A Fantastic Snorkeling Tour on Redang

Off the east coast of Malaysia lies the beautiful island of Redang. In our article about Redang, we described everything you can see there and the best way to reach the island.

Another highlight away from Redang’s gorgeous beaches is definitely the colorful underwater world around the island. Here you can discover not only species-rich coral, but also small blacktip reef sharks, clownfish, and turtles while snorkeling.

Redang – Day Trip into the Colorful Underwater World

Redang is therefore a great place for a snorkeling tour, and of course we went on one too, because you don’t get to encounter turtles every day.

Accommodation on Redang – Our Hotel Tips

Redang’s main beach, Long Beach, offers a number of accommodations. Unfortunately, Long Beach is also the busiest beach on the island and is sometimes full of Chinese tourists. A nice place to stay there is the Laguna Redang Island Resort. If, on the other hand, you want things much quieter, we can highly recommend The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort. There, you are completely secluded from the rest of the island and can enjoy a relaxing beach vacation. The food at The Taaras is really very good, but there is currently only a small selection of other restaurants nearby.

You can find more accommodations on the beautiful island of Redang here.

1. Booking the Snorkeling Tour on Redang

Since we stayed in the middle of the island, there wasn’t a huge selection of providers, so we booked a tour with Joe Glamour at Aima Grill Fish Restaurant in front of The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort at Teluk Dalam Kecil. If you are staying at Long Beach, for example, there are more options for booking a tour.

The meeting point was at 9.30 AM at the restaurant, from where we were taken to the pier in a somewhat worn-out car. From there, we got on the boat and headed around the island with several stops. The price was RM 80 per person, and we were excited to see what awaited us. Above all, we hoped we would be able to see turtles.

2. Marine Park

The first stop of the snorkeling tour was supposed to be the Marine Park, which is located just a few meters off the coast of Redang. This is a very popular place among visitors, as you can see many fish here as well as an artificial reef.

East of the Marine Park jetty, about 10 meters from the beach, there is also a shipwreck that you can even see while snorkeling. The wreck is partly covered with coral and is said to be very beautiful.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t make this stop because the currents were too strong that day and it would have been dangerous to snorkel there. So there is only a photo from the boat. If you are on Redang, you should definitely take this trip to the Marine Park.

3. Pulau Ling and Pulau Ekor Tebu

We continued to the islands of Pulau Ling and Pulau Ekor Tebu, although calling them islands is a bit misleading. They are more like large rocks in the ocean. But around them, you will find many fish and coral, which is why a stop is made here.

Since there is no beach on the islands where you can dock, you jump straight from the boat into the water to snorkel. This way, you can snorkel along the island and watch the fish before getting back into the boat and continuing to the next stop.

4. Sandbank

A little farther on, there is a sandbank in the middle of the ocean between the island of Pulau Kerengga Besar and Mutiara Beach on Redang. It was not a real stop on the snorkeling tour, but a little piece of paradise that we absolutely wanted to see.

So we asked our boat driver to stop there for a few minutes so we could take some photos. However, you won’t last long there, because there is no shade on the small sandbank and you are constantly exposed to Malaysia’s blazing sun.

So just a short photo stop, and then we continued toward Long Beach, because with a bit of luck, a few baby blacktip reef sharks might be on the itinerary here.

5. Long Beach

The next stop is at Pantai Pasir Panjang, better known as Long Beach. There are two snorkeling spots here. We didn’t go ashore this time, but if you want, you can easily swim the short distance to reach the beach.

The first snorkeling spot is Tanjung Tengah, often also referred to as Shark Bay. It is located where Long Beach is divided by a rock. Here, you can tell from the sheer number of fish that the reef is very popular among the underwater residents. Snorkeling at Tanjung Tengah is said to be best between April and August, but even in September, when we were there, it was fantastic.

In addition to clownfish and many other colorful fish, we were also able to see small baby blacktip reef sharks. Unfortunately, they hide a little in the darkness of the ocean, so the photos are not great and the sharks are not easy to recognize. With a bit of luck, you can even see turtles or squid here. Unfortunately, we did not.

The second snorkeling spot is located at the southern end of Long Beach at Redang Reef Resort and is called Tanjung Mak Cantik. You can even reach it from the beach, as it is located by the rocks in front of Long Beach. It is not quite as popular as Shark Bay, but it is still a beautiful place, especially if you want to snorkel directly from the beach.

6. Aziz Reef/Teluk Dalam

The last stop of the snorkeling tour is Aziz Reef. It is located off Teluk Dalam Besar, a secluded dream beach that you can reach from the village in the middle of the island.

Here the moment had finally come, and we were able to snorkel with two turtles that swam around us and were not shy at all. This was probably also because our boat driver attracted them with pieces of squid and loud calls of “calamari.” Definitely an unforgettable experience.

The boat stopped not far from the beach, so you could also swim here from land and, with a bit of luck, spot turtles. There were also a few fish to see here. But honestly, the turtles distracted us so much that we didn’t really focus on the rest of the sea. Swimming with the turtles was simply too exciting!

After that, the snorkeling tour was over, and around 2.00 PM, we had solid ground under our feet again at the beach of Teluk Dalam Kecil. The tour ended at The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort, and we were able to walk the last few meters to the hotel in just a few minutes.

I can really recommend the snorkeling tour around Redang if you want to see clownfish, blacktip reef sharks, and turtles. For me, it was an absolutely unforgettable tour and incredibly fun.

If you book or start the tour from Long Beach, the itinerary and order of the stops may be slightly different. Nevertheless, you won’t miss the highlights.

How to Get to Redang

To get to Redang, most travelers still use a ferry or speedboat. There is also a small airport on the island, and Berjaya Air offers flights to Redang again from Subang. Schedules and availability can change, so check the current options before planning your trip.

If you want to travel to Redang by boat, you first have to get to Kuala Terengganu. You can do this either by bus from Kuala Lumpur (about 7 hours) or by plane. Depending on the season and schedule, airlines such as Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia, and Firefly fly from Kuala Lumpur (either from KLIA Terminal 2 or Subang) to Kuala Terengganu. For price comparisons, we can recommend Skyscanner. Alternatively, you can conveniently book your tickets via 12go.asia.

In Kuala Terengganu, there are two jetties for the boats. The best way to get there from the airport is by taxi. It takes about 20 minutes (Shahbandar Jetty) to 30 minutes (Merang Jetty) and costs about RM 30. From there, you can take a boat to Redang from either jetty.

• Shahbandar Jetty – Shahbandar Jetty is located in downtown Kuala Terengganu and is only about a 15-minute walk from the city’s bus terminal. The public ferry to Redang departs here three times a day: at 9.00 AM, 10.30 AM, and 3.00 PM. The crossing takes about 1 1/2 hours. On Redang, it stops at a jetty in front of Long Beach and in the island’s village. The price is RM 110 for a round trip, plus an additional entrance fee, which varies by visitor category, for example RM 5 for Malaysian adults and RM 30 for non-Malaysian adults.
• Merang Jetty – Merang Jetty is the closest point on the mainland to Redang. Many of the upscale resorts on the island have their own jetty, check-in area, and, of course, their own speedboat in Merang. If you use this jetty, you have probably already arranged transport with your hotel beforehand. The ride takes about 45-60 minutes.

The travel options to Redang are therefore very limited. This makes getting there a little more difficult, but it also gives us hope that Redang will, for the most part, remain a small and peaceful paradise in the near future.

By the way, you can also take a boat from the Perhentian Islands to Redang and vice versa. However, the prices are relatively expensive.

Have you ever been to Redang and done a snorkeling tour? What was your experience? Leave us your feedback in the comments.