef slopes from about 12 metres to beyond 25 metres. If dived when a current is running, Pelagics such as jacks, barracuda, black tip sharks and fusiliers will be encountered. Other fish closer to the corals include: wrasse, lion fish, puffer fish, damsels and snappers.
Best Time to Visit
West Coast Peninsular Malaysia - December to May
East Coast Peninsular Malaysia - March to October. The east coast is can be dived all year round but the best viz is best from April to August
World Wise
Consider your travel plans very carefully. The trip to the dive site could be long and tedious as you may need to take a scheduled airline flight from the UK, an internal flight or over land trip once in the country then a boat trip to your dive resort.
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