Hidden Gems and Local Secrets in Perhentian Islands
Part of the Perhentian Islands travel guide — see every topic in All Perhentian Islands Guides.
Almost everyone who comes to the Perhentians stays on Long Beach, Coral Bay or one of Besar's main strips, which leaves several beaches on both islands with a single set of chalets, no bars and nobody on the sand. There is also a working Malay fishing village on Kecil that most visitors walk past, and a scatter of uninhabited islands offshore that the snorkel boats visit briefly and nobody stays on.
The quiet beaches on Kecil
D'Lagoon, on the north-east, is a single small bay with one place to stay, a turtle-watching beach and a short trail over the headland; there is no shop and you eat where you sleep. Petani, on the west coast north of Coral Bay, has a couple of properties and a genuinely lovely beach. Adam and Eve, and Romantic Beach, are smaller again. All are reached by water taxi or a rough jungle trail, and all involve accepting that you will be there rather than moving around.
The village
Perhentian Kecil has a working Malay fishing village on its south-west coast, with a mosque, a school, a jetty and a few hundred residents who are the reason there is any infrastructure on these islands at all. Most visitors see it only from a boat. Walking through it is fine and welcome if done respectfully — dress modestly, ask before photographing, and note that it is a conservative community and alcohol and swimwear are inappropriate there. The village restaurants are cheaper and better than the beach ones.
Offshore
Rawa island, a small uninhabited outcrop between the two Perhentians, is a snorkel-trip stop with clear shallow water and no facilities. Susu Dara and Serenggeh are the other islets. Redang and Lang Tengah, further south, are separate island destinations with their own boats from Merang and Kuala Terengganu — Redang is more developed and resort-oriented, Lang Tengah is small and quiet, and both are alternatives if the Perhentians are full.
Timing tricks
Go in the second half of March or the first half of October, when prices are at their lowest, the beaches are close to empty and enough is open to function — check first, because it is a gamble. Take the first snorkel boat of the day rather than the mid-morning one, when four boats arrive at the same site together. Walk the Long Beach to Coral Bay path at sunset rather than taking a water taxi. And stay a night on one of the single-property beaches, which is a completely different island.
Hidden Gems and Local Secrets at a glance
| Quiet beaches on Kecil | D'Lagoon, Petani, Adam and Eve, Romantic Beach |
|---|---|
| The village | A working Malay fishing settlement on Kecil's south-west |
| Offshore | Rawa — uninhabited, a snorkel-trip stop |
| Alternative islands | Redang and Lang Tengah, further south |
| Best value timing | Late March or early October — a gamble |
| Trick | Take the first snorkel boat, not the mid-morning one |