Hello!
Had another short break in Tioman AGAIN! Went back there to log more dives & eat the SATAY!!!! Love the satay there! It’s succulent, juicy & has the right amout of sweetness to it.
So far this satay is my all time favourite!
Rating: 9/10 (-1 because of the few plates we had over the few nights there one plate was not as soft & juicy)
The other thing that I missed so so much in Tioman was it’s Sambal Stingray. The stingray is delivered fresh daily to the BBQ seafood place and it always comes, soft and slightly burnt with no fishy smell cos it’s so fresh!
Rating: 8/10
Ok, the main reason we went back to Tioman is to dive but I was sooooo craving to eat the food I had the last time. 😛
This time we tried a new item on the menu – Otah. This Otah is a speciality from Muah and I loved it!
Sorry for the bad photo but it’s the only one I have of the Otah. It tastes a lot better than the photo! heh…
Rating: 8/10
Tho’ I don’t drink beer because I’m allergic to it, I thought this sign looks damn retro!
Caught this beautiful sunset in Tioman.
And that’s just me strolling on the beach after a day of diving! Dived a total of 9 times over 2.5 days there! So Happy!
BTW, all these yummy food is at Paya Beach Resort, Tioman. It’s cheap & good!
XOXO
Jessica
Jessica's Blog 
Hey Jess
I love the sunset picture! I hope to take such shots when I go NZ. You have a healthy looking tan there…….hehe!
I love that pic too! I took quite a few pics of the sun setting but that’s my fav becos of the position of the boats, the sun & the rock!
Hello Jessica,
Could I ask you a logistics question?
My husband and I are avid divers, but we haven’t had much luck with Tioman’s ferry tickets. They changed the system this year and it’s been really hard to book ferry tickets. We’ve tried for months and couldn’t get around to it, for the recent national day holidays…. 😦
Instead, we went to Perhentian, which is not the easiest place to get to…. (we fly to kl, then to Kota bahru and then cabbed to the jetty at kuala bersut)…. all for 9 dives too…. (we did that over 4 days)!!
If you do know of any dive operators who could accept advance ticket bookings (with payment via credit cards), please do let us know!!
Thank you very much!
Hello Dollissimo!
Glad to know that fellow avid divers read my blog! 🙂 The direct ferry from SG-Tioman has ceased for quite a few years which makes it quite a pain to go there compared to the 4+hour direct ferry we used to get. There’s 2 ways to get to Tioman – by air or bus/ferry from Mersing. Tho’ most divers will take the cheaper bus/ferry option to squeeze in more dives. here’s a link which explains how to get to Tioman very clearly.
http://www.malaysiasite.nl/transporttiomaneng.htm
If U don’t mind driving up to Mersing and parking your car at the ferry terminal for a few days (it’s RM10 per day), it’s a better option than taking the bus. (I personally dread the bus ride as it’s 4 hours of windy roads)
U can also book your entire trip through travel agents here and for Paya Beach Resort go to Discovery Tours – 67334333. Then extend your stay accordingly. It’s a lot more convenient going thru the agent as they can help settle the transport there as well. If U wanna book your dives in advance at Paya, call Ben (a Singaporean) who owns the dive centre there – 96736883. But If you wanna stay at the other resorts it’s better to email the respective resorts in advance to check if they have available dive slots as they can be quite busy sometimes just to prevent disappointment. Our 1st trip there we wanted to stay at Berjaya as it’s a nicer resort and heard so much abt it but diving was fully booked so went to Paya instead & found a gem!
Hope this is helpful to you! If U have more questions feel free to ask & I’ll try my very best to answer them! 😛
XOXO
Hey Jess
Yeah…the whole setting is just perfect. NICE!!!!
Hello Jessica!
*** waves ***
Thank you so much for the information!! Yes!! Now we can finally plan our trip to Tioman and we’ll definitely check out Paya! We’ve done the road trip to Mersing and hopping on the ferry to Tioman, but since they’ve regulated ferry services (could be late last year or early this year). we haven’t been able to get ferry tickets. Tioman is a perfect getaway as it’s closer to us (compared to Perhentian) and not flying there and back means more time to squeeze in more dives!! hehehe..
If you decide to venture to Perhentian at a later date, I would definitely recommend Perhentian Besar (bigger island), as the dive sites there are nicer. My husband went to Perhentian Besar last time but for the recent trip, we decided to try Perhentian Kechil (smaller island) and the dive sites were a tad disappointing (lots of dead corals – very heartbreaking)!
