The beautiful heart-shaped paradise island of Redang is one of the country’s top beach destinations, situated about 30km off the Terengganu coast, just north of Kuala Terengganu.
Much of the island’s coastline is rocky with jungle-clad hills dropping straight into the sea.
These conditions are good for coral reef formation and, with deep water close to the shoreline, the island is popular with snorkellers and scuba divers.
But the island is not all rocky and there are a number of superb sandy beaches.
Here are some of the best beaches on Pulau Redang.
1. Teluk Dalam Kecil
Considered the best beach on Pulau Redang and one of the best in Malaysia, this private beach is home to the exclusive Taaras Beach & Spa Resort (previously known as the Berjaya Redang Beach Resort).
The sand is soft and clean and the sea is generally calm. Rocky outcrops at each end of the beach attract some colourful fish but this is not the best beach for snorkelling unless visitors hire a boat to take them to the nearby coral gardens.
There is a floating jetty here, from where visitors can sometimes catch a glimpse of a turtle.
2. Teluk Dalam Besar
This equally gorgeous beach is the bigger sister of Teluk Dalam Kecil and is separated from it by a rocky headland, which is possible to cross on foot with some care.
Visitors to Taaras can kayak, paddle boat or swim there.
There are no hotels on this bay, so making the effort to get there might reward visitors with having the beach to themselves.
This sheltered bay is where local fishing boats rest up during the day after a busy night catching squid with the help of their powerful spot lamps.
3. Pasir Panjang Beach (Long Beach)
This is the longest stretch of beach on Pulau Redang, located on the east coast of the island.
Most of the resort hotels are located here, including the Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa, Coral Redang Island Resort, Redang Beach Resort, Redang Paradise Resort and Laguna Redang Island Resort. Access to the beach is by boat.
With its crystal-clear waters, this is probably a better snorkelling beach than Teluk Dalam Kecil and it has a coral-free sandy section in the middle for swimming.
4. Pasir Kalong Beach
This is on the same side of the island as Long Beach, from which it is separated by a headland. Again, a rather inaccessible beach, except by boat or on foot through jungle trails.
The beach can be divided into two; Teluk Kalong Kecil, where Redang Kalong Resort is located, and Teluk Kalong Besar, where the Redang Mutiara Beach Resort is found.
Two small islands, Pulau Kerengga Besar and Kecil are located just off this beach, as is a crescent-shaped sand bar which is exposed at low tide.
5. Marine Park Centre
The administrative office of the Department of Marine Park Malaysia is headquartered on the small island of Pulau Pinang, just off the southern shore of Pulau Redang.
From here the department protects and manages the nine islands that make up the Redang Archipelago – Pulau Redang, Pulau Pinang, Ling, Ekor Tebu, Kerengga Besar, Kerengga Kecil, Paku Besar, Paku Kecil and Lima.
The Marine Park Centre has a sandy beach, a jetty and mooring area above coral reefs where snorkelling is available.
6. Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary
Pulau Redang is home to the largest population of nesting green turtles in Peninsular Malaysia, although the number is low compared with Sabah.
Chagar Hutang, also known as Turtle Bay, is an official turtle sanctuary and the beach itself is off-limits to visitors.
Snorkellers, who have to get there by boat, are allowed to swim offshore in the deep water.
Two other isolated bays on the west coast of Pulau Redang, Pasir Mak Kepit and Pasir Mak Simpan have smaller stretches of beach and are accessible by boat. Turtles have been known to nest here too.
Getting to Pulau Redang
There is a small airport that used to be served by Berjaya Air but scheduled flights are no longer operating. The only way to get to the island is by boat.
Most visitors fly to Kuala Terengganu and take either the public ferry from Shahbandar Jetty in Kuala Terengganu or a private boat transfer arranged by one of the island’s resorts.
Shahbandar Jetty is 13 km from the airport. The ferry takes an hour and a half and the fare is RM50 one way.
Best time to visit
Most of the resorts close down during the rainy season from November until March.
Getting around
There is pretty much only one road on the island that runs for about 3 km from the jetty to the Taaras Resort, passing through the kampong on the way. This village is fairly recent.
The 200 families or so used to live in wooden houses built on stilts above the sea near the jetty but they were relocated here, presumably to provide better living conditions and to reduce pollution of the marine park.
Things to do
Swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving and non-motorised water sports are the main activities. Lazing on the beach and wallowing in the sea is the best non-activity.
It is possible to walk around the village and even to rent a motorbike but there is not a great deal to see and most tourists do not venture far outside their resorts.
This article first appeared in Malaysia Traveller
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