Teluk Keke is a great beach to snorkel from on Perhentian Besar. There are still some intact corals and many colorful fishes. With a bit of luck you can spot turtles there. — *Teluk Keke in the southwest of Perhentian Besar is a great beach for snorkeling. There are some nice corals and with a bit of luck, turtles can be spotted.*

Teluk Dalam on Perhentian Besar, Malaysia — *Teluk Dalam in the south of Perhentian Besar.*

The Perhentians are a small group of islands in the South Chinese Sea, about 19 km off the shore from the Malaysian State of Terengganu and about 64 km from the Thai border. The islands belong to the Pulau Redang National Marine Park and are under protection. Two of the islands are inhabited – Kecil, the smaller island and Besar, the bigger one – while Susu Dara, Serenggeh and Rawa are uninhabited . The islands are the perfect tropical dream: covered in lush green jungle, surrounded by soft white sandy beaches and deep blue water full of marine life.

While the smaller island, Perhentian Kecil, is favored by backpackers, the big island, Perhentian Besar, is beloved by honeymooners and seekers of quiet and peace. I decided to stay on Besar because it is said that Besar is better for snorkeling. Here you can find more information about how to get to the Perhentians, when to go and what to do on the islands.

Perhentian Besar is great for easy snorkeling directly from the beach but there are also boat tours departing from nearly any beach that will take snorkelers to the uninhabitated islets Susu Dara, Serenggeh and Rawa for snorkeling (scroll down to read about those).

Snorkeling on Perhentian Besar

Teluk Keke

Teluk Keke is a beach at the southwestern side of Perhentian Besar and is a wonderful option for beach snorkeling. The small rocky islet that faces the beach is bordered by a pretty shallow coral reef, where you will spot clownfish, triggerfish, parrotfish, and occasionally turtles and rays.

With some luck you can spot turtles at Teluk Keke, a beach in the southwest of Perhentian Besar, Malaysia — *I saw a turtle while snorkeling at Teluk Keke.*

Staying at Flora Bay Resort on Teluk Dalam, I walked through the jungle to get to Teluk Keke. The hike is not easy and I recommend wearing good shoes (sneakers or hiking boots). It is a steep uphill and a steep downhill climb. However, you can get there by taxi boat easily. Just be aware that the day tourists arrive in masses at Teluk Keke to enjoy their snorkeling. If you want the lonely beach experience, you need to arrive early in the morning or late afternoon, when the tourist are gone. Check the tide situation, otherwise you will find yourself sitting on dry corals. Most taxi boats do not operate before 9 am. Therefore, when you arrive by foot early, you will have the beach to yourself. I had the beach all to myself for a few hours arriving early in the morning.

You can snorkel either on the left or right side of the islet. Explore the reef by snorkeling all the way around the islet towards Fish Point. The area is quite shallow and there is not much of a current. I recommend wearing fins (as always when snorkeling) and a life jacket if you are not a good swimmer. The corals unfortunately are affected by coral bleach but many are still in good conditions so that you can observe many reef fish species. Be aware of the sea urchins. I saw a turtle and found Nemo at Teluk Keke!

Teluk Keke snorkeling map Perhentian Besar Malaysia — *Snorkel within the pink line. There is some heavy boat traffic further out in the sea. The corals and many beautiful fishes can be found around the islet.*

There are no hotels at Teluk Keke, but there are some food stalls where locals sell snacks and drinks. A family of squirrels lives in one of the trees and the women from the food stalls feed them. It is really cute how they come down to get their snacks. Sometimes you can observe huge monitor lizards roaming on the beach. The loclas are really nice and hooked me up with a water taxi back to Teluk Dalam, when I was too tired to hike back. Just ask them kindly and they will call the taxi for you.

