Perhentian Island consists of two islands with endless stretches of palm-lined beaches, clear water sea and coral reefs. The lush rain forest on the island is just an ideal for jungle trekking. Ping Anchorage package will offer you snorkelling trip with mask, snorkel and float to explore the reefs.

Located at South China Sea east coast of Malaysia, the Perhentian group of islands consists of Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil. Situated 108 km from Kuala Terengganu (1.5 Hours) and 54 km from Kota Bharu (1 Hours). The boat journey of about 30 minute by speedboat and 1.5 hours by slow boat. Pulau Perhentian promises interesting holidays destination with white sandy beach, jungle interior and interesting diving are a sure combination to attract the diver and non-diver. Best month for diving is between March to September. Dive equipment is readily available for rent at almost all dive centers.

Situated 20 km off the coast of Terengganu, the Perhentian group of islands comprises of Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Serenggeh, Pulau Susu Dara Besar and Pulau Susu Dara Kecil.

'Perhentian' when translated from the Malay language means stop over. Dive operators and resorts are located on both Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil offering various styles of accommodation to suit the visitor's budget and dive packages.

A hop over to these enchanting islands will reward every visitor with the breathtaking view of their natural beauty - countless coconut trees lining their un-spoilt and pure white sandy beaches.

Perhentian Besar
As most of Perhentian Besar's interior is covered by virgin tropical jungle, hiking and trekking are there possible recreational pursuits. A luxury resort here can be booked for accommodation .At trip to this lush and exotic tropical island is a must for all nature lovers and those who enjoy scuba diving, snorkelling, deep sea fishing, swimming, wind surfing, sailing, boating and canoeing.

Perhentian Kecil
Claimed to be one of the best getaway beaches in the world among travellers and tourist. Long beaches (locally known as Pasir Panjang) prides itself with long stretch of sandy beach of fine sand with crystal clear water up to a depth of 20ft. Calm waters make you feel as you are in a very large swimming pool !

All manner of aquatic life is visible both near and far from the beach such as turtles, sharks, coral and thousands of tropical fish. The interior is covered by jungle with a wide variety of species. You can watch monitor lizards, monkeys, geckos, flying squirrels, butterflies and many other types - sometimes right in front of your chalet. There are no roads and not many paths, so the islands are mainly peaceful and untouched - so far

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More detailed information on Pulau Perhentian Island scuba diving sites:

Tokong Laut Arguably one of the best dive sites in the Perhentians. A series of underwater boulders and pinnacles plays home to all manner of marine life. Pufferfish and boxfish are common here along side several species of anemonefish living amonst the vivid corals. Bigger pelagics are also often spotted including barracuda and tuna with large schools of snappers and fusiliers sweeping in and out of the formations. If you're lucky and the season is right you may glimpse a whale shark here however numbers have dwindled recently. Bamboo and Nurse sharks have also known to make there homes in the rocky hideaways at Tokong Laut.	Sugar Wreck This 90 meter cargo ship sank in 2000, she now lies on her side in around 18 meters of water. Reef adaptation can be seen here as already there are corals and shells growing on the hull. Big schools of snappers, jacks and trevally circle the hulk and myriad smaller fish shelter inside. Penetration is possible for experienced divers and the engine room, wheelhouse and cabins are all accessible.
Batu Nisan A gentler and shallower dive here where there is an abundance of giant clams, anemones and christmas tree worms. There maybe stingrays resting on the sandy bottom here. A good spot for a night dive as crabs, shrips and feather stars are in abundance as are parrotfish which will be asleep and encased by nightfall.	Tanjung Basi On the northern tip of Perhentian Besar is a peninsular with a reef at round 20 meters. There are some big rock formations and a couple of small caves and swimthroughs. As the current is often stronger here there are usually schools of bigger fish such as barracuda, trevally and mullet. There are also often big groupers lurking around in the depths.
Terumbu Tiga / Small Reef Tiger Rock as its known in English is probably one of the best dive sites in the Perhentians. It boasts some large coral formations, barrel sponges, soft whip corals and gorgonian fans. Fish life can be equally as impressive with schools of mackerel and barracuda. The big boulder formations create some impressive swimthroughs and canyons here and if you are fortunate you may spot a leopard or white tip shark.	Gua Kambing There are rocky boulders strewn over a sandy bottom here. Stingrays and big Jenkins whiprays can often be seen on the bottom and morays may be found in the crevices between the rocks. Cleaner shrimp are often seen busily at work here also.
Vietnamese Wreck Sunk in late 1970’s, this site is one of the must dives in Perhentian. Often a challenging dive due to the upswing currents, divers are rewarded with the sheer variety of marine life such as boxfish, devil scorpionfish, great barracudas, batfish, jacks, wrasses, giant groupers and stone fish. Easy to penetrate making this wreck a fantastic experience. Don’t forget to bring your underwater torch!	Tanjung Bitung Jumble of rocks descending to sand are a haven for critters and large fishes. Fantastic variety of fish life such as filefish, razorfish, groupers, trevallies, schooling barracudas and jacks. Whalesharks are sometimes spotted here.
D'Lagoon A favorite playground of novice and open water students, this relaxing and easy to dive lagoon is home to blue spotted rays, giant stingrays and friendly humphead wrasses. Variety of hard corals and the occasional turtles added to the attraction.	Shark Point / Corner Our own “house reef”, a mere 2 minutes away from our beach, lies an underrated dive site. Jumble of rocks support black corals, plentiful of “nemos” (clown fish) housed in colorful sea anemones, myriads of damsel fish, hawksbill turtle and yes, true to its namesake, black tip reef sharks. A favorite night dive site, ask us a trick on how to attract these sharks to swim close – if you dare.
Secret Reef The secret has been revealed. A deeper dive sloping down to sandy bottom, this submerged reef’s landscape is awashed with lush corals and high density of fishes You will see lionfish, lobster, puffer fish, nurse sharks and schooling jacks. Plus, a whole lot more.

