Redang Island, Malaysia
For my first official write-up, I've decided to dedicate it to my beloved home-country, Malaysia. Word of warning, it will be a relatively wordy one since I didn't exactly planned to write about it. Hence, photo taking was of minimal.
I suppose the aim is to really help me remember the trip chronologically and perhaps along the way, assist you with logistics if you ever plan to visit someday.
DAY 1
We took the earliest flight on a Friday morning to Kuala Terengganu. Arrived around 8.30am. Made our way to Shahbandar Jetty (car ride of 20-30 minutes) and managed to catch the 9.30am ferry ride. Timing varies but not by a lot, depending on your resort. Most resort offers ferry transfer to the island as part of your package. Ferry ride is close to 2 hours and if you get seasick like me, make sure you knock yourself out before they start sailing though I don't remember it being too rocky. But then again, I was fast asleep even before the seats were filled up so don't take my words for it.
Be wary! there's 2 jetty in Kuala Terengganu. Make sure you know which is the right one for your respective resort. And there's only 2 timing for the ferry ride to Redang Island. So if you missed the morning ferry ride, the next one is around 12pm. And if you missed that again. then good luck have fun figuring out what to do next.
Upon arrival to Redang Island, we were asked to gather at some briefing hall before making way to the "restaurant" for lunch. It was really more like a massive canteen.
Rooms weren't ready till about 1.30pm. Some may be tired by now and would opt for a nap. But if you can, don't missed out on the afternoon snorkel at around 3pm! For divers, there is a boat dive around the same time too. I have my diving license but haven't been diving more almost 4 years now. So I decided to go for a refresher course. Each resort have their own dive centre and prices are quite standard. However! I did realise the refresher course (shore dive) was almost RM30 cheaper at Redang Beach Resort and since Laguna Redang had no more diving slots, I guess the choice was pretty obvious.
Came back from my dive being in awe. Swam with school of fishes, saw a sunken postbox and the highlight was seeing a turtle. Chilled by the beach with a Pina Colada. Mmmmm... Plenty of beach activities by 5pm and you'll get to see people playing frisbee, building sandcastles and even a friendly match of volleyball. Go make some friends if you're all by yourself.
Friday night was pretty happening in Redang Island. There's even a DJ doing his gig at Redang Beach Resort and there's a dancefloor! Which was unfortunately very empty.
DAY 2
Rise and shine! Attempted to wake up for the sunrise. Keyword, attempted.
Breakfast was good, felt like a champion and made our way to the Marine Park by 9.30am. When I say Marine Park, I'm not referring to some aquarium or education centre with printouts and what not. It is a snorkeling spot filled with fishes. Water so clear it was unbelievable. Comparable with Maldives. Disclaimer, I've never been to Maldives.
Came back just in time for lunch! By now if you're not hungry, it only means you didn't enjoy yourself to the fullest and swam like you've never swam before at the Marine Park. Perks of meeting new people who coincidentally works for the resort, you get free bread to feed the fishes. Yay~ They usually cost RM2 for a loaf.
One of my agenda for this trip was to spent one whole afternoon of simply not doing anything and that is exactly what I did. Screw snorkeling trips, screw diving trips, screw it all. Don't feel oblige just because you've paid for it as part of your package. After all, it's sunk cost. You've got to do what you've got to do.
Today's alcohol selection...
DAY 3
Time to go home boohoo.
We obviously chose the latest ferry ride back and that was around 11.30am. Word of advise, if you don't want to be suffering from anxiety, choose the later flight time. There will be delay here and there, waiting for the ferry to come in to dock, people to get in, luggage to be loaded and etc.
We had lunch at Ocean Restaurant. Food was ok but after 3 days of erm buffet, the Chinese in us really were just craving for some Chinese food! I'd share the address but I got confused when tripadvisor, openrice and google all gave me a different location. Lucky for us, we met some really friendly taxi driver and he knew exactly where we were talking about. Upon negotiation on cab fare, he agreed to drive us to the restaurant, come pick us up when we're done, drove us around the town, wait for us while we go be tourist and then drove us to the airport. There is Uber/Grab in town but I guess this is really paying for the convenience.
By the way, please go hunt down some Kerepok Lekor whilst you're here!
HOW TO GET THERE
A quick summary for you lazy people who didn't bother reading the above content.
COST (the real deciding factor, for some)
We were there for 3D2N and spent about RM1500 per pax. Cost breakdown as follow:
I suppose the aim is to really help me remember the trip chronologically and perhaps along the way, assist you with logistics if you ever plan to visit someday.
DAY 1
We took the earliest flight on a Friday morning to Kuala Terengganu. Arrived around 8.30am. Made our way to Shahbandar Jetty (car ride of 20-30 minutes) and managed to catch the 9.30am ferry ride. Timing varies but not by a lot, depending on your resort. Most resort offers ferry transfer to the island as part of your package. Ferry ride is close to 2 hours and if you get seasick like me, make sure you knock yourself out before they start sailing though I don't remember it being too rocky. But then again, I was fast asleep even before the seats were filled up so don't take my words for it.
