Discover Perhentian Besar: Your Ultimate Island Escape for Relaxation

In 2013, we took our parents on their first overseas trip and chose Perhentian Island. In 2023, we returned to Perhentian Island, this time with our own children, taking them to see the world for the first time.

[Rainbow] Names of the islands:
Pulau Perhentian Besar (Big Perhentian Island)
Pulau Perhentian Kecil (Small Perhentian Island)

[Airplane] Transportation:
Fly to Kota Baru (code: KBR) – Note: Not Kota Kinabalu
Take a taxi to Kuala Besut pier | 150RM for a one-way van (fewer people can use GRAB)
Speedboat to Perhentian Island 30 minutes | Round-trip ticket 70RM per person, 35RM for children
– From Kuala Besut pier to Perhentian Island: 08:00 / 09:00 / 10:00 / 11:00 / 13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00 / 16:00 / 17:00
– From Perhentian Island to Kuala Besut pier: 08:00 / 10:00 / 12:00 / 16:00

[Grass] Choosing between the big and small islands:
We went to the small island in 2013 and the big island in 2023. If you want more adventure and a more rustic feel, the small island is more suitable. There are more attractions to visit, and local villagers live there. The big island is purely for tourists, but the accommodations are more spread out, and the beaches are connected by walking or water taxis.

Additionally, from my rough observation, most of the new accommodations in recent years have been on the small island.
Accommodation tip – Be sure to zoom in on the map to check the distance between accommodations and the size of the beach in front. Try to choose accommodations close to the edge of the beach.

[Dolphin] Water activities:
There are very few activities on Perhentian Island, basically no “artificial” projects, just snorkeling for 30-40RM. But because of this, the sea is exceptionally quiet. At the same dive site, you will encounter at most 2-3 groups (excluding the turtle dive site at Per).
Perhentian Island has specialized dive shops, including some run by Chinese. You can look up V yourself.

[Tiger] How to spend time with children on Perhentian Island:
1. Snorkeling is one of the simplest ways. If you have a private small beach, you don’t need to worry about the kids getting bored.
2. Jungle trekking.
3. Visiting the wind power station.

[Birthday Cake] Dining:
Even though some restaurants are highly praised, we found them to be just okay. Especially in terms of the freshness of seafood, they are all the same… A set meal plus a drink for one person can be done for 20RM.

[Balloon] Reflections:
When we visited in 2013, my mother was a bit afraid of the water, but we encouraged her to go into the sea at PER, and we were very surprised to see a large sea turtle. When we visited again in 2023, as I held my child’s hand with one hand and kept paddling with the other, pointing out various marine life, the child was also excitedly pointing out the new things they saw.

There is always a small sense of passing down the joy and surprise. This might be one of the reasons why Perhentian Island is called my life island.

@KLOOK Global Travel Booking