Which island off the coast of Malaysia would you recommend for me and my 9 year old daughter for next August or September, for a week or two? One with a nice, cheap beach hut beside the beach with a few cafes and bars nearby would be ideal. My daughter loved Koh Pha Ngan in Thailand, when were were there.
I thought the Perhentian Islands off the north east coast were excellent. We got to snorkel with giant green turtles and swim with "friendly" reef tip sharks. I wouldn't recommend where we stayed to anyone as the owners aren't the best and the bay is a bit agitated, bringing up lots of dead coral to the beach making it hard to walk on.You wont get the same kind of standards in accommodation as you would in Thailand but it's still pretty good.
Reply to this I agree with Wanderly Wagon, but keep it on thr big island. It's more quiet than the small one and way better for a kids...oppose to drunk youngster on the small island...the big one is very quiet!
Reply to this Thanks guys! 😊
I will check the Perhentian Islands out in my guidebook today.
I would love to show my daughter cool things like turtles and sharks, but am not so sure she would cooperate with learning to snorkle. Can those be seen without snorkle gear?
Does snorkling need lessons, or is it something anyone can do? I might try it myself. How much does it cost? 😊
Reply to this Hi Mel,
the small problem with kids is to find the right equipment...if they have a properly fitting equipement, they will love it.
What you need is simple....mask, fins and the "tube"....but most importantly, a proper safetyu jacket. If you want to be 100% sure, go to a shop like decathlon before your trip. You can find some as low as 25 euros...and they are the most important thing. If the jacket is too big, it could actually kill her by drawing her below it (it does happen).
If you've got the right jacket, she will love it. As she will float, she will be much more confortable.
Not sure if she will see turtles while snorkleing...she may see sharks are on big island, one spot have them for sure. But more important, she will see hundred of fishes of different colors.
for the cost, it's all depend if you have to rent your equipement or not, but it will never be much in Perhentians, as you never go very far with the boat. Trust me, she will loves it...and water is hot and clear...
Reply to this go to a shop like decathlon before your trip
I would certainly want to rent the equipment on the island, rather than carry it around with us. If we were sure we like snorkling and are going to do it again, then it would be worth lugging it around, but we have never tried it before.
But more important, she will see hundred of fishes of different colors.
Ah, that would delight her, and me too for that matter. We have never seen things like that, in the wild, just in sea life in Munich.
How deep would the water need to be, for us to see colourful fish? Would we need to go out far? Maybe we dont need jackets, if my daughter stays beside me and the water isnt too deep.
Thanks Peter! 😊
Reply to this Hi,
You should ALWAYS have a kid wearing a safety jacket when snorkeling. The only exception when I leave my son without on is when he is swimming from ther beach, and i know he has "foot".
For the rental equipement, I would rent everything, but i would invest in a proper fitting life jacket for her. By the way, this is also a good idea to wear for her while she is on the boat to reacvh the islands.
The problem is not much if something happen to her, but if something was to happen to you. No life jacket would be a very bad idea...I don't expect a 10 years old to have the right saving-life reactions.
You will see small fishes as soon as you walk in the water....but for better snorkeling, it's everything from 2 meters to 5 meters....and this should be amazing.
Don't hesitate if you have any question. You can compromise on confort, but you cannot on security for our little ones. Feeling safe will make you have an even better experience.
Reply to this Thanks Peter! 😊 Yeah, you are right. Nothing is worth compromising safety for.
Do you have any photos of the little fish we would see as soon as we walk in the water. I am getting all excited about this trip now. I cant wait to to be in such an exotic place again.
Will we have any problems getting on an off the island, because of the rainy season? I am going to leave us with a good margin of error for getting back to Bangkok for the flight, but does rain causes a lot of problems for boats?
Maybe there are also lifejackets that are light weight and can fold up small. I think I might look out for one like that.
Reply to this Perhentian side you are in the good season....meaning not much rain, even no rain.
From BKK, you need to fly south to Narathiwat and than make you way south the border. i don't have proper info on this as we did not do it. We fly to Kota Bharu from KL...but to fly to Kota Bharu, you have to get through KL.....go to say hi to Ali!
For the little fishes, my blogs are full of diving pics...most of these fishes can be also seen while snorkeling...it will give you an idea.
Reply to this Thanks Peter 😊
We plan to travel overland from Bangkok to Singapore, and then back up again. Going to the island will be on the way back up. Though, I might need to slip in another beach somplace, because I am not so sure my daughter will willingly wait for almost a month for sea and sand.