Be wary! there's 2 jetty in Kuala Terengganu. Make sure you know which is the right one for your respective resort. And there's only 2 timing for the ferry ride to Redang Island. So if you missed the morning ferry ride, the next one is around 12pm. And if you missed that again. then good luck have fun figuring out what to do next.
Upon arrival to Redang Island, we were asked to gather at some briefing hall before making way to the "restaurant" for lunch. It was really more like a massive canteen.
Rooms weren't ready till about 1.30pm. Some may be tired by now and would opt for a nap. But if you can, don't missed out on the afternoon snorkel at around 3pm! For divers, there is a boat dive around the same time too. I have my diving license but haven't been diving more almost 4 years now. So I decided to go for a refresher course. Each resort have their own dive centre and prices are quite standard. However! I did realise the refresher course (shore dive) was almost RM30 cheaper at Redang Beach Resort and since Laguna Redang had no more diving slots, I guess the choice was pretty obvious.
Came back from my dive being in awe. Swam with school of fishes, saw a sunken postbox and the highlight was seeing a turtle. Chilled by the beach with a Pina Colada. Mmmmm... Plenty of beach activities by 5pm and you'll get to see people playing frisbee, building sandcastles and even a friendly match of volleyball. Go make some friends if you're all by yourself.
Friday night was pretty happening in Redang Island. There's even a DJ doing his gig at Redang Beach Resort and there's a dancefloor! Which was unfortunately very empty.
DAY 2
Rise and shine! Attempted to wake up for the sunrise. Keyword, attempted.
Breakfast was good, felt like a champion and made our way to the Marine Park by 9.30am. When I say Marine Park, I'm not referring to some aquarium or education centre with printouts and what not. It is a snorkeling spot filled with fishes. Water so clear it was unbelievable. Comparable with Maldives. Disclaimer, I've never been to Maldives.
One of my agenda for this trip was to spent one whole afternoon of simply not doing anything and that is exactly what I did. Screw snorkeling trips, screw diving trips, screw it all. Don't feel oblige just because you've paid for it as part of your package. After all, it's sunk cost. You've got to do what you've got to do.
Today's alcohol selection...
DAY 3
Time to go home boohoo.
We obviously chose the latest ferry ride back and that was around 11.30am. Word of advise, if you don't want to be suffering from anxiety, choose the later flight time. There will be delay here and there, waiting for the ferry to come in to dock, people to get in, luggage to be loaded and etc.
We had lunch at Ocean Restaurant. Food was ok but after 3 days of erm buffet, the Chinese in us really were just craving for some Chinese food! I'd share the address but I got confused when tripadvisor, openrice and google all gave me a different location. Lucky for us, we met some really friendly taxi driver and he knew exactly where we were talking about. Upon negotiation on cab fare, he agreed to drive us to the restaurant, come pick us up when we're done, drove us around the town, wait for us while we go be tourist and then drove us to the airport. There is Uber/Grab in town but I guess this is really paying for the convenience.
By the way, please go hunt down some Kerepok Lekor whilst you're here!
Lorong Penyu (Chinatown, Kuala Terengganu) was a really nice touch to educate people on endangered freshwater turtles.
A quick summary for you lazy people who didn't bother reading the above content.
COST (the real deciding factor, for some)
We were there for 3D2N and spent about RM1500 per pax. Cost breakdown as follow:
- Accommodation was with Laguna Redang Resort. Full-board is advisable so you don't have to worry about meals. Their buffet spread is quite amazing (but you WILL get sick of it by day 3). Chose twin sharing in their Deluxe Garden Room for RM798.
- Flight (SZB - TGG) RM559
- Rental of life jacket RM15
- Rental of snorkeling mask RM15 (unless you have your own)
- Conservation fund to the marine park RM5 (but highly recommend!)
- Airport transfer to the jetty RM20 one way, arranged by the resort. If there's more than 1 of you, just get a taxi from the airport. There's plenty so you really don't have to worry and it will be cheaper.
Tips on how to reduce the cost:
- If you're going in a group, you can always opt to drive! Sharing out the petrol cost and what not will definitely be cheaper than buying an air ticket. But bear in mind, it's approximately a 5 hour drive from Kuala Lumpur.
- There are plenty of other resorts around that has lower rate. The resort we've selected is considered slightly at the higher end (daily house-keeping lol)
- If you've decided to stay in Laguna Redang Resort, there's an option to share it with up to 4 in a room which means, lower rate. Also, avoid weekends! Surcharge is as high as RM50 per pax, per night. And there's really no need to go for the room that offers ocean view, just go sit by the beach!
- Bring your own alcohol (if you're an alcoholic like me) but really drinks were not crazily overpriced at the resort. For reference, a bottle of Corona beer was around Rm22 which is ok.
I hope this post has helped you plan your upcoming Redang Island trip! Do leave a comment below if you think I've missed out on some of the must do's.
p/s: friendly reminder. If you're diving, remember you'll need approximately 24 hours grace period before you board a flight. Instructors at the island will often say its okay but always be safe than sorry.
p/s: friendly reminder. If you're diving, remember you'll need approximately 24 hours grace period before you board a flight. Instructors at the island will often say its okay but always be safe than sorry.
