As you can probably tell from our blog we love travelling around South-East Asia – we love the combination of chaotic cities and gorgeous beach destinations. A country we are keen to explore a little more is Malaysia.
I have been to Malaysia around 10 years ago and spent time in the typical tourist spots around Kuala Lumpur and Penang, but what I would really love to do is head back there and check out some of the country’s gorgeous islands and stunning beaches.
Malaysia is an ideal destination from Australia, given it is pretty easy to reach with airlines like Malaysia Airlines (MAS), flying regularly between most major cities and flight times being reasonably short. Fun fact, you can check out Traveloka to get awesome MAS online promotions. Also, Traveloka provides some great budget accommodation options, making it an inexpensive holiday for families.
Anyway to inspire you even further to visit Malaysia, here are a few of the Malaysian islands on my bucket list:
Malaysia’s Best Beaches on the East Coast
Malaysia’s east coast is supposedly home to the country’s most stunning beaches. From what I have read, the water is crystal clear, the beaches are powdery soft and white – everything that makes an ideal beach destination.
The east coast is also easily accessible by Kuala Lumpur via a short flight. I hear the only downside of the east coast, is that this side of the country experiences crazy rainfall during the monsoon season which is between November and March and is best avoided.
Redang
This island is postcard paradise and one of the more expensive islands on the east coast. Visitors to Redang Island spend their days snorkeling and turtle spotting in the Radang Island Marine Park.
The most popular area on the island is in Pasir Panjang on the east side of the island where the majority of the resorts are.
Perhentian Islands
The Perhentian Islands are a small group of 5 islands just north of Redang. The islands are popular with the budget traveler – that’s us!! The islands have gorgeous beaches with fantastic beach huts at budget prices and activities include diving and snorkeling.
Teluk Aur is said to be the more family friendly area with tranquil beaches and resorts with the usual facilities.
Tioman Island
Tioman Island is said to be one of Malaysia’s most gorgeous islands with its golden sandy beaches, backed by the tropical jungle. The island is part of the protected marine park and has a variety of great coral reefs and colourful tropical fish making it a snorkeling and diving paradise.
The island has a great range of budget friendly accommodation and is also super easy to access from both Malaysia and Singapore and close to Singapore.
Malaysia’s Best Beaches on the West Coast
Langkawi
Despite the beaches not being as beautiful as those found on the east coast, Langkawi is one of the country’s most popular and touristy island. The island has a wide variety of hotels, restaurants, shops and activities such as Seven Wells (waterfalls), the underwater aquarium, a cable car ride to the top of the highest mountain on Langkawi with spectacular views of the ocean and nearby islands as well as the snorkeling and diving.
The most popular beaches are Pantai Cenang and Pantai Tengah which contain various waterfront bars, restaurants and accommodation options.
Borneo
The island of Borneo is unique in that it is shared between the counties of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Some of the best beaches on Borneo are said to be Turtle Beach, Golden Beach and Sipadan. The waters surrounding Sipadan are supposedly some of the best in the world for diving with schools of greenback and hawksbill turtles, barracuda, manta rays, hammerhead and whale sharks regularly spotted.