Visiting Kuala Lumpur

[puget_sound]

I am planning to be in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of weeks next summer for work. While I am in Malaysia, I thought it would be nice to do some diving. I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance on what would be the best option for getting to the nearest dive spot, maybe recommend dive boat operators, etc.

Respectfully,

 

[rotipisang]

Hi,

I'm living in Kuala Lumpur and there are quite a number of divers actively diving during weekends. But there are no dive sites in Kuala Lumpur or nearby the city, usually we will go to islands about 300km or 500km away, which is about 4-6hours drive. If you'd like to Google, you can check for islands named Perhentian, Redang and Tioman. They're located on the eastern coast of the Peninsula Malaysia.

Once in a while, there will be divers meeting up for dinner and we discuss our next diving destinations. Other weekend excursion that you might want to also consider is Bali, though it's in Indonesia it's quite easily accessible by flight from KL that you can do a quick 3D/2N trip over the weekend.

Or perhaps you might want to visit the many dive shops in KL, they'll have many packages that you can choose from and they have websites that you could Google too (I can't recall their URL), but one that crossed my mind now are Rec-N-Tec and Scuba Dynamics.

Hope it helps.

I am planning to be in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of weeks next summer for work. While I am in Malaysia, I thought it would be nice to do some diving. I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance on what would be the best option for getting to the nearest dive spot, maybe recommend dive boat operators, etc.

Respectfully,

 

[puget_sound]

Thank you for the information. Fortunately, I have quite a while to plan and I have some flexibility in my schedule. So I will check out the places that you suggested and perhaps I can build an excursion around one of them.

 

[Zippsy]

bananabread is spot on with the answer. If you work in KL, vgery good weekend diving is easily accessable where you leave on a Friday night and return on a Sunday night. It may be a bit tiring with the drive and ferry transfers but it is worth it and affordable. Every dive shop in town runs those trips. A slightly better option from there is a live-abord trip leaving directly from Mersing or other port that at least lets you sleep as soon as you get to the boat.

 

[Quero]

I used to live in Kuala Lumpur (before relocating to Thailand) and would go diving on weekends. Personally, my favorite was Tenggol Island, which is nearer and easier to reach by car than Tioman or Redang. But as you will probably NOT be traveling by car and are more likely to be flying, Tioman and Redang both have small airports served by Berjaya Air out of Subang, the city airport in KL. Berjaya Air is part of a larger travel corporation and sometimes they have air + hotel packages at their Berjaya Hotels on those islands. If you can tack a little time on to one end of your trip, you could even go dive at Sipadan for a few days.

PS puget_sound, in case you didn't "get" what Zippsy means when he says "banana bread" in his reply--it's the translation from Malay to English of rotipisang's screen name.

 

[rotipisang]

PS puget_sound, in case you didn't "get" what Zippsy means when he says "banana bread" in his reply--it's the translation from Malay to English of rotipisang's screen name.

*grin* and if you get the chance to visit the local stalls/restaurants, I reckon that you try the Roti Pisang/Banana Bread for breakfast... it's Roti Canai (no idea what it's called in English) fried with sweet banana

 

[Dreamdivegirl]

Hi,

There are lots of options for weekend diving from KL.

As well as the choices in Peninsular Malaysia already shared with you, you could also consider diving from Borneo. There are some good WW2 wreck dives near Labuan (with a Dive Operator in Labuan and some new ones starting to emerge in Brunei), a choice of dive sites along the west coast of Sabah (accessible from Kota Kinabalu) and if you have a block of minimum 4 - 5 days free at the end of your stay you could look at staying at a Resort near Sipadan.

You have plenty of choices for good and great diving opportunities - maybe too much .

Enjoy your time in KL and enjoy diving in Malaysia

Cheers,

DG

 

[puget_sound]

I appreciate your information rotipisang. Whenever I travel to an international location for work, I always try to learn as much as I can about the local culture, including the cusine. It helps me get the most out of my visit. That's why advice such as yours is very valuable to me. I will most definately sample the Roti Pisang.

 

[pughio83]

My ex was malay and subsequently lived on off in msia, just outside of KL. Roti pisang is lovely, but also make sure you try sambal undang and indonesian deng deng if you can find it!! NAsi goreng too!! I miss all those foods :-(

Regarding the diving, i have dived perhentian islands, redang, tioman and in borneo of course sipidan/mabul. If you can spare the time, get a flight from KL domestic airport to Kota kinabalu and in KK there are some dive operators (eg borneo divers) and you can arrange accomm/diving for sipidan and staying on mabul (which has fab macro life). If not then any of the east coast islands are nice. Tioman is my fave and have stayed at both the berjaya hotel and a small resort in salang bay. Tioman is a beautiful island and you can explore with some jungle trekking (though care lots of snakes!). Snorkelling in selang bay is nice and have seen turtles, bump headed parrot fish and lots nice fishlife. You can get a bus from the main bus terminal in KL (just ask operators) and takes approx 5hrs to mersing where you get the boat.

Pulau redang also v nice, amazing beaches, diving good also and you can snorkel with baby black tip reef sharks as there is a little nursey near the jetty point. The berjaya resort there is lovely and has an excellent beach. Highly recommended.

Perhentians nice and quiet, crystal clear waters and lovely beaches too, diving not bad, turtles and white tip reef sharks a highlight. Think we flew up towards kelantan to get to the departure point for those islands.

But if you can get to sipidan thats where the magic is. big stuff, small stuff, fantastic diving.

 

[gee13]

As far as I know Roti Pisang is not quite Roti Canai but more like murtabak with bananas rather than meat and eggs. Taste great with curry! Best Roti Canai in KL in Brickfields.

Sipadan Id say best in Malaysia diving hands down, perhaps Layang2 as well but Im sorry to hear of the bio issues theyre having up there. I wonder how parts of the mainland on the west coast fair in the southern parts. I remember as a youth going to the beaches at port dickson and the water was crystal clear when we snorkelled. No doubt now all polluted from development. Then again my first visit to Tioman in 1982 was like turning up in paradise. 1 small resort, deserted beaches, fantastic corals!