TRANSPORT

Transport

By Ferry

Most visitors arrive by ferry from Mersing on the mainland. Bluewater Express operates the ferry services and its boats are fast and comfortable taking approx 1 hour 20mins to the first jetty. This ferry is now the only option, the smaller and faster services being cancelled because of safety concerns after a tragedy. Unfortunately in countries that cannot afford to patrol their regulations well, some ferry companies overcrowd their vessels. If you ever feel uncomfortable boarding a vessel for any reason, refuse. A good way to avoid this is to avoid the last vessel as it is always the busiest. The boat is sometimes boarded by the Malaysian coast guard but it appears that the operators' are aware of when this will take place and take pains to follow the rules only on those days.Coast Guard boards Tioman ferry for safety check There are three services per day in each direction, but tidal issues (or lack of passengers) may cause cancellation. Bluewater Express charges RM 35 for an adult ticket, RM 20 for a child ticket (babes in arm free, as of last info), and departs from Salang at 07:15 am, Panuba at 7.30am etc etc and at noon, and picks up travellers all the way down the coast. It should be noted that apart from the first sailing of the day, the ferry operator tends to leave Mersing when it is deemed that there are sufficient passengers, or perhaps they are waiting for a connecting bus. This has the effect of making the timetables vague at best. If you are planning onward journeys based on these timetables, then leave sufficient buffers (1-2 Hours).Bluewater Express speed boat schedule In Mersing, the ferry terminal and main bus terminal were in the same building. The bus terminal has been moved to a new location about 1.5km away, so check with the bus agent if they can drop you off at the ferry terminal before booking your ticket.

Some ferries also depart from Tanjung Gemuk to the north of Mersing.

During the monsoon season (late October to mid/late February) the ferries run much less frequently and exceptionally bad conditions may shut them down completely for several days at a time.

Since 2004, there are no direct ferries to/from Singapore's Tanah Merah ferry terminal available.

By Plane

The sole commercial operator to the island's small airstrip near Tekek is Berjaya Air, which flies 48 seat Dash-7 turboprops from Kuala Lumpur (60 min; RM214 one-way; daily) and Singapore (35 min; RM240 / S$111 one-way; daily peak season, several times a week during the monsoon season). Discounted fares may be available if booked in a package with accommodation. Maximum baggage weight is 10Kgs. Excess baggage charges seem to depend on how many passengers are on the flight.

These flights use the secondary airports of Subang (SZB) in Kuala Lumpur and Seletar (XSP) in Singapore, so factor in transfer time from KLIA/Changi when making your plans. As a general guide, allow for 2 hours on the road to travel between KLIA and Subang and about half an hour on the road to travel between Changi and Seletar.

No matter which way you choose to arrive, a marine park fee (RM5) should be levied on all visitors to the island. In practise, ferry passengers are not charged. Transfers can be arranged directly with resorts.

By Boat

By far the best and cheapest way of hopping from one village to the other is to use the Mersing/Tioman ferry service. On its way to and from Mersing it goes between Salang in the north and Genting in the south. The ferry will take you to most villages between from RM10-15 per person and is much cheaper than the private speedboat services.

Speedboats charge about RM 50 for a single trip, which is extortionate by Malaysian standards, but while you can try to negotiate they know full well that they're the only game in town (unless you hike). A single trip by boat as far as from the west coast to the east coast is RM 150 and can be shared if there are more passengers. Expect to pay double at night.

On Foot

There are several jungle treks , following the power lines, which connect the Kampungs.

Tekek - Juara

Trek from Tekek to Juara. Stairs facilitate the way up.

It is relatively easy to cross the island on foot from Tekek to Juara. The path up from Tekek is a well established but unpaved, 7 km long track with occasional stone steps to assist and a few fallen tree trunks to keep things interesting. You cannot lose the trail because it follws the powerline to Juara. It's feasible with a small backpack, but fairly strenuous, so allow plenty of time. In Tekek, the trail starts north of the airport (sign to Juara). Close to the waterworks, one leaves the road and continues on the trail. On the east side, it's an easy broad concrete footpath with no steps all the way from the summit down to Juara. Allow a minimum of at least two hours for the whole thing, significantly more if you want to stop along the way or if you're carrying anything, and take plenty of water and bug repellent; also bear in mind that the path is unlit and that it gets dark early in the jungle (especially on the Tekek side). In Tekek, the trail starts north of the airport (sign to Juara). Close to the waterworks, one leaves the road and continues on the trail.

Tekek - Air Batang - Monkey Bay

It's also possible to walk from Tekek to Air Batang (ABC) (40 minutes) and from there to Panuba and then on to Salang (just follow the power cable); this is a less strenuous hike overall as it's relatively level, however in places the path itself is more difficult to negotiate.

Nevertheless, this path can exhibit some beauty, because it comes along the Monkey Beach and Monkey Bay, which lie next to each other (in fact, one can swim out of the bay of Monkey Beach and reach Monkey Bay on the right without problems). It takes about 70 minutes to get from ABC to Monkey Beach. To continue to Salang go back to the power cable and follow the path under it (where it hasn't fallen down - given the trouble to put it in and its importance, it's amazing that it is not maintained) Following the power lines between Salang and Monkey Bay (photo by Paul Farr). Remember to follow the power lines, since the path may be hard to see sometimes. Furthermore it is quite punishing, because it goes uphill for a long time. Until Salang is reached, there is nothing but jungle. Allow at least 90 minutes for this part of the hike.

If you continue along Monkey Beach to it's northern end, you will find a foot path that leads to the side of Monkey Bay, a very pretty hourglass indented beach. The foot pad is subject to treefall so expect it to be hard to follow in places, but panic not if you lose the path, use your head and nut it out. The more use the better the path will get. Both beaches offer very good snorkeling. The other way to reach them is by water taxis.

There are ruins of attempts to set up business here, but otherwise no development, but the writer definitely saw a family of monkeys, who ignored the humans and didn't seem to expect any food. Of course don't feed them.