Malaysia

[Wbwilly]

Thinking about a trip this winter out of the Caribbean...anyone have some experience with Berjaya Tioman Beach, Golf and Spa Resort? Is the dive center safe and dependable? How about the food? I'll take any and all comments and suggestions.

 

[Jason Ooi]

East coast Malaysia from November to end Feb are monsoon season, you only can dive in Langkawi Island "Pulau Payar" or east Malaysia Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai.
Berjaya redang good foods and nice environments, you can get flight schedules on web, fly from KL to Tioman.
Here the link http://www.berjaya-air.com/flightschedule.htm
Have a nice trip!

 

[Bowmouth]

Thinking about a trip this winter out of the Caribbean...anyone have some experience with Berjaya Tioman Beach, Golf and Spa Resort? Is the dive center safe and dependable? How about the food? I'll take any and all comments and suggestions.

Best time to visit Tioman and East Coast Malaysia is from June thru October when seas are calm and weather is nice. From November thru May seas can be choppy and there's sometimes rain for days on end.
Tioman hassome excellent diving and you MUST dive both Pulau Chebeh and Tiger Rocks when you visit.
The Berjaya Resort is very nice, has a professional Dive Centre (ask or Richard) and a beautiful golf course.

 

[Zippsy]

November through May???? April and May are probably the best times to dive Tioman. March is often pretty good too. Heck, mid-February dives I've done there were pretty decent although the water was probably too rough for many divers.

...and while Berjaya has close to the best accomodations on Tioman, don't expect Caribbean quality. Also, you may want to consider diving with Tioman Reef Divers or B&J's which are more diver friendly shops, IMHO.

...and if you are travelling all the way over here, why not dive Lembeh, Manado, Bali, Layang Layang, the Maldives, Philippines, Sipadan or one of the other much nicer places? Not that Tioman is bad but...

 

[malaysia-islands]

Willy, by "winter" I reckon you mean Dec-Feb or March. Tioman *mostly* not accessible through these months. Yes, you can take the airplane to Tioman, you will likely be staying indoor due to the rain.

The diving should be (un)officially re-open early March. The resort is acceptably nice, with village-style architecture and superb greenery. But to enjoy the crystal-clear ocean, you will need to visit during the non-rainy season.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Wbwilly]

Thanks to all for the advice. Diving seems to be iffy that time of year so I'll wait for another time. Again, thanks for the good advice.