Perhentian Islands: Snorkeling, Sea Turtles & Fisherman's Village

A full-day boat expedition around the Perhentian Islands is the right way to see them. We packed waterproof bags with water, our room keys, and UV-detection sunscreen that changes color in the sun, and got on the boat.

Rash guard tip: Wear a long-sleeve rash guard. You are in and out of the water all day and having your arms covered means you are not reapplying sunscreen every 30 minutes. Much easier.

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Snorkeling: The Corals

The water here is warm, completely transparent, and noticeably less salty than places like Hawaii. The coral reefs are impressive and feel genuinely untouched in a way that the more crowded tropical snorkeling destinations do not. There are other tourist boats around, but the volume never felt overwhelming. It was peaceful.

Vincent forgot the GoPro in the room, so there is no underwater footage from this day. We are still processing this.

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Turtle Point

Our third stop was Turtle Point. The water visibility dropped a little in this area, but we saw a sea turtle. A large one, significantly bigger than the ones we have seen in Hawaii. Getting close to it in the water is a different experience from any aquarium or nature documentary. Worth the trip to this stop specifically.

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Lunch: Fisherman's Village (Kampung Nelayan)

The boat dropped us at Fisherman's Village for about 40 minutes. Cafeteria-style setup: rice on paper, point at whatever you want, done.

What we ordered:

Sides: Eggplant, pineapple curry, and a vegetable coconut milk soup. All good, all clearly made fresh.

Mains: Malay beef, marinated sweet shrimp, and buttermilk chicken. The buttermilk chicken was the standout of the meal, easily.

The sambal: We also got a scoop of their authentic spicy sambal with anchovies. They told us it was spicy. They meant it. This is not the sambal that has been adjusted for tourists.

Malaysian food has been one of the consistently strong parts of this whole trip, and the Fisherman's Village version of it was among the best we had. The locals in the village were genuinely friendly and easy to interact with.

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Dinner: Back on Long Beach

After the four-hour boat tour, we settled back at Long Beach for dinner. We ordered lychee and watermelon iced teas, both of which were fresh and exactly what you want after a day in the sun. We also had Tomyam soup, which we were told would be very spicy. It was actually well-balanced with the heat at the right level without being too sour.

We ordered the Village Fried Chicken, which was excellent. We spent a significant portion of the meal fighting off large island mosquitoes that had no hesitation going for food and drinks. If you are eating outside at night on the island, bring serious bug spray. The regular stuff is not enough here.

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Leaving the Island: Mimpi Resort Service

That final night ended with a full tropical thunderstorm, which apparently is a near-nightly occurrence. The next morning, we packed up and left.

One thing stood out watching other resort guests at departure: they were dragging heavy suitcases through the sand and onto the boats themselves. Mimpi Resort staff took our luggage directly from the room, loaded it onto the boat, and unloaded it at their mainland office. No sand, no heavy lifting, no chaos.

You pay more to stay at Mimpi. The end-to-end luggage service on island departure alone justifies part of that premium.