Malaysia is fast becoming one of the leading dive destinations of the world with one of the richest marine environments in the Indo-Pacific Basin. The incredible bio-diversity of marine life, coupled with beautiful islands, white sandy beaches and clear warm waters, keeps divers coming back for more.

From schooling Hammerhead Sharks, to huge schools of barracudas and various species of turtles to the bizarre Frogfish and Ghost Pipefish, there is always something to fascinate the diver.

In Malaysia, the coral reef eco-system supports more that 50 generas of coral and more that 200 species of fish. It is not an exaggeration to say that almost every time a marine bio-diversity survey is conducted in Malaysia’s tropical seas, the species list increases!

Dive centers in Malaysia are well equipped and are certified by all the internationally recognized dive agencies like PADI, SSI and SSAC for maintaining their standards of safety and professionalism. Naturally, all scuba diving courses in Malaysian waters are also endorsed by these certifying agencies.

Some of the courses available include the ‘Open Water Course’ for beginners, all the way through to ‘Diving Instructor Course’ and ‘Re-breather Course’. After completing your scuba course, get outfitted with the latest scuba equipment as all international brands are available from dive centers in Malaysia.

Almost all the islands in Malaysia cater to divers of all levels of experience - be it easy, shallow drift-diving, to advanced wreck-diving or technical diving. Operators that offer technical diving are well equipped with portable emergency oxygen kits, special tank refilling equipment and other necessary facilities.

Top dive sites around Malaysia include diverse underwater geography such as sloping reefs, coral blocks, wall dives, deep dives, drift dives and wreck dives.

Dive operators, like any others around the world, will insist on seeing your certification for the type of diving you wish to do and to undergo a checkout dive. To advance your skills in scuba diving, dive centers offer further scuba courses at competitive and affordable rates.

The Still Unexplored Sea
Malaysia’s tropical forests and seas are the ancient homes to a staggering diversity of animal and plant life that has evolved over countless millions of years. A dip below the warm sea’s surface guarantees you an astounding experience with a concentration of vibrant and exotic marine life rarely rivalled anywhere else.

Malaysia’s spectacular tropical reefs boast an additional attraction – it is one of the few places on earth where macro organisms and large pelagics overlap so broadly in the same waters. Only a handful of diving sites in the world can offer both these sights in one diving holiday.

Comprising Peninsular Malaysia in the west and the states of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, Malaysia rests on the continental shelf of South-east Asia, the two halves separated by the South China Sea.

The west coast of Peninsula Malaysia is separated from Indonesia’s island of Sumatra by the Straits of Malacca. Along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the diversity of marine life around the waters of Pulau Pangkor and Pulau Payar are quite different from those off the eastern coast of the Peninsular Malaysia, in the South China Sea. Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Redang, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Tenggol and Pulau Tioman all lie a short boat ride off the Peninsula’s coast in the South China Sea and feature good coral growth and abundant fish life.

Surrounded by the nutrient-rich South China Sea and the Sulawesi Sea, the state of Sabah plums to true oceanic depths of 600m–1000m, different from the shallower waters of Peninsular Malaysia’s islands.

Located some 300km from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s capital, Layang-Layang Island is blessed with the best water visibility, from 20m–50m.

The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park Islands, just off Sabah’s capital of Kota Kinabalu, are popular for training and easy dives. On the other end of the spectrum, you should be an advanced diver to fully savor Sipadan Island. Lankayan, Mabul and Kapalai are famous for their ‘muck dives’ (diving in the coral rubble and sandy patches looking for macro animals).

Pulau Talang and Turtle Rock off Sarawak feature reef diving, and further away from the mainland, divers can do some very good wreck diving on the Katori Maru (a World War II Japanese troop carrier).

Malaysia is located in the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, which is the heart of the worlds’ richest marine biodiversity area, where scientists believe the marine life of the Pacific Ocean evolved.