Malaysia diving

[lep]

Hello! I'm an ex-pat living in Kuala Lumpur and have recently gotten addicted to diving. Have been to a few different dive sites in the Southeast Asia area. Are there great quick trips that could be done over a weekend? Also have a week in October, looking for great spots... just did Layang Layang and really enjoyed that set up. Any suggestions? Also, if you know of some good dive shops in the area to check out that would be helpful. Looking to purchase a dive computer...

Thanks!
LEP

 

[pakman]

Lep, welcome to SB!!!

I think a lot of more experience divers would be jealous of your KL location and having already been to Layang Layang!! I'm not an expert on diving on the peninsular Malaysia side but given the convenient flight connections to Sabah and the rest of Asia, you've got a list of some pretty darn good sites at your doorsteps that people halfway around the globe would drool over...

Until the Malaysian experts chime in, I can think of a few.
On the east coast, you've got Tioman and Redang/ Perhentian. There's some islands near Langkawi on the West side (heard this was OK, some colleagues of mine just had a vacation out there and did a few dives there). Of course you've got all those world class dive sites around Sabah - Sipidan etc. Phuket and the Similans just north of you. There's Bali further south...

As for weekend trips from KL, I remember asking about this as I had a business trip to KL last year. Seems any worthwhile dive is a good drive or short flight away. I ended up golfing (but would have rather been blowing bubbles) Here's a map of Malaysian dive sites.

 

[malaysia-islands]

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur! First thing first, I can't recommend any dive shops to purchase anything because I barely have any equipment of my own, except a snorkeling mask, heh!

Diving islands in Malaysia, I can sum up into 3 parts:

West Coast (Straits of Malacca, usually not recommended *smirk*):
- Pulau Payar
- Pulau Pangkor and Pulau Sembilan

East Coast (South China Sea, highly recommended!):
- Redang
- Perhentian
- Tioman
- Rawa
- Lang Tengah
- Gemia (just got back from this island, wait for my photos ya?)
- Kapas
- Pemanggil
- Aur (really popular for Singaporeans)
- Tinggi
- Sibu
- Tengah
- Besar

East Malaysia (Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea):
- Manukan
- Sapi
- Sipadan
- Layang-Layang
- Mantanani
- Mabul
- Kapalai
- Mantabuan
- Mataking
- Miri Reef (recently discovered)

Have fun

 

[Quero]

Hey LEP, As an expat who resided in KL for 5 years before moving closer to the water :14: I did a fair amount of regional dive travel from there. You are in a good spot to hop to any number of wonderful places if you can get away for a few days. Manado/Lembeh/Bunaken in Indonesia and Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai in Malaysia both take most of a day (or a day and a night) to get to, but are well worth the hassle. And world-class diving in Thailand takes only a couple of hours to reach with nonstop flights into Phuket from KUL. Bali is nearby (I like the Tulamben area). Even Maldives is just a four-hour flight away!

While there are great dive destinations galore in the region, we certainly should not overlook the islands off the east coast of Malaysia, and particularly those of the Terengganu Marine Park. They represent quite good diving and great value. I see that there's a pretty long list up there already for Malaysia, but I notice that my very favorite east coast dive destination isn't listed! That would be Tenggol. When I lived in KL I would dive Tenggol regularly because it's much, much easier to get to than Tioman, not to mention closer, so that I could simply drive out there Friday night, dive Saturday and Sunday, and get back Sunday night without having to worry about taking time off work. In fact, I believe it's the closest worthwhile dive destination you can reach from KL. (I can send you driving directions if you PM me.) But it's not just the proximity--I believe it's the best diving in Peninsular Malaysia!

I have dived a few days (short trips) at the west coast islands when I couldn't afford the time to go further afield and when east coast diving shut down for the monsoon season. But although Langkawi was a big favorite of mine to visit for relaxation and to get away from the city, I can't say that diving there is really worth much concerted effort--if you happen to be there and can't bear the idea of sitting on the beach with a cold beer, then go dive. For me, on Langkawi, beach and beer win.

I hope your diving days during your stay in KL are fun-filled and safe. Let me know if you have specific questions from an expat point of view. Oh yeah! Almost forgot.... I can recommend a few dive shops in KL. Let me know where you live, and I'll try to point you to the ones I like that are nearest/easiest for you.

 

[malaysia-islands]

Oh yes, I forgot Tenggol. Just a few minutes away from where I'm staying now. Been here for 2 yrs and somehow managed to overlook Tenggol, LOL.

 

[lep]

Wow, thanks for all the information everyone. Very helpful!

 

[btd]

You forgot Lankayan too :
http://lankayan-island.com/index.htm

 

[MartianBeerPig]

Hiya lep. I'm also an ex-pat living in KL so I thought I'd throw in my two cents worth.

I've found the closest 'decent' diving is Tioman. But after reading quero's comments about Tenggol, I can see I've got a new destination to try out. Anyway, drive to Mersing is about three and a bit hours. Ferry to Tioman is a bit over an hour. PM me if you want more details.

Happy diving.

Oh, recommend this mob - http://tioman-dive-centre.com/. They're straight forward and not cowboys. And Tioman is a duty free island so cheap grog lah.

 

[buksida]

Plenty of dive site info can be found here:

Malaysia dive sites