Tioman island is situated on the East Coast of Malaysia. It is a small island highly recommended as a tourist vacation spot and has a wide range of activities to offer. It is a popular among tourists as it offers a lot of snorkeling opportunities, scuba diving sites, clear water, fishing & beautiful resorts for a relaxing getaway trip.
How to Get to Tioman Island
There are different ways one can get to the Tioman Island. The basic transportation methodologies are by ferry, by road and by air. There is no railway system on the Island as it is not connected by land and ferry rides are much more common than travel by road because of the underdeveloped infrastructure. It is also important to know the best time to visit Tioman Island as monsoon is not a good season to visit Pulau Tioman due to bad weather.
Taking a Ferry Ride
Pulau Tioman is surrounded by deep water and ferry rides are a common way of travelling in the Island itself. Mersing is a common and most used port to get to Tioman Island. There you can find many local companies who run boat services & provide ferry ride to Tioman Island. There is another less used one ferry terminal called Tanjung Gemok which is used to get to Tioman Island as well.
The main issues subjected to any delays in the Ferry service are mostly sea level and weather condition. In the monsoon you can expect a lot of delays because of the lower and upper tides that can cause turbulence during travel.
There are times when the boat services halt for a day or two during the monsoon season because of water current levels. Other than that Ferry rides are the most common way to get to Tioman Island, where the schedules are packed and there are a lot of people on board so you may need to keep in mind the rush.
The usual rate for a ferry ride to Tioman Island is less than RM 15 (Ringgit) but not more than that. Ferry rides are comfortable and you can enjoy the scenic view of the waters on the 45 minute long journey. Blue Water Ferry is a recommended ferry service that takes passenger from Mersing to Tioman Island.
Private Yachtes
Tekek Village located in Pulau Tioman has its own harbor so yacht rides to the Island are possible. If yacht is an affordable option, then tourists can reach the destination within no time. There are no local yachts that go to the harbor and mostly is visited by private yacht owners who chalk out a route to the Island.
Dive Operators Tour
This is by far the easiest and free of any hassle way to get to Tioman Island. You do not need to go through big lines or book seats ahead. You can find dive operators in Singapore & Kuala Lumpur abundantly that arrange frequent trips to Tioman Island. By joining one of their trips, you don’t need to worry about how to get to Tioman Island as the experience tour operators will take care of this.
The route is basically a bus trip from Singapore / Kuala Lumpur to Mersing which is not that long if you have a good book or good music to accompany you. We do have a guide about getting to Tioman from Kuala Lumpur if you’re planning a trip from Kuala Lumpur & Singapore to Mersing by bus, if you’re planing a trip from Singapore.
Later on, you can board the ferry to Tioman from the Mersing and reach Tioman Island safe and sound. This is one of the easiest ways to get to Tioman Island, if you plan to get there on an urgent basis.
Dive operators usually offer rides from Singapore and Malaysia to Tioman Island if you join one of their tours. The B&J diving center is one such dive operator that is widely known in the area.
You need to check out one of these operators and get more information as they are mainly closed during the monsoon season or the trips are limited due to high tides to ensure safety of the tourists.
By Air
Tioman is a small Island with one airport referred as Tioman Airport. The airport is small and only gets a limited number of flights per day and that too are local. Berjaya Air is one of the passenger carriers that arrives at Tioman.
There are two terminals located in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, where you can catch a Berjaya Air flight to Tioman Island. There are discounted travel rates available to get to Tioman Island, if flights are booked days ahead.
The ticket price ranges from RM200 to RM300 (Malaysian Ringgits), but the journey to the Island is fast and comfortable as compared to other ways to get to the Island.
Berjaya Air has suspended its operation to Tioman Island so it is not possible to travel to Tioman Island by air. The location of Tioman airport is such that the airplane needs to take a turn before landing. This might be the case of flights suspension but it also cause major problems to tourists as they have limited options to get to Tioman Island.
How to get to Tioman Island is a journey full of adventure. Share your story of getting to Tioman Island by adding comments below and have a safe trip.