Teluk Pauh or Turtle Point

At Teluk Pauh you can see many turtles feeding on the seagrass — *Teluk Pauh is also called Turtle Point because often turtles can be seen feeding on the seagrass bed near the Perhentian Island Resort’s house reef.*

Another great and easy spot for beach snorkeling is Teluk Pauh or Turtle Point in the northwest of Perhentian Besar. There is the Perhentian Island Resort’s (PIR) and Coral View Island Resort’s house reef. Staying at Flora Bay Resort, I took a taxi boat or I hiked through the jungle to get to Turtle Point. The coral reef bordering its western end, as well as the shallow seagrass beds facing the beach, are great snorkel spots. Green turtles, dozens of colorful fish species and huge green humphead parrotfish can all be seen here. I saw bluespotted ribbontail rays there as well as blacktip reef sharks, many colorful triggerfish and of course turtles!

The seagrass meadows are super easy to snorkle. It is very shallow with very little currents. When snorkeling on your own, watch out for the boats and where they let their guests jump in. The captains know where the turtles are, so that you do not have to exhaus yourself swimming up and down Teluk Pauh looking for the turtles. Stay within the ropes. There is busy boat traffic outside of the ropes.

Unfortunately, the reef on the western side of Teluk Pauh is mainly rubble but parts of the corals are recovering. You need to swim out to the coral reef, however the fishes on the rocks right in front of Coral View Island Resort already are plentiful. Parrotfish, wrasse, damselfish, butterflyfish, as well as several species of spinefoot can be seen almost everywhere on this spot.

Skip Coral Beach on the other side of Coral View Island Resort. Despite its name, there are no corals and it is so cloudy, the visibility is extremly low. Swim out to the reef on the side, facing Teluk Pauh, as the water is very clear and there are rays, sharks and other fishes to be seen on the way out.

The beach itself, Teluk Pauh, is lovely and it was not too crowded besides being a very popular beach for boat tours and two big adjacent resorts. It is possible to wander through both PIR and Coral View Island Resort, even if you are not a guest. There are restaurants and bars to get food and drinks in between snorkel sessions. Inside the garden of PIR I could watch families of monkeys feeding on the fruit trees.

Snorkeling map Teluk Pauh, Turtle Point Perhentian Besar Malaysia — *When snorkeling to the coral reef, watch out for the boats. When snorkeling in the seagrass meadows, stay within the ropes.*

Teluk Dalam (often referred to as Flora Bay)

Teluk Dalam Perhentian Besar — *Teluk Dalam in the south of Perhentian Besar is not a snorkeling beach, however there are many sea anemones with clownfishes and big schools of fishes to be spotted.*

First things first: Teluk Dalam is not a snorkeling beach. But since I was staying at Flora Bay Resort, which is located on Teluk Dalam, I gave it a try. While there are no corals, the water between the rocks close to Flora Bay Resort was surprisingly clean. I spotted many sea anemones with clownfishes and giant schools of fishes. There are many small lonely beaches between the rocks that can only be reached by swimming. So if you are going staying at Teluk Dalam or passing there on your hike around the island, give it a try!

Tuna Bay

Unfortunately, I did not manage timewise to snorkel at Tuna Bay but I still would like to include it in this snorkeling guide because I heard good things about it. The small coral reef facing the Tuna Bay Island Resort is said to be one of the good snorkeling spots on the west coast of Perhentian Besar. I saw many people snorkeling there, especially beginners and also nonswimmers due to the very calm water with no currents. The main snorkeling area is located inside the lines of buoys. It is recommended not to leave this area due to the heavy boat traffic near the shore and arriving at the main jetty, which is right there. Unfortunately, there are many damaged corals, as everywhere around the Perhentians. Many fishes can be seen around the pillars of the platform of the jetty.

Pantai Tiga Ruan or Turtle Beach

Turtle Beach is a secluded little beach in the north of Perhentian Besar that can only be reached by boat. The beach itself is very beautiful but the snorkeling there is not great. Other than the name of the beach would let you expect, there are no turtles at this beach. Okay, wait, that is not true. The Perhentian Turtle Project is located on Turtle Beach. The Perhentian Turtle Project was officially established in 2015 as a sea turtle research and conservation initiative. They do night patrols, assist the rangers with nesting sea turtle mothers, release the hatchlings and other hatchery activities while also collecting data and samples from the nesting population. With a bit of luck, you can watch the release of turtle hatchlings. I missed it by an hour because I was scheduled on a boat with a snorkeling group and two of them were so late that I missed it. Early in the morning and later in the afternoon, when there are no crowds from the boat tours, the beach is lovely to relax and cooling off in the blue water. It is often included in snorkeling trips from the boats however there is not much to see compared to other places around the Perhentians. Be aware of the currents, as they can get quite strong. Make sure to check which direction they are going and swim accordingly.

Shark Point

Shark Point is located in the south of Perhentian Besar, just west of Teluk Dalam. It is a very popular snorkeling spot. Often blacktip reef sharks are seen at Shark Point (hence the name!) as well as many other reef fish. Unfortunately most corals are damaged and only rubble is left. Shark point usually is included in snorkeling tours from the boat. It is possible to reach it by swimming starting at Flora Bay but I do not reccommend due to the heavy boat traffic and the distance. It is about 500 m of swimming to get to Shark Point. Consider that you also have to swim back. I stopped there when doing a snorkeling trip from the boat. Shark Point looks a bit wild from the outside but once in the water it is surprisingly shallow and there were barely any currents. I saw many small and big blacktip reef sharks.

Snorkeling from the boat

To snorkel at the following three spots, you need to book a half-day or full-day boat tour, since these islands are a few seamiles away from Perhentian Kecil and Perhentian Besar. The tours only take place when the weather is good and the sea is calm.

Pulau Susu Dara

Pulau Susu Dara are two small islands about four seamiles east of Perhentian Kecil. Basically all boat trips that include snorkeling at Pulau Rawa include Susu Dara in their tour. You will not be alone there! There are ropes that indicate the area where it is safe to snorkle. Do not snorkle outside of the ropes since the boat traffic can get heavy at times. There are many rocks and the corals are still in good shape. The water is very clear and there are plenty of differen fishes to be seen. The water is deep and the currents are very mild.

Pulau Tokong Kemudi (or Temple of Bird)

Pulau Tokong Kemudi is a very small island located close to Rawa. There are no corals, only rocks, but the water is crystal clear so that the visibility is very good. The boats stop in front of the island and you can swim to the island and take pictures on the rocks or at the beach. It is included in tours to Rawa island. The snorkeling is very chill because there are hardly any currents. The island is nicknamed Temple of Bird because in the evening hundreds of birds will gather on the island. Mind the bird poop when you walk around Tokong Kemudi.

Pulau Rawa

Rawa Island Perhentian Malaysia snorkeling — *The water at Pulau Rawa is crystal clear and there is a lot of marine life to spot.*

Rawa Island is the reason why most people visit Susu Dara and Tokong Kemudi. Since Rawa Island is a few seamiles from Perhentian Kecil, you need to book a half-day or a full-day boat tour to get there, which usually includes Susu Dara and Tokong Kemudi, sometimes Pulau Serengghe. The main snorkeling area encompasses the reefs located along the beach on the west side of Rawa Island. Unfortunately also at Rawa most of the corals are rubble, particularly in the shallow areas. The nice corals are located in the deeper area further out. The currents were rather strong swimming back to the island. Many people - especially those without fins - were struggling quite a bit. There is a lot of marine life to be seen such as spinefoot, wrasse, damselfish and triggerfish. We stopped at the island so that we had time to snorkle but also to relax on the beach and take pictures.

There are some more beaches to snorkel while staying on Perhentian Islands and there are other boat tours that include different destinations but those listed are the best where the most can be seen. My top three would be Rawa (or maybe Susu Dara), Teluk Pauh (Turtle Point) and my personal number one Teluk Keke. The snorkeling at Teluk Pauh and Teluk Keke can be done directly from the beach and be connected with a hike around Perhentian Besar.

Perhentian Besar - The ultimate snorkeling guide