Tioman/Perhentian questions

[vixtor]

Hello,

After oscillating between Coron and Palau, I decided that the destination that fits most of my requirements for the next trip is Malaysia D). I would like to go to Tioman and Perhentian somewhere in February-March, and spend 3-4 weeks there.

My plan would be to go Singapore->Tioman->Taman Negara->Perhentian->Kuala Lumpur.

So, I have a few questions to the people who visited these places:
- cards&ATM machines - are they available in Tioman/Perhentian, or I need cash?
- is there a way to travel from Tioman to Taman Negara directly, not returning to Kuala Lumpur? (bus/ferry/etc.)? Between Taman Negara and Perhentian I saw some travel agencies that are providing it. Any advice whom to discuss with on the island or in Mersing/Tanjung Gemuk on this topic?
- accomodation on the islands - should I try to arrange it in advance, or can I do it upon arrival? Are there enough options or the islands will be crowded and fully booked? How is it usually?
- diving: I have tried to contact Bali Hai divers, with no luck - they haven't answered yet. Any advice whom should I dive with? I'd like to find a tech dive center that would be able to take me to HMS Repulse & HMS Prince Of Wales eventually or at least to some other wrecks around Tioman, not just reefs.
- other activities on the islands - what would be nice to do there except diving, for a diving (but not as maniac like I am) spouse?
- resources available on the islands: can I buy t-shirts, towels, cosmetics, etc. from there - I mean, do they have villages/small cities on them, with markets, shops, local food markets and everything, or are they more like resort-oriented, with just restaurants and bungalows?
- any other advice?

Thanks in advance,
Victor

 

[Zippsy]

Feb/Mar is very early in the season for those islands and I believe all the dive shops are closed now. It's the middle of the monsoon. The best chance of diving the Repulse or POW from Tioman is with B&J Dive Centre. There are a few small villages with very basic accommodation and food options as well as a few remote, nicer resorts. Most divers stay in Salang, Tekek or ABC villages rather than the resorts, in what may be described as 1/2 star shacks or cinderblock huts. The ferry to/from Tioman leaves from Mersing. You can book a taxi to just about anywhere from there. Its been at least 5 years since I used one but at the time, a taxi from Mersing to the Johor Bahru causeway (entry to Singapore) was about M$100.

 

[vixtor]

Zippsy, I found various places on the net saying that the season starts from January, February or even March. What should I expect at the end of March? Will it be a deserted/abandoned island, or would it be a normal, inhabited place with everything open?

 

[Zippsy]

Most shops do open at the beginning of March, or even mid-February, and I am sure by the end or March the island will be in full swing with lots of divers but.... when I say it's early in the season, I mean that the Monsoon season in the South China Seas is ending around that time. I have been there as early as 14 February and the seas were so rough that everyone was getting seasick, even the fish. Diving was allowed only at a few sheltered sights. There is no way you could do the POW or Repulse in those conditions. I have had it almost as bad up to mid-March too. By April, you are pretty guaranteed of the monsoon being gone but the time it leaves, no one can predict accurately. That all said, some year, waters are calm throughout March. Just be prepared and note that the POW and Repulse would definitely be the last places dive boats would go to if there is still bad weather.

 

[vixtor]

I have been last year a little bit to the north - in the Koh Phangan/Koh Tao area. Ok, the area is sheltered better by the Gulf of Thailand, but still the weather was great, and the sea almost flat (ok, we caught a 1-2m waves storm one afternoon, but that was all, and it was raining only once at 5-6 days). Is it really so much difference in Tioman in the same season? That would be sad, it would mean that I should maybe delay my trip.. but I wouldn't like to do it.

 

[bugeye]

Hi Vixtor,

Of all the great places you could head to dive what's your interest in Tioman? I always thought of Tioman as a convenient weekend trip from Singapore not somewhere people would travel to if they had a choice.

 

[Quero]

Vixtor, listen to Z. He knows this area very, very well. While on a map the islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Tioman appear to be near one another, in fact they are not so near--I would guess about 1,000 km as the crow flies. Would the weather be the same if you traveled 1000 km north or south of Bucharest? Furthermore, the Thailand islands are sheltered inside the Gulf with the landmass of Thailand and Cambodia to the east, whereas the Malaysia islands are fully exposed to the monsoon winds.

Getting a trip to the POW and the Repulse is not exactly trivial. You should contact B&J to get the best information about the chances of getting out there when you plan to travel. If they tell you that your chances are minimal, change your plans--either go later in the season or find a different dive destination with wrecks.

There is simply no rational debate with the weather patterns (we always wish Mother Earth and Father Sky would listen to us, but they do exactly what they please, no matter how much we beg).

 

[vixtor]

bugeye, Quero,

The idea is the following: I am looking at a destination that would fit most of the following requirements:
1. nice tropical place, with palm trees on the beach, some jungle in the back, wild scenery with rocks, waterfalls, gulfs and lagoons with blue waters and stuff like that
2. accomodations on the beach, as individual bungalows - i really love to wake up and exit from my bungalow just to see the ocean
3. to have some activities to do - like seeing interesting places (lagoons, caves), exploring, rafting, and so on on the surface; maybe a small town or a village nearby, with some historic sites to visit, and mandatory some food market with exotic stuff
4. nice diving - good visibility (i am tired of my murky black sea), some wrecks (but not fishing boats, something with a little history attached); I don't discuss about reefs, because reasonable reefs should be anywhere

Koh Phangan was almost perfect for all these requirements, except diving - crappy diving, bad visibility, poor fish life from overfishing and no diving center knowing of any wrecks or going to any wreck; ok, I found later on the internet some deep wrecks, but even more extreme than Repulse and POW, which is a little bit too much.

I wanted this year to find something like Koh Phangan, but with some better diving in terms of visibility and wrecks.

I started by looking at Coron, in Philippines. Good diving as I read, but the city seemed dull, with no beaches. There were some resorts, but staying there meant you were isolated for the night on their resort, with no possibility to travel back to Coron, and the prices were crazy (~100-200 USD/night).

Then, I have looked at Palau. Almost perfect, except a slightly more expensive flight and the fact that again there are no beaches with bungalows - I only found hotels in the cities or, again, remote, isolated resorts.

Tioman seemed reasonable enough - good diving opportunities, stuff to explore, some villages (even though from what I have read they seem very small). Currently I'm planning a trip to Tioman (8-10 days), then a short 3 days visit to Taman Nagara on the continent, and then another 8-10 days in Perhentian.

I am really open to other suggestions that any of you might have, it is not yet decided.

 

[Quero]

Your plan isn't a bad one, Vixtor, it's just not the right time of year! All of the Malaysia islands on the east coast will be subject to the same potentially poor sea surface/weather conditions.

Have you been to Bali? The wreck of the USAT Liberty is a shore dive. Or you could go to Vanuatu and dive the Coolidge.

 

[vixtor]

Vanuatu is a little bit too far away and more expensive to reach (I would probably rather go to Palau than Vanuatu if having to choose between them).

Bali - my GF was there already, and we'd rather try to go to a place that is new for both of us.

Returning to Tioman/Perhentian - how bad should I expect it to be? Are we talking about 1-1.5 meter waves, or about serious storms with really choppy seas? I could eventually twist the route and go first to Perhentian, where I wouldn't really care if I'm diving in some sheltered places, then to Tioman for a better chance to good weather. Should I expect a continuous storm that is not ending from day to day, or some days with rough seas, and days with better seas?

Keep in mind that I'm used to dive the Black Sea all year round. Ok, we definitely don't have monsoons here, but we see big waves from time to time..