Dive Travel
Malaysia
Tioman Island
- Essentials
- Accommodation
- Destination Guide
- Dive Site
- Other Recreation
- FAQ
- Itinerary
- Schedule
- Sign Up
Tioman Island (or Pulau Tioman, as it is known locally) is one of Malaysia most popular island, where the white sand beaches overhung by towering palm trees are lapped by clear, calm, and warm water teeming with all sorts of tropical marine life.
36 nautical miles off Malaysia's east coast, Tioman Island, with its clear blue-green waters, endless pristine beaches, cascading waterfalls, and the twin rocky peaks of Gunung Nenek Semukut bounded by a light mist, truly resembles the beautiful dragon princess that legends say the island sprung from. Rare and beautiful flora and fauna, including two species of marine turtle can be commonly seen in Tioman Island.
Best time to Dive
During the months of March to November, expect to have great weather by day, and a fantastic view of the starry night after dark in Tioman Island. Between November to March, the Northeast monsoon makes it more challenging to dive, and most divers will prefer to dive in Phuket instead.
Top 3 Highlights
SCUBA Diving and Snorkelling
by Gill Divers
With more than twenty dive sites from drift diving to exploring wrecks and a myriad of marine life populating the reefs, Tioman Island is great for beginners and dive professionals alike!
Cost: from SGD 299.00
Duration: 3 Dives
Location: Various dive sites
Jungle Trekking
by Local Guide
Visitors have the option of many jungle paths to trek through, with the most popular and challenging jungle trek being the 7km trek from Tekek to Juara beach, across several hills and waterfalls.
Cost: SGD 100.00
Duration: 3 Hrs
Location: Tioman Nature Reserve Park
Jungle Trekking
by Local Guide
Visitors have the option of many jungle paths to trek through, with the most popular and challenging jungle trek being the 7km trek from Tekek to Juara beach, across several hills and waterfalls.
Cost: SGD 100.00
Duration: 3 Hrs
Location: Tioman Nature Reserve Park
What You Need
- Visa and Valid Passport
- Local Currency (Ringit, RM)
- Personal Medication
- Travel insurance (recommended)
- Snorkling: Able to swim in the sea
- Scuba Diving: Minimum PADI Open Water Diver Certification or equivalence for Leisure Diver
Getting There
Select from one (1) of the destinations below
By Land and Sea (6 Hrs)
Coach or Minibus & Ferry or Speed-boat from Singapore & Mersing
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort.
6 Hrs
per way
includ. return trip
By Air (3 Hrs)
Berjaya Air from Singapore & KL
Small and cosy, Island Reef Resort sits right in the heart of the buzling Tioman Island. With disco and pubs around the corner, experience an exciting night life.
3 Hrs
per way
return trip fr SGD 600
Includes
- All transfers via Land and Sea
- Twin-share accommodation (3-star in Genting)
- All meals
- Air tanks and Weights
- English-speaking guides and dive masters
Excludes
- Diving: Equipment Rental
- Diving: Marine Park Fee (RM $5, if any)
- Diving: 4 x AA size Battery (if required for night dive)
- Transport: Airfare (if any)
- Transport: Taxes and fuel surcharges
- Transport: Point-to-point and Airport Transfers on Tioman Island
- Personal: Expenses that include drinks, telephone and landry bills, and tips
- Personal: Travel insurance (proof of insurance is required)
- Personal: Visa application and fees, if necessary
- Others: Gratitudes for the Boat Crew / Guide
Packages
Select from one (1) of the accommodations in Tioman Island below
Island Reef Resort - 2D2N
Tioman Island, Malaysia
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Learn more about Island Reef Resort
SGD 399
Leisure Diver
View Schedule
Sign Up
Other Reef Resort - 2D2N
Tioman Island, Malaysia
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Learn more about Island Reef Resort
SGD 399
Leisure Diver
View Schedule
Sign Up
Island Reef Resort - Customize
Tioman Island, Malaysia
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Create Custom Trip
fr SGD 399
custom trip
View Schedule
Sign Up
Accommodations on Tioman Island (Pulau Tioman)
There many resorts on Tioman Island but the common ones that Gill Divers visits are listed below.
Island Reef Resort
Select from one (1) of the packages in Island Reef Resort below
Island Reef Resort - 2D2N
Tioman Island, Malaysia
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Learn more about Island Reef Resort
SGD 399
Leisure Diver
View Schedule
Sign Up
Other Reef Resort - 3D3N
Tioman Island, Malaysia
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Learn more about Island Reef Resort
SGD 399
Leisure Diver
View Schedule
Sign Up
Island Reef Resort - Customize
Tioman Island, Malaysia
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Create Custom Trip
fr SGD 99
custom trip
View Schedule
Sign Up
Island Reef Resort
Select from one (1) of the packages in Island Reef Resort below
Island Reef Resort
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort..
Learn more about Island Reef Resort
Single Room
1 Night
2 Nights
3 Nights
per night (SGD)
100
90
80
Double Room
Fri - Sun (3D2N)
Thu - Sun (4D2N)
Mon - Thu (4D2N)
per block (SGD)
200
250
250
Island Reef Resort - 2D2N
Double Room
SGD 120 per night
Island Reef Resort - 2D2N
Quad Room
SGD 120 per night
Island Reef Resort
One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort. One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort. One of the biggest island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Tioman island offers exceptional diving in the region. You will be pleasantly surprised by the Island Reef Resort.
Learn more about Island Reef Resort
Fri - Sun (3D2N)
Weekend
Single Room: SGD 299.00
Double Room: SGD 399.00
Quad Room: SGD 499.00
Includes:
- 2-way Land & Sea Transfers
- all Meals
- Air Tanks & Weights
Excludes:
- Equipment Rental
Thu - Sun / Fri - Mon (4D3N)
Long Weekend
Single Room: SGD 399.00
Double Room: SGD 499.00
Quad Room: SGD 599.00
Includes:
- 2-way Land & Sea Transfers
- Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Air Tanks & Weights
Excludes:
- Equipment Rental
Mon - Thu (4D3N)
Weekday
Single Room: SGD 199.00
Double Room: SGD 299.00
Quad Room: SGD 399.00
Includes:
- 2-way Land & Sea Transfers
- all Meals
- Air Tanks & Weights
Excludes:
- Equipment Rental
Tioman Island Dive Sites
Pulau Chebeh (Chebeh Island)
Located northwest of Tioman Island, Chebeh Island has an abundance of large boulder formations, caves and tunnels, which makes it an exciting spot for divers seeking the thrill of squeezing through tight spaces as well as cavern divers. Notable marine life includes large puffer fish, trigger fish, napoleon wrassers, and if you're lucky, manta rays.
Basic Diver
18 - 27m depth
12m visibility
Tulai Island (Coral Island)
Located northwest of Tioman Island, Tulai Island is known for its large formations of soft coral, including the white and blue gorgonian seafan, black coral, staghorn coral, feather stars, sea stars and cushion stars. Notable marine life include lionfish and napoleon warasse, as well as angel and butterfly fish.
Basic Diver
18 - 27m depth
12m visibility
Fan Canyon
Located southwest of Tulai Island (Coral Island), Fan Canyon is named after the grogonian fan corals that fill the valley walls. Divers are not allowed to enter the canyon itself in order to prevent damage to the fragile coral, but there is the tunnel at a depth of 16m that divers can swim through. Notable marine life include Marine turtles, barracuda and spotted groupers.
Advanced Diver
30m depth
10m visibility
Teluk Kador (Kador Bay)
Teluk Kador is Northeast of Coral Island. The underwater topography of the area consists of a rocky downward slope that descends to about 20m. Overhangs in the the rocks sometimes house moral eels or stonefish. Notable marine life include the blue-spotted stingray.
Basic Diver
5 - 23m depth
12m visibility
Magicienne Rock
Southeast of Pulau Cebeh, you cannot actually see Magicienne Rock from the surface, because the spire only rises to 8m below sea level. Big fish frequent this place, and it is not uncommon to see sharks, rays, bigeye trevally, yellowfin snappers, groupers and barracuda, not to mention a whole host of reef fish.
Advanced Diver
8 - 22m depth
15m visibility
Malang Rocks
Located Northwest of Tioman Island, Malang Rocks has a shallow side that is home to potato corals, lettuce corals and sponges. In the deeper waters, sharks, including leopard sharks can be found. Other notable marine life include barracuda schools, yellow spotted stingrays, triggefish and lionfish.
Basic Diver
6 - 15m depth
10m visibility
Pulau Labas
Located Southeast of Pulau Chebeh, this dive site looks like a pile of rocks on top of the water. The unique topography allows divers to swim through caverns, and even explore the wreck of a Japanese fishing vessel in the area. Notable marine life include turtles, moray eels, sweet lips and blue spotted stingrays.
Basic Diver
5 - 25m depth
12m visibility
Tiger Reef
Tiger reef may have strong currents, but that only means that black-tipped reef sharks and barracuda schools frequent the place. The reef, which has a large array of brain, plate and fire coral, also hosts jacks, tune, trevally, yellow tail snappers and batfish. The topography of the area is mainly hard rock.
Advanced Diver
10 - 25m depth
10m visibility
Soyak Island Reef and Wreck
Located near Salang Village, this is a popular night dive spot as the area is populated by a myriad of soft corals. The wreck is also a major draw, and divers will be able to spot, among other marine animals, the 1.8m long giant grouper and black tipped reef sharks. Some divers have even occasionally spotted whale sharks in the area.
Advanced Diver
5 - 15m depth (25m for wreck)
10m visibility
Salang Bay
Right in front of the beach at Salang Village, Salang bay is a sheltered area perfect for snorkellers or people who are still getting used to diving. Schools of bumphead parrotfish populate the waters around this area, and the reef is shallow and accessible, with staghorn, tabletop, brain and blue coral making up most of the coral population.
