andrewrh

Does anyone know any good beaches/resorts in Malaysia apart from the north coast of Penang ?

Englishmum

Pulau Tioman (South East of penisula Malaysia). Crystal clear water and gorgeous soft sand.

You need to take a ferry (some are high speed) or you can fly there from Malaysia and Singapore.


I haven't been to Pulau Sibu or Pulau Rawa (same group of islands) but friends have and enjoyed the islands - apparently great for just chilling out, relaxing in rustic surroundings. No nightlife, just peace and quiet.

Kuantan is also apparently good (has a Club Med there) but is more conservatively Islamic in NE peninsular Malaysia, not sure if/how it might impact a beach holiday, probably not much AFAIK.

NB: you need to check with Malaysia about the monsoon seasons depending on the time of year you are going....the west coast may be fine whilst the east coast has the monsoon rains and vice-versa...

(Have no idea about Sarawak, the Malaysian part of Borneo but AFAIK not so great for beaches, more of a jungle/cultural experience with the ethnic tribes, orang utans etc)

ex reg

Most will swim in hotel pools.
Sabah is quite nice for beaches.
And of course Desaru which is 1.5 hr drive from Singapore although some of the beaches there can be rough and shelve quite steeply , but if you know the right ones then they are very nice.

Bintulu in Sarawak has some really nice beaches.
That was 30 years ago but I'd expect they could have improved in that time.
On a coastal drive up to Kuantan which takes about 7 hours you'll pass some very nice beaches.
If you don't know the area just google the names.

But generally most will sit by a pool.
Oh the Perhentian Islands have some nice beaches but it's mainly diving there.
Beaches on Langkawi are good but the island itself isn't top of my list although others will like it.

Bijilo123

I had a nice but brief trip to a Klong which is a fishing hut in the sea. I enjoyed it - it was a strange all night party of fishing and eating with a few beers. I did not understand anyone there but they were all really nice. I recommend it.

bakedbean

Langkawi is a better destination for a "beach holiday" than Penang. There are one or two nice beaches on Penang but you'll have to search for them and Batu Ferringhi is a dump IMO.

Langkawi for beaches. Penang for food and nice old buildings.

OzSheila

Redang is good. Lovely white sand, clear turquoise waters, palm trees, etc. Stayed here for 5 days last year and would recommend:
http://www.berjayahotel.com/redang/index.asp

HTH

Inselaffen

the beach at the Sea Gypsy on Sibu is very nice.
the beach at Rimba on the same island is not great and the tide is out half of the day. However, at high tide the snorkelling there is very good. when we went we even saw black tip reef sharks

bakedbean

As Englishmum said do check out the monsoon times carefully. As a general rule, East side Malaysia to be avoided during NE monsoon (Dec-Jan) and probably avoid West side Malaysia SW monsoon - SW monsoon more difficult to pinpoint, starts up May-ish but the heaviest rainfall certainly in Penang/Langkawi (and Phuket if you want to get into Thailand) during Sept-Oct. Someone correct me if they disagree with these dates. You can of course get lucky and find a dry week during those times.

Inselaffen

EC Malaysia monsoon period is more end Oct-March

andrewrh

Thanks everyone for all the good information !

RayLoh

Recommend that you go for Pulau Paya. It's a marine park north of Penang ... by ferry it takes about 1.5 hrs. They have a floating platform with freshwater, food etc. The water's clear and fishes abundant for snorkelling. No need to worry about monsoon etc. Can share pics I took last Aug. -Rayloh

easy

nice questions

mnicol

I agree. Sea Gyspy has the best beach on Sibu, but the snorkelling at Rimba is good too. Have stayed at Sea Gypsy many times in the past few years, as it is a short trip from Johor/Singapore, so a great place for a weekend break from the hustle and bustle of city life...