Holidaying at Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort in Tioman

Tioman Island was in my travel bucket list long time ago. It is one of the biggest islands lies at the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, in the South China Sea. The island is famed internationally for its dive sites, which were rich in corals, sea fