Perhentian Islands in Malaysia

The small, uninhabited islands of Serengeh, Susu Dara Besar, Susu Dara Kecil, Tokong Burung and Rawa lie off the Perhentian Kecil island

Except for two main islands of Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil, there are five more islands in the archipelago. All these five islands are uninhabited. There are many snorkeling and scuba diving spots around these islands. The amazing sandy beaches are on Rawa, Serengeh and Tokong Burung islands.

Rawa beach “Pulau Rawa” is only accessible by snorkeling and diving boats, a 30-minute journey from either Perhentian Besar or Perhentian Kecil. There are no resorts here, hence the water clarity is probably one of the best in Perhentian Islands. The beach is downright beautiful. Crystal-clear water, azure blue ocean and soft fine sand are the given attributes that make this beach one of the best within the Perhentian archipelago. Anyway, the beach is quite small to actually cater for the arriving tourist boats. Nonetheless, I did notice that the beach was far from crowded because most of the visitors will spend the bulk of the time snorkeling in the clear waters surrounding it. The beach also has some decent snorkeling that can be done by swimming along the rocky outcrops.

The island of Tokong Burung “Bird Island” is also accessible by boats only. The journey will take about 40 minutes from either Perhentian Besar or Perhentian Kecil. The beach is quite beautiful, although for my standard, it is probably one notch below the spectacular beaches at Pulau Rawa. If you think the beach at Pulau Rawa is small, you may not fancy this beach. It is definitely much smaller because the island itself is made up mostly of towering boulder rocks and not much sandy area. For the more adventurous, you may also climb the rocks to enjoy the bird's-eye view of the island and the beach. You can also do some snorkeling at the island especially around the shallow boulder rocks that are partially submerged underwater. During my snorkeling trip to this area, I thought the visibility was extremely good and the coral as well as marine life varieties were outstanding. I guess the attraction of Tokong Burung is not on the beach but what lies underneath.

Serengeh island and Susu Dara islands appeared before our eyes.

Susu Dara Besar and Susu Dara Kecil.

Serengeh island also called Serenggeh island or Serengeti island.

View of the Susu Dara islands from the Rawa island.

We plunged into the water for snorkeling on the western beach of the Rawa island.

Greencheek parrotfish “Scarus prasiognathos” on the western beach of the Rawa island.

Underwater world on the western beach of the Rawa island.

Black parrotfish on the western beach of the Rawa island.

Red-breasted wrasse “Cheilinus fasciatus” on the Rawa island.

Black parrotfish.

Houndfish “Tylosurus crocodilus” on the Rawa island.

Houndfish “Tylosurus crocodilus”.

Large variety of the juvenile fishes on the Rawa island.

Large school of the juvenile fishes on the Rawa island.

Solid table coral “Acropora hyacinthus” on the Rawa island.

Hybrid grouper on the Rawa island.

There are plenty of food for the hybrid grouper on the Rawa island.

Hybrid grouper is a hybrid of the giant grouper and tiger grouper.

Stripe-faced unicornfish “Naso lituratus”.

Stripe-faced unicornfish “Naso lituratus” on the Rawa island.

Naso lituratus can be easily recognised by two bright orange forward-hooked spines on the tail base.

One can notice the blurred shape of grey reef shark “Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos” on the photograph.

Grey reef shark “Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos” is found in the top left corner.

Grey reef shark “Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos”.

Yellowtail fish with two horizontal stripes on the body on the Rawa island.

Yellowtail fish with white belly and blue back on the Rawa island.

Sometimes the large school of the juvenile fish surrounds you.

Waters around the Rawa island are teeming with juvenile fish.

School of parrotfish.

Large school of the parrotfish on the Rawa island.

Montipora corals on the Rawa island.

Montipora corals and Staghorn corals on the Rawa island.

Half-and-half thicklip wrasse “Hemigymnus melapterus” and red-breasted wrasse “Cheilinus fasciatus”.

Greencheek parrotfish “Scarus prasiognathos” was photographed from the belly side.

Greencheek parrotfish “Scarus prasiognathos”.

View of the Susu Dara and Tokong Burung islands from the Rawa beach.

Grouper swims in the shallow water of the Rawa beach.

Black parrotfish swims in the shallow water of the Rawa beach.

Magnificent sea anemone “Heteractis magnifica” on the Rawa beach.

Marvelous beach of the Rawa island.

View of the two main Perhentian islands (Kecil and Besar) from the Rawa island.

View of the Rawa island from the Tokong Burung island.

We arrived at the Tokong Burung island (on the left), this is our second stop in this snorkeling trip.

Titan triggerfish “Balistoides viridescens” on the Tokong Burung island.

School of the parrotfish and double bar rabbitfish “Siganus virgatus” on the Tokong Burung island.

Landscape of the sea bottom near the Tokong Burung island.

Couple of double bar rabbitfish “Siganus virgatus” on the Tokong Burung island.

Double bar rabbitfish “Siganus virgatus” has the yellow body.

Double bar rabbitfish “Siganus virgatus” has the wide black-and-white stripes on the head.

Each motorboat driver has to know about this stone.

Giant clam “Tridacna gigas” surrounded by the corals.

Huge table corals are here as if to create the breathtaking landscape of the sea bottom.

Tokong Burung Island.

We left the Tokong Burung Island.

Driver of our motorboat likes to joke, he asked us not only to find fish and corals but also to find MH370.

Two main Perhentian islands called Kecil and Besar.

We drive to the Serengeh island.

Susu Dara Besar and Tokong Burung islands are located behind our motorboat while we drive to Serengeh.

Susu Dara Besar is found in the center of the photograph and Tokong Burung is on the right.

Serengeh Island.

Our last stop in the Rawa group was at Pulau Serengeh.

Serengeh island sometimes spelled as “Serengei”.

We snorkeled on the Serengeh island in this place.

Propeller of our boat.

Variety of the table corals near the Serengeh island.

Landscape of the sea bottom near the Serengeh island.

Colony of the corals develops on the stone.

Corals covered with the holes of unknown purpose.

There are plenty of houndfish “Tylosurus crocodilus” on the Serengeh island.

Massive starlet coral or round starlet coral “Siderastrea siderea” on the Serengeh island.

Reflections from the sun are shimmering on the surface of table corals.

Spectacular table corals on the Serengeh island.

Reflections from the sun amazingly shimmer on the surface of coral.

Emerald corals of the Serengeh island.

Emerald table corals create unforgettable landscape of the Serengeh island.

Magnificent sea anemones “Heteractis magnifica” live between the table corals.

Ritteri anemone “Heteractis magnifica” on the Serengeh island.

Staghorn corals are shining in the sun on the Serengeh island.

Staghorn coral “Acropora hyacinthus” on the Serengeh island.

Serengeh island is a must-visit place if you stay on the Perhentians islands.

Giant clam is found between the brown table corals.

There are table corals, giant clams and magnificent sea anemones on the Serengeh island.

Elkhorn coral “Acropora palmata” on the Serengeh island.

Huge green table coral on the Serengeh island.

Green table corals and magnificent sea anemones.

Elkhorn coral “Acropora palmata” could be light green or dark green.

Underwater landscape of the Serengeh island.

Underwater landscape of the Serengeh island is one of the best in the Perhentian islands area.

Blue giant clam and grey table corals on the Serengeh islands.

Sea bottom around the Serengeh island is covered by the myriads of table corals.

One more motorboat with a snorkeling tourists has arrived on the Serengeh island.

View of the Susu Dara Besar and Tokong Burung islands from the Serengeh island.

View of the Tokong Burung and Rawa islands from the Serengeh island.

View of the Serengeh, Susu Dara, Tokong Burung and Rawa islands from the motorboat while we drive back.

Pulau Perhentian Kecil “Small Perhentian Island”.

Fishing village on the Perhentian Kecil island.