Basic Diver
5 - 15m depth
10m visibility
Marine Park HQ
Located between Tetek and Ayer Batang villages, the marine park is the site of a chain of 8 wrecks at varying depths. Divers usually bring down pieces of bread to feed the fish in the area, and fish will usually mob you for any morsels you have. This is an important spawning point for fish, so look out for the tiny fry between March and May. Schools of jacks, trevallies and fusiliers also frequent the area.
Basic Diver
8 - 30m depth
10m visibility
Renggis Island
Just off the coast of the Berjaya Resort, Pulau Renggis is a small, rocky island often frequented by divers. Renggis Island has both a hidden wreck and reef for the intrepid diver to discover, and the hard coral formations around the island are a thing of beauty. Black tipped reef sharks and green turtles are a common sight at Renggis Island.
Basic Diver
6 - 16m depth
20m visibility
Bahara Rock
Southwest of Tioman Island, this site is chock full of marine life. Add a drop off covered with anemones, sponges, back coral and soft red and purple coral, and its no wonder that underwater photographers flock to this site to try to capture its immense scale and beauty.
Advanced Diver
5 - 25m depth
20m visibility
Jahat Island
20 minutes by boat from Salang Village, the Jahat dive site is a maze of tunnels, corridors and caves made by a huge jumble of large boulders. Divers can expect to see sharks and barracuda here.
Advanced Diver
5 - 25m depth
10m visibility
Pulau Sepoi
Pulau Sepoi is great of drift diving, and along the way, a diver might get to see manta rays, eagle rays, schools of jacks, yellow banded snappers, turtles, and sharks.
Advanced Diver
18 - 25m depth
16m visibility
Other Recreational
Nightlife
Pulau Tioman offers the night owl several ways to unwind after a long day. Genting village has a karaoke pub that opens until 10pm, so does the spa at Paya, while various other bars and eateries around the island serve food and alcohol into the wee hours of the morning. Mostly, take a stroll along the moonlit beach and look up into a universe of stars embedded in the cloudless night sky.
Fishing
Anglers will love Pulau Tioman for the sheer variety of fishing that it offers. Hire a boat for a day and drop anchor outside the Marine Park limits, the only place where fishing is permitted. Catch here include groupers, morays, tuna, parrotfish, sea-bass, red snappers, stingrays, plaices, soles, cora trout, blue marlins, squid, cuttlefish, shrimp, crab, prawns and lobster. For a more an experience worthy of any seasoned angler, enquire about deep-sea fishing.
Shopping
Pulau Tioman has been declared a duty free zone, so alcohol and tobacco prices on the island are at an all time low. Buy cheap booze and cigarettes at any provisions store on the island, and don't forget to browse through the huge selection of Tioman Island T-shirts and souvenirs before your trip comes to a close.
Snorkling
Snorkel off almost any beach on Pulau Tioman, and you'll be guranteed to find a veritable array of corals and reef fish just slightly out of reach. The waters on Tioman Island are clear and unpolluted, and any snorkeller worth his salt should strap on a mask and explore the natural beauty that the reefs have to offer.
Rockclimbing
The "Dragon's Horns" twin peaks are a real challenge for any expert climber, and it was only in 2002 that man first summited the peak. Beginners can learn the ropes at the base of the peak, or at other sites around the island, while advanced climbers can attempt the full climb, which takes five days to complete, while sleeping in hammocks overlooking great heights and overhangs.
Jungle Trekking
Most of Tioman Island's rainforests are untouched, as only the coastline is developed. As such, the jungle is replete with monkeys, monitor lizards, birds and insects, as well as trees that have stood for hundreds of years. Visitors have the option of many jungle paths to trek through, but the most popular and challenging jungle trek is the 7 kilometre trek from Tekek to Juara beach that slices through the middle of the island, across several hills and waterfalls.
Golf
Berjaya Tioman Resort has an 18-hole international standard golf course, flanked on one end by the beach and on the other end by primary tropical jungle. The par-71 course contains numerous challenges, such as jungle-rough, ponds, and bunkers. A highlight is the par-37th hole, where golfers have to hit the ball across the sea in order to reach the green. Pre-Booking of the course is usually not required, and facilities at the golf course include lockers, shower and changing rooms, a pro shop, practice green, gymnasium and sauna rooms. Golf carts, clubs and shoes are available for hire.
Spa
Both The Ayura Spa at Berjaya Tioman Resort and The Paya Holistic Spa at Paya Beach Resort offers a variety of treatmentes, including massages, bodyscrubs and wraps, facials, pedicures, manicures and also a special hair spa treatment, utilising natural ingredients such as cucumber, coconut, herbs, papaya and yoghurt. In addition, The Ayura Spa offers the Ayura Signature Massage which uses a traditional method of applying a heated poultice of aromatic herbs and spices to specific points of the body. All spa treatments require pre-booking.