For sure I will say hi to Ali. We will surely be stopping at KL on the way down.
Reply to this I have just been reading about the Perhentian islands in my Lonely Planet book. Somehow, the smaller one seems like more fun. And the accomodation on the bigger one seems to be of the air conditioned and fancy type. Simple beach accomodation is OK and even desirable for us. But, maybe somebody will come along and post something here that changes my mind so nothing is set in stone yet. 😊
Has anyone been to Penang? Is seems interesting from what the Lonely Planet says. Has anyone been there? What did you think about it. Will we be easily able to visit or find accomodation on beaches?
We might visit 2 islands. We have one and a half months to get from Bangkok to Singapore and back again. Maybe there is time to spend a week on one island on the way down and a week on one on the way up.
Reply to this Small Islands is more "fun" for youing adults, have a look at Neil and Donna blog. If fun means alcool and late night with no sleep for your daughter..... I'm not sure we have the same definition of fun.
Penang is a completely different story, it's a true mix of Asian culture, Malay, Indian, British and Chinese. A beautiful place, but more in regard of history and culture. Penang is technically an island...but there is the bridge to the Peninsula...and all the big hotels you may need or not need.
there are plenty of islands on the way up and down to chose from, Tioman is another one. I would not rule out Penang, but 3 days may be enough.
Reply to this It feels really weird reading about tropical islands and looking at photos of them on TravelBlog while looking out at the snow comming down all day here.
Reply to this Well....for us it's the other way....we are "going"for ther snow for few days in July...because here....it's bright sunshine every single day. I was last week in shanghai...cold and grey...and it's easy to chose between the two.
But hey, my son love the snow...well...few days per year!
Reply to this I took the train from Bangkok to the border near Pennang and then took a bus over to the other side and then you need to get a ferry out to the islands.
The south 3 provinces of Thailand there is a low level insurgancy with 2500 dead over the years mostly from bombings and motorcycle drive bys. Once you are in Malaysia no worries.
I stayed on the side where the peir is now on the small island way to the right if you are looking at the island from the water. I would look to stay on the small island on the other side it is very quiet over there.
Reply to this Thanks ChuckMiser 😊 Staying on the other side of the small island looks like a good idea. I want to avoid the airconditioned type places. But, maybe they are not as bad as I imagine. I am thinking about what some of the ones in Thailand are like. ie They cost way more than beach huts, and they and they often look at odds with the environment around them
Reply to this Island Paradise, with Turtles, sharks, lizards and finding Nemo.
Hey Mel!
The place we stayed in was called D'Lagoon. It was nice and accommodation was basic, although we could have got better if we paid more. The beach is covered in dead coral and swimming isn't great there for young children as the coral comes right up to the beach and there isn't any sandy area for swimming. Coral cuts very easily if you scrape your skin on it. The food was good and its last drinks at 10pm and lights out at 11pm. They say they don't sell alcohol as they are Muslim but they have a steady supply for those who want it. It's just not on the menu or displayed. I and others found the owners were more interested in money than their customers. The staff were nice and friendly though.
You are not allowed shoes in the restaurant as is the practice in most beach side restaurants in some SE Asian countries. One morning still not fully awake I stopped talking to a guy at the entrance to the restaurant. When we finished talking I had forgotten completely that my flip flops were still on. I walked towards where you order only to be shouted/roared at to get out and take my shoes off. I could have understood if they said it politely, as I always try to make sure I respect the customs of other countries and people but shouting at me was a bit much. It wasn't like I had done it before or was doing it on purpose.
If you do stay on the small island I would take this place off your list. It has some of what you might be looking for but swimming for children is not great.
Reply to this Yes, that certainly looks like a place to avoid Darren. Who needs that kinda aggravation. At least there are plenty of other places listed in the Lonely Planet.
Which side of the small island did you stay at? Was it the side that Chuck recommends? I like the idea of it being not too close to the partying 18 year olds. I dont mind them, but all day and all night every day and night might be a bit too much.
Did you spend any time on the big island? If so, what was it like? A nice variety of people and accomodation types or too fancy and expensive with just corporate burn out victims from London and New York sitting by their secluded plunge pools 10 metres from the sea or in their ice cold bars.
Reply to this I didn't get to the big island. From what I hear the accommodation is a little more expensive. Before you go to the island the boat company has a list of accommodation and you pick where you want to get off. The list of accommodation also tells about facilities etc etc.
Reply to this 
