Diving Tioman

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

taliesin58

Contributor
Messages
137
Reaction score
1
Location
Yamaguchi, Japan
# of dives
200 - 499
I was pretty bored and getting frustrated with the daily grind on Mon., so I impulsively bought tickets to singapore for the end of july.
After buying the tickets, I was researching more about the area and decided to do some diving in Pulau Tioman.
Has anyone here had experience there? Any recommended dives?
 
taliesin58:
I was pretty bored and getting frustrated with the daily grind on Mon., so I impulsively bought tickets to singapore for the end of july.
After buying the tickets, I was researching more about the area and decided to do some diving in Pulau Tioman.
Has anyone here had experience there? Any recommended dives?

I was there 4-5 times 98 so I imagine a few of the dive operators have come and gone. But if I were going back to Singapore area, I'd take the time to go farther north and dive Redang. (I also hear Perhentian is good) I never had great vis at Tioman perhaps due to its proximity to Singapore? It's nice but Redang has the same marine life but I thought better dive sites.
 
taliesin58:
decided to do some diving in Pulau Tioman.
Has anyone here had experience there? Any recommended dives?

Was there a couple of years back diving from Salang village. The diving is ok rather than stunning. Most of the appeal of Tioman comes from its proximity to Singapore and that it is duty free - i.e. booze and fags cheap from the the main village Tekek.

We didn't much like Salang, it was tatty and the only places to eat were attached to hotels/chalet places. That means that the folk working there do not own it and have little incentive to smile, take your order or even deliver food. It was the most miserable place.

Compare that to Perhentian Kecil we had visited the previous week where the beach restaurants are all family run and very lively. And the diving is stunning! It would take you a day to get that far north either by plane /taxi or overnight bus so it depends on your time in Singapore. Another option would be to jump on a plane to Kota Kinabalu and dive daily from there.
 
We were in Tioman last November for a week, had a great time.
Here is a good web site http://www.tioman.com.my/
We stayed in Salang in the north. Not the busiest place in the world but a great place to chillout. The accomodation was a bit basic but the sea lapping at the base of the steps made up for that. With the exception of one waiter everybody was friendly. Food was good basic malayisian fare with a bias towards sea food.
I dived with B&J's, no complaints except we dived some of the sites twice in a week. As a photograher this is not really an issue, I can dive a site 10 times and still find new critters.
I have been to Redang and Perhentian, the latter being my favorite. As long as you have a week then any of these islands can be reached.
If the budget allows you could fly on to Sabah and then Sipadan, etc are easy to reach. You may need to book in advance for Sipadan as there are limited permits available.

Have a fantastic time and post your thoughts when you return.
 
Yeah, I would love to go to Sipadan, but I am on an extremely limited budget. Also, the person I am traveling with wants nothing to do with diving, and she is not big on wilderness and just relaxing on the beach. We only have 9 days, so I managed to bargin her down to 4 days in Singapore for her to shop and do her thing, and 4 days on some remote island with me diving. So, the travel time to the destination is a big factor, too.
 
Four days shoping in Singapore and you expect to have any money left.
Oh well maybe you can hitch hike to Tioman :rofl3:

I struggle to understand why your budget for 4 days should not be the same as her's for 4 days shopping + accomodation in Singapore. As Malaysia costs less than half the price of Singapore you should be able to go 5* all the way.

With only 4 days it would be best to fly into Tioman or Redang. Have a look at http://www.impression.com.my/Tiomanmain/Berjaya_Tioman/Berjayatio.htm
for the 5* options.
http://www.berjaya-air.com/flightschedule.htm for flight times and costs.

The coaches to Mersing go early (6:30) and cost about Singapore $35. It is cheaper if you can get to Jahor and catch the bus from there.

There are numerous places to stay on Tioman, you just need to match your requirements for comfort against your budget.

Have a look at http://www.japamalaresorts.com/aboutJapa.htm
or contact http://www.divetioman.com/ they can recommend suitable accomodation to match your budget as well as advice on getting to Tioman.

Have a great time
 
taliesin58:
Yeah, I would love to go to Sipadan, but I am on an extremely limited budget. Also, the person I am traveling with wants nothing to do with diving, and she is not big on wilderness and just relaxing on the beach.

then you definitely don't want Tioman - what beaches there are are very scruffy. Head up to Redang or Perhentian islands - you can do either on the bus from Singapore very cheaply. Perhentian Kecil is cheap option but you need to book early for accommodation. Your friend will really enjoy the km long white beach while you go diving!
 

Back
Top Bottom