Travel tips

The island has three main beaches – Tekek (where the main village and the airport are), ABC and Salang. The first is trashed (unfairly) by Lonely Planet, the other two are where all the travellers head. Salang is becoming a little tatty. Other beaches are opening up.

You can get there by plane from KL (RM292 return, 2 flights per day) or the long way – bus to Mersing on the west coast, followed by a three-hour ferry trip (RM50 return). From Singapore, a ferry runs daily from March-November once a day. Takes about four hours. Cost about RM400 return.
(Current exchange rate (October 2007): £1 = RM6.90)

The island only has 2km of paved road (at Tekek), and each beach is more or less independent of the others. Most people arriving go to one beach and stay there. The ferry stops at each beach. For those arriving by air at Tekek, boats can be easily arranged to other locations.

Very few places accept credit cards and there are no cash machines, so bring cash. Fortunately the place is not too expensive. There is a good phone system on the island, and each beach has one or more internet cafés for those that can’t last more than a few days without telling everyone where they are. Don’t ask about the postal service.

Electricity is about equivalent with the UK – depends on how well the generator is running. You will find both British-style three, and European-style two, pin plug sockets. Bring an adapter.

Please remember that the local population is largely Muslim. They are fairly tolerant of foreigners, but have some respect. Sorry ladies, but if you walk around in a bikini away from the beach (and sometimes even on it) you will get stared at.

Accommodation

There is plenty of cheap accommodation on all of the beaches. Typically simple beach huts go for anything from RM10 upwards, but many are very basic and not kept particularly clean. For something a little more comfortable expect to pay RM50-100. You don’t really need air con if you are on the beach, as a constant breeze keeps things cool at night.

If you want to splash out, there is a 4/5 star resort at Tekek, the Berjaya Tioman Beach Resort. It is expensive and not too quiet, but it is the only place that has a cocktail bar! Best for families and those wanting a bit of comfort. Cost is around RM250-300 per night, but packages are available, particularly out of season.

Food

All the beaches have a variety of restaurants. On Salang and ABC, dishes are a mixture of local and “Western”. Tekek has mainly local food and good Chinese. Expect to pay anything from RM5 for a plate of fried rice to RM40-50 if you want to splash out and have lobster. The resort is horribly expensive.

Shopping

There isn’t any (apart from some simple souvenirs).

Entertainment

As noted at the beginning, there are only two reasons to come to Tioman. There is not a whole lot of variety to the night life. Sure, you can get a beer in a bar or restaurant, but don’t go looking for Irish or Spanish theme pubs, or a local wine bar! Tioman is a simple, relaxing place – don’t expect too much.

Diving is the main activity here. There are about 15 dive sites around Tioman. The diving is generally very simple, ideal for new divers or those with little experience. There is plenty of coral and a wide variety of tropical reef fish, plus some bigger stuff like turtles, shark and, occasionally, manta rays. Visibility is good throughout the year, and the water is always warm. Expect to pay around RM80-100 for a single dive (with rented equipment), with some discount for multiple dives. The PADI open water course costs around RM800.

The rainforest is beautiful, and you can walk across the island from Tekek to Juara on the other coast. Takes about 3-4 hours, depending on how fit you are. Most people take a ferry (fishing boat!) back. Other access to the rainforest is difficult, because it is quite thick, but ask locally.

For those that want it, the resort has an 18-hole golf course, which is open to non-residents. Beware, though – it is narrow. If you aren’t straight, you are in the sea or the jungle. Consider it lost!

Little did I know when accepting a job in Malaysia three years ago that I would find myself living on a tropical island running a dive shop just two and a half years later. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately!) the job didn’t work out, but while living in KL, I got to know Tioman through friends. Several trips and many beers later, I was persuaded to come and look after the shop for the current owners while they travel in Central America for 12 months.

Malaysia is an interesting mix of cultures – a blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian, together with a whiff of remaining colonialism. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is a great city to live in – not too expensive, safe, plenty to do, and plenty to see around the capital of this developing south east Asian nation. And a great climate. Having lived in Russia previously, I found it was a great pleasure to be able to sit in one of many pavement cafés/bars drinking a cool brew at 11 o’clock on a Friday evening!

And being a diver, for me the well known diving location of Tioman was a natural draw. Once voted one of the 10 most beautiful islands in the world, Tioman was used as the location of the mythical Bali Hai in the ’50s film South Pacific. The island has retained a lot of its charm – it is still relatively undeveloped – and has facilities to meet the needs of visitors with any budget. Accommodation ranges from the five-star Tioman Beach Resort (at around £50 per night), to low-cost wooden huts right on the beach – basic, but cheap (around £7-10)!

My main interest has always been in diving in Tioman, and the diving is generally excellent. Visibility during the summer can be as much as 50 metres or more, and the range of sites includes shallow coral reefs teeming with colourful tropical fish, to deeper sites where whale shark and manta rays have been spotted during their annual migration (October and April).

But Tioman has other attractions. As well as diving (leisure dives cost around £20 for one dive, including all equipment), there are many excellent sites for snorkelling, for those wishing to remain above the surface. Tours of the island take in waterfalls and deserted bays. For those wishing to remain on land, most of the island is covered by ancient rain forest, much of which is simply too dense to be easily accessible. The main trans-island path is well developed, but the more adventurous might like to take lesser known routes into the interior.

The island has a rich variety of flora and fauna, including snakes, mouse deer, wild boar and monkeys. A variety of fruits grow wild, including banana, mango and jackfruit. The Berjaya resort employs an environmental officer who can introduce you to the some of the main attractions – and you can watch him feed the 2-metre monitor lizards, sea eagles and other wildlife in the mornings at the resorts’ pond.

And the resort even has an 18-hole golf course (narrow – wayward shots end up in the jungle or the sea!), which is open to non-residents, and tennis courts.

Being an isolated tropical island does have its drawbacks. Unless you are traveling from KL by air (twice daily for £60 return), you have to take a bus from KL to the east coast at Mersing (roughly 4-5 hours), followed by a 2-3 hour boat ride.

The island economy is mainly based on cash, and only the resort accepts credit cards. There are no cash machines on the island, so visitors need to bring plenty of the folding with them. But it is worth it.

During the main season, days are warm and sunny, with occasional rain the afternoon to cool things off a little. And life is slow – even the most frenetic of my friends from KL manage to relax and unwind when they come here.

So come and visit. We are only too glad to arrange not only diving, but accommodation and other activities as well. Look forward to seeing you.