{"id":174755,"date":"2018-08-27T16:32:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T14:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/perhentian-islands-malaysia\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T12:48:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T10:48:44","slug":"perhentian-islands-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/perhentian-islands-malaysia\/","title":{"rendered":"Perhentian Islands: Tips for This Snorkeling and Beach Paradise in Malaysia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To be honest, I had imagined the trip to the idyllic Perhentian Islands in Malaysia would be different. The waves were crashing harder and harder against the tiny nutshell of a boat we were sitting in, and by then I was thinking about how much of my camera gear I\u2019d have to say goodbye to if the next wave washed into the boat\u2014or worse, if we all fell out of the boat. <\/p>\n\n

\"Perhentian
Dream beaches right on your doorstep: The Coral View Island Resort is located right on the beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Strangely enough, I wasn’t afraid for my life or of drowning. That might be because I always feel safe in the water, and thanks to years of swimming lessons when I was young, I’m also pretty good at moving around in it (at least one sport that comes easily to me!). Or perhaps because the boat ride from the Perhentian Islands back to the mainland takes only forty minutes and goes through fairly open and well-traveled waters\u2014someone would surely fish us out of the water if all else failed. And with a life jacket (thankfully, we had one) and the water at a comfortable 27 degrees Celsius\u2014just like a bathtub\u2014we could probably stay in the water for quite a while. <\/p>\n\n

The seemingly rough seas weren\u2019t really the problem, but rather the boats\u2014which aren\u2019t really seaworthy\u2014that serve as water taxis or ferry services connecting the Perhentians to the mainland. On a large ferry, you probably wouldn\u2019t have noticed a thing. But those can\u2019t even get close to the Perhentians in the first place. Because there\u2019s no harbor. Paved roads? Nope. Buses? Cars? No. None of that. And so the two Perhentian Islands<\/strong>\u2014 Perhentian Besar<\/strong> (the large island) and Perhentian Cecil<\/strong> (the small island)\u2014lie like two lost islands off the coast of East Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n

\"Perhentian<\/figure>\n\n

Perhentian Islands: Malaysia’s Diving Paradise<\/h2>\n\n

According to Lonely Planet, the Perhentian Islands are supposed to be the fifth most beautiful diving spot in the world<\/strong>. As a complete diving novice, I had no idea that beforehand. In fact, I\u2019d always been a bit wary of diving. Water itself is my element, sure, but actually diving down there, with just an oxygen tank to breathe, and then there\u2019s the whole pressure thing! Afterward, I can’t handle the pressure difference, I have trouble equalizing the pressure, my ears go haywire, I lose it, my eardrum bursts and won’t heal\u2014and just like that, hello, permanently unfit to fly.<\/p>\n\n

Pretty lame for a flight attendant who really doesn\u2019t feel like retraining at this stage in her life. Okay, maybe I\u2019m being a bit dramatic, but that\u2019s just how I feel about diving. Sometime in the last few years, I gave snorkeling a try on Koh Phangan\u2014and that\u2019s when I thought for the first time, looking at the colorful coral reefs and cute little fish: Maybe diving would be something after all. <\/p>\n\n

\"Perhentian
The Perhentian Islands have beaches straight out of *Robinson Crusoe*: During the off-season, you’re practically alone on Perhentian Besar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

But it took another snorkeling trip to the Perhentians to really convince me\u2014I\u2019ll be back, and next time I\u2019ll have more time to dive! Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t take any pictures underwater. But I have the most beautiful ones in my mind, and that\u2019s worth something too: On our snorkeling trip, we saw just about every kind of marine life the reefs right off Perhentian Besar<\/strong> have to offer: brightly colored clownfish, huge and incredibly fast sea turtles, and sharks a meter and a half long. <\/p>\n\n