Tioman 4D3N Dive Trip
Pulau Tioman sits at the east coast of Malaysia, far enough from the mainland to stay largely undeveloped. It has been a protected marine park since 1994, which shows underwater: the reefs are intact, the fish populations are healthy, and encounters with larger marine life are still routine.
Day 1: Renggis Island (Night Dive)
Chartered a private car from Singapore directly to Mersing Jetty, no transfers, and took the 13:00 Cataferry to Paya Jetty on the island. Our dive shop for the trip was Burger Dive Team, based in Paya.
We arrived late for the afternoon boat dives, so we swapped it for a night dive.
Renggis Island is a small island that sits off the coast of Tekek Village, opposite Berjaya Tioman Resort. The shallow depth and negligible current make it accessible for all levels.
On a night dive, the reef’s nocturnal residents take over. Blacktip reef shark patrol the sand flats, we had multiple shark sightings within the first few minutes, and late in the dive, a tawny Chiloscyllium plagiosum on the coral. Always a good one to see up close.
Dive 1: 45 min, max depth 12m
Day 2: Labas Island + Renggis
Labas is an offshore island about 45 minutes from the main jetty, resembles a piece of Swiss Cheese due to its abundance of swim throughs and small caverns. This island has two dive sites, the head or the tail, with both being equally fascinating. The island is riddled with swim-throughs, caverns, and archways.
Dive 2: 48 min, max depth 15.4m
Dive 3: 49 min, max depth 16.7m
The afternoon back to Renggis. In daylight the reef opens up differently. Wide coral formations, spotted pufferfish swimming alongside us, sea turtle moving through at its own unhurried pace. The blacktip reef sharks came back too, multiple times, close enough to swim right past us or beside us within arm’s reach. Not a first encounter with sharks, but the proximity never stops being the kind of thing that makes me want to yell!!!
Dive 4: 44 min, max depth 11.7m
Day 3: Chebeh Island, Malang Rock, KM Sipadan Wreck
Pulau Chebeh is 30 to 40 minutes north of the main villag. The volcanic rock island has dense tree growth above water and a beautiful coral growth beneath. Currents run strong here, the steep sloping reef formation is formed by massive granite rock boulders which are densely covered in fan corals (gorgonians) and black corals. The deeper part (18 to 30 meters) is full of brilliant soft corals, while the shallow part (14 to 5 meters) is full of very healthy hard corals. Resident marine life is too diverse to list everything here
Malang Rock (or ‘Unlucky Rock’ in Malaysian) takes its name from a peculiar geological feature, a large rock formation that hangs above the waterline without touching the sea. Below the surface, the dive is shallower and more varied, with a wide range of hard and soft corals and plenty of reef fish.
Dive 5: 48 min, max depth 19.2m
Dive 6: 51 min, max depth 16.1m
KM Sipadan Wreck is a 30-meter steel-hulled former Royal Malaysian Navy patrol vessel sunk in 2012 as an artificial reef. The hull sits at around 25 to 30 meters, 30 meters long and 4.5 meters wide, compact enough to survey in a single dive. In the middle of the sandy seabed, this is a hub for marine life. Scorpionfish and Nudibranchs are plenty on this site!
Dive 7: 28 min, max depth 26.7m
Day 4: Back to Singapore
12:00 pm ferry out from Paya Jetty. Back in Singapore by evening.