If you do go to Perhentian Kechil, do stay near the dive resorts! We stayed at a resort that was a 15-minute track (through the woods) to reach Long Beach (where the dive centre was located), so that’s quite a challenge, especially after a long day of diving! We didn’t know better and found out the hard way!!!
For Perhentian Besar, Arwana Eco Resort is definitely better as it right next to the jetty (important as lugging dive bags after a bumpy boat ride is quite challenging) and also right next to a dive centre! On our next trip to Perhentian Besar, we’ll be able to stay at Arwana! They were also all booked up during national day!
If you need more information on Perhentian, just drop me a note!
Thanks very much again!
Thank you so much for the info on Perhentian!
I hope you’re able to book your ferry tix with the numbers I gave U from the website! If not, I think the travel agent is the safest. 🙂
Air Asia is having air tix promo till tmw 16 Aug, so I bought tix to go to Sipadan (Tawau) next year! Can’t wait to dive there! But as for this year all my dive trips are planned already. Will probably keep Perhentian for next year! 🙂 I’ve read about the Eco Resort and it sounds fantastic! Will definately keep that in mind!
Oh when U do go to Tioman, and if U do stay at Paya Beach Resort, do try to stay in the superior chalet & above. The standard chalet is worse than our ECP chalets here. Also, the dive instructor bringing U out for dives is called Funny (no joke)! She’s a very nice Japanese lady that speaks a lot of languages!
Happy Diving!
My next trip is to Redang during Hari Raya weekend! Can’t wait!
XOXO
Jessica
Hi,
would like to ask u if u went diving with a dive instructor or by yourself?
but im still new and would like to know the charges for leisure dive (with a dive instructor) as i have already gotten my license…
thank you! 😀
Hi Chloe!
Yes, it’s with a dive instructor because they’re boat dives. Only shores dives are usually without instructor & it depends on the resort.
The cost at Paya in Tioman for diving is – Leisure Boat Dive SGD$90 For 2 Dives Inclusive Of Equipment; 5 Boat Dives “Promo” $145 (Exclude Equipment).
U can see what’s ypur budget like. There’s dive packages as well in certain places like Redang
http://www.coralredang.com.my/rates.html
Since u’re new, start with easy places (but they’re not as nice). I assume U’ve not done ur advance open water? So, don’t attempt to go to the really nice places like Sipadan or Manado yet as U can’t dive as deep.
Try Tioman, Redang, Palau Auh or Phuket – They’re good places to further ur confidence in diving & not expensive.
U can check out Sabah as well. 🙂
Hope this helps!
XOXO
Oh yah!
And one more thing, if u’re not so confident in diving yet & would like to go in bigger groups of divers, try signing up for dive trips with a dive school.
Can check out Deep Blue Scuba, that’s the dive school I go to and the instructors there are highly safety conscious & very friendly, they orgainse trips often so can check them out if U dun wanna plan it on ur own.
http://www.scuba.com.sg/
thank you jessica!
your info helps ! 😀
That makan really does look yummilicious. Tioman boleh 🙂
Just a quick point of interest to regular Tioman visitors, or those wishing to go there in the future.
Since we go to Tioman quite regularly, we’re seeing more and more travellers, especially from overseas, arriving at the Mersing jetty too late to catch their ferry, because it’s full.
I think the reasons are:
1) The recent popularity boom Tioman has been enjoying.
2) The recent rule prohibiting passengers from sitting on the ferry sun-deck.
3) All other ferry types have discontinued, including the fast-ferries and the slow ferries, as well as the catamaran from Singapore
All this resulted in a higher chance of passengers left stranded during the busy holiday spells and weekends.
In light of above, my advice to those who’ve booked a Tioman resort, or want to go to Tioman during the weekend or a public holiday: book your ferry tickets in advance, so you won’t be stranded at the departure jetty due to the ferry for that day being already full.
You can get tickets from the ferry operators direct, Blue Water, or from http://www.tiomanferry.com/
Thanks for your great advise Bryan! The last time I went over to Tioman I did get my tickets on advanced to ensure no delays for my trip! 🙂
Awesome 🙂
By the way, if you’re into yummie food, and I think you are, then have a go at the roti place that’s on your left just after going through Woodlands. The shop looks a bit tricky, but the tosay gravy is utterly to die for.
Cheers.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check out that roti place the next time I drive through woodlands checkpoint. 🙂
My fav haunts for great food in Johor is beef noodles in Kulai & seafood Zhi Char in Geylang Petah. 🙂 unfortunately I can’t share with u exactly where it is as its saved as GPS points. Haha!