Review & Tips: Pulau Tioman, Malaysia

Please be aware that these posts don't provide comprehensive, guide book level information. We're not claiming a lack of bias either ;) These overviews are simply a record of our experience which we post in the hope that they may occasionally provide more up to date, specific or detailed information than you've been able to find elsewhere...

Getting There:

There are flights direct to Tioman twice daily from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur on Air Berjaya. If you're edgy in aircraft I wouldn't eat a meal before you go however, because the landing usually involves a 30+ degree bank dropping onto a short runway wedged between two massive jungle-covered ridges, the first of which you will scrape over by what appears to be mere inches.

If you'd rather head in by bus, it's very easy to get to Mersing, the village 57km west of Tioman on the Malaysian peninsula, no matter which direction you are coming from. The ferry ride was relatively short (I'd guess less than 2 hours) and enjoyable. The ferry ticket (we paid RM35, about US10) will allow you to get off at any of the villages on the east side of the island.

Accommodation:

We spent 12 days in the same guesthouse on Air Batang, simply because there wasn't any reason to move. After walking around checking rooms and talking to tourists already on the island we discovered there wasn't anywhere that was better value or more convenient than our own little pad. At My Friend's Place we paid RM35 (10US) a night for a chalet in a little garden not 10m from the beach. MFP is located about midway along the southern strip (south of the jetty), right where the beach begins to get sandier.

At that price we got our own little verandah with comfy chairs and table, a neat though basic room consisting of one double bed and one single with clean sheets, towels and mosquito nets provided. A small but effective fan is wall mounted facing the bed. Private shower and toilet are included. The toilet is western, though a bucket and ladle are provided for flushing. Fractionally larger rooms with ceiling fans are available for an RM45. If you just want the double bed and a sunnier room that is closer to the beach (a bit noisier and hotter) you'll pay only RM25.

Immediately to either side of My Friend's Place are Marwar and Moktar's, offering identical rooms for the same prices. The southern tip of the beach is by far the most beautiful and we usually walked the extra 50-100m to save our coral bitten feet when heading out for a swim or snorkel. It's not that far but if you don't want to walk Nazri's offers neater (but not noticeably more comfortable,) rooms at 80RM.

North of the jetty the accommodation is fractionally smarter and more expensive, but the beach isn't as nice. At the extreme north, you can get air conditioned chalets with spectacular views at Bamboo Hill for as little as RM70.

We didn't get as far as Salang, so I can't recommend anywhere there. I'm glad we stayed at ABC though, because everyone staying in Salang faced either a very long trek or an expensive boat trip to get anywhere else on the island. ABC (Air Batang) is convenient to the main village at Tekek.

Food and Drink:

Almost every guesthouse has it's own restaurant with a similar menu and prices. My Friend's Place has excellent cheap food and large portions and we ate the whole (vegetarian) gamut and didn't have the slightest hint of tummy upset. They also offer the best fresh fruit juices. It was easily my favourite place to eat. Marwar's food is not bad but it doesn't hit the tastebuds with as much panache. Nazri's has a nice airy beachside restaurant where the food is a bit more expensive and (in my opinion) not quite as tasty, though of course we never tried their special BBQ. They have more western options for those missing home. Tekek has it's share of restaurants and streetside stalls selling everything from mangos to fresh fish to fried noodles.

Apparently most of the nightlife is in Salang, but there are two good bars on ABC. The livelier one is opposite the Lime Tree Cafe close to Nazri's where they have lovely bales (open-sided huts) filled with cushions for drinking and lounging in and an excellent selection of cocktails and shooters. For beer, beer and more beer, head to the farthest southern bar. Just over the hill at Tekek, Ari's Cafe offers extremely cold Tiger beer and you can snack on longans and coconut cookies while chatting to the locals. It's a very nice location and the bar catches the sea breeze beautifully.

Environment:

The marine park is located just offshore at the southern end of ABC and just around the corner in Tekek. You only have to swim out 10m or so to be floating over the best coral. It's very damaged and bleached in a few places but there is still plenty of colour and variety if you roam up and down the beach. We saw quite a few crown of thorns starfish that might be contributing to the damage. There are plenty of gorgeous fish of all kinds, big and small, giant clams, sea slugs, schools of little neon tetras and anemones. The best snorkelling though, is on one of the many boat trips available to Cat Island and other places a bit further away from the settlements.

I read before we arrived that people come to Tioman for what is under the water, not above, but I respectfully disagree. The jungle is a wonderland and the fauna is spectacular. Apart from the cats (and the odd dog) hanging about the villages, without even heading off the main paths you can see monkeys, giant awak squirrels and tiny little red ones, thousands of birds and butterflies, massive water monitors, geckos, crabs, goannas, goats... it's an animal lover's paradise.

Facilities:

Tekek has a very small bank, lots of duty free (read: chocolate, booze and cigarettes) and souvenir shops if you walk beyond the airport jetty as well as a couple of money change facilities in the large building at the northern end of the runway. Both of the money change facilities closed for a week while we stayed on the island because the owners went back to the mainland. We were still able to change US dollars at a reduced rate at the largest of the duty free stores. ABC is littered with convenience stores and internet cafes. There are decent public toilets in Tekek at the marine park headquarters, the very large blue-roofed compound around the northern jetty.

Things To Do:

Tioman is pretty laid back. We avoided the (relatively) expensive boat and snorkel trips because there was so much to see and do around ABC. The marine park was right outside out door, so there didn't seem a lot of point in heading off to Coral Island. All the guesthouses offer various boat trips, starting at RM40 or so for the Asah village and waterfall and rounding up to RM100 for a full boat tour of the island. It's apparently very cheap to get your diving certs here but Doug can't dive because of an inner ear problem, so we couldn't bench test them ;) Apart from sunbaking, swimming, snorkelling and viewing the wildlife in your garden or the orchards, you can get a massage for RM50 an hour at the northern end of ABC or go on a nighttime jungle walk (RM40). A guide to take you up Tioman's largest volcano will cost you RM400 for a 2 day, overnight trek and you'll climb around 1100 metres.

Then there's the Juara trek. There is a lot of misinformation about this walk so I'll try and explain what we deduced. Though we are not sure, there is apparently, according to just about everyone we talked to, a road from Tekek on which you can catch a minibus or motorbike the entire way. The track we took (also from Tekek, the third path from the north leading back from the main road, it has a sketchy old board reading "Juara 7km" at the entrance) is most definitely not navigable on anything but foot for most of the way. From Tekek this track leads up a short road and seems to disappear in front of the water treatment plant. You need to walk around the plant and continue behind it. The jungle trail leads pretty much continuously UP until you reach the river at the top of the ridge. There are a lot of stairs and it is not a terribly arduous journey, though the path gets very rocky in a few places. Not far beyond the highest point of the ridge the path joins the sealed part of the road into Juara. It is a steady walk downhill all the way to the village from there, about 3.5km. This road is not so kind on the way back, the grade is rather steep in places and slippery when wet. Watch out for snakes, I came within half a step of a dangerous looking critter on our way back. You can read all about it and check out some pictures in Doug's Juara Jungle Joy post.

Impressions:

In general, Tioman makes for an excellent holiday whether you are stopping in for a few days or have more time on your hands, though I think it probably reveals its natural beauty better over the long run. It may take a while for the locals to see you around and warm up to you, but once they do they are quite good sources of information. If you're all about a party, you might not enjoy ABC, though I heard they are more amenable to that kind of thing at Salang. It's probably not heaven if you are single and looking to meet people, I have seen a lot more couples and families since we arrived. It doesn't have the prettiest beaches I've seen but there are more than a few views to take your breath away. It's also ridiculously cheap, our budget for two was running under AUD40 per day on Tioman and we feasted like kings, threw in beer and cocktails occasionally and generally had a great time and didn't worry about the money. The only thing that might balls up your budget would be taking a few of the boat trips on offer. We loved Tioman and we won't forget this first stop on our itinerary in a hurry, it just charmed the pants off us.