In this landscape photography guide, I show you a place in Malaysia that is great for seascape photography: Tioman Island. I share how to get there, where to stay, and my favorite photo spot on the island.
Tioman Island is a small tropical paradise located off the east coast of Malaysia. It is known for its crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches and lush green forests. Two of its main attractions are diving and snorkeling. The island is home to various dive sites, supporting a wide variety of marine life.
But I didn’t visit Tioman Island just for the underwater world around it. I wanted to see what it had to offer in terms of landscape photography. So I did my research to find photo spots on the island, which was more difficult than I thought because there wasn’t much information available about photography.
Browsing various storage sites and closely examining the Tioman coastline with Google Maps, I eventually narrowed my search to the area between Genting to the west and Mukut to the south. The coastline between these two villages is a mix of jungle, secluded beaches and beautifully shaped granite rocks.
Ultimately, I chose Genting as my home base because it was easy to get to and there were accessible photo locations nearby.
How to get to Tioman
Tioman Island is usually visited by bus via Mersing from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Because we were in Kuala Lumpur, I’ll focus on how to get to Tioman from there. If you want to start your trip to Singapore, you can check out this helpful guide from Go Islands.
A good starting point for planning a bus trip in Southeast Asia is usually 12GoAsia. I have booked several trips with them and found them to be very reliable. One thing to be aware of is that they sometimes don’t show all the options available and it’s often not possible to book more than three or four weeks in advance. If your desired trip is not available through them, you can try Easybook instead.
The bus operator we booked our tickets for through 12GoAsia was Sanwa Express. The cost of a one-way ticket to Mersing was 41 Ringgit per person, or about 9 USD. This trip was to take five hours, starting from the Bersepadu Selatan terminal, south of Kuala Lumpur. We ended up spending over six hours on the bus.
As the bus journey is very long, you have two options if you want to take one of the ferries to Tioman which usually depart from Mersing in the morning. Either you take the afternoon bus to Mersing and spend the night there. Or you book one of the night buses operated by Transnasional. Although Mersing itself doesn’t have much to offer, planning a stopover is the safest option.
In addition to booking a bus, you also need to purchase a ferry ticket from Cataferry or Bluewater Ferry. Both depart in the morning and take between 90 minutes and 2 hours to the various ports on the west coast of Tioman. We booked through the Bluewater ferry. A round trip cost 120 Ringgit per person, or about 28 USD.
If you book your ticket online, you must always be at the port approximately one hour before departure and first exchange your online ticket for a boarding ticket at one of the stands inside the Mersing Port Center , just opposite the port. You also have to pay the entrance fee to the marine park there.
To return to Kuala Lumpur from Tioman, take one of the morning ferries which depart from Tioman around 7am. Then take the 10am or 11am bus back to Kuala Lumpur. It stops right in front of the port center.
Where to stay on Tioman Island
Tioman Island is 39 km long and covered in tropical rainforests. This is why travel between different villages requires a boat.
As I wrote above, I decided to stay in Genting which is the first port where the ferry stops. From there it continues to Tekek. If you want to stay in another village other than these two, you need an additional transfer. This can usually be arranged by the hotel you are staying at.
Genting is a pretty little village with a long white sand beach. There are no big hotels or restaurants and during our visit we were the only Western tourists in town. Finding something to eat can be difficult because restaurants don’t have reliable opening hours. Fortunately, there is also a small supermarket where you can buy water and snacks.
From Genting, you can go down and pass Japamala Resort or up to Paya Beach. It gives you inexpensive options to get to other places on the island without renting a boat.
We stayed in the beautiful little Beach House* at the north end of Genting. It’s a quiet place with a beautiful beach, snorkeling opportunities and incredible photo spots within walking distance. Breakfast is basic and you don’t get the amenities you would get at one of the more expensive resorts on Tioman Island. But the options for taking great seascape photos near the apartment more than make up for it.
It is however not ideal for exploring some of the mountains in Tioman – Single Dragon Horn and Gunung Nenek. Finding accommodation in Mukut or one of the southern resorts might be better suited for this.
Photograph of Tioman Island
As you can see in the photo above, the coastal landscape of Tioman Island is very similar to that of the Seychelles. Near Genting you will find many small coves with huge granite boulders – it is a landscape worthy of what one would expect in La Digue.
During the four days I spent in Genting, I did some exploring south towards Japamala Resort and north to Paya Beach. The path leading to Paya beach is very photogenic. You pass through beautiful tropical forests with tall trees. At the northern end of Paya Beach you will find a small island called Pulau Tumuk. This island would make a wonderful photo subject at sunrise. It is also a superb snorkeling spot with a small coral garden and many colorful fish.
The path to Japamala resort is rougher than to Paya beach. After about 30 minutes you find yourself in a pretty little cove just north of the resort. This spot would be perfect for sunrise or even sunset. But you need good boots and a good flashlight. There are wooden bridges to cross, which don’t appear to be used very much – so be careful if you head over them.
But to take great photos while staying in Genting, it is not necessarily necessary to do such hikes in the dark. Just head to the north end of town and continue along the coast. You will find countless subjects at low and mid tide. If the tide is too high, it is difficult to reach some of the more attractive areas, as the water will swallow up most of the beach.
To give you an idea, the title photo of this article was taken at low tide, with many small rocks protruding from the water. The photo above was taken at mid tide, which is the perfect time to photograph this area. Tides4Fishing is a good resource for checking tides around the world.
Conclusion
Tioman Island wasn’t on my radar when we started our journey through Southeast Asia in September 2022. I also hadn’t heard of it or seen any photos. Because we wanted to end our time in Malaysia with a coastal vacation, I started looking at the different islands in this region. And I’m glad I did. This island is a tropical paradise. It’s clean, covered in jungle and surrounded by beautiful coastal scenery. The snorkeling we did at Pulau Tumuk was great fun and the landscape photography around Genting was comparable to La Digue in the Seychelles. I look forward to returning someday in the future.
*Above I use booking affiliate links. If you use them to make a reservation, I will receive a small commission from Booking.com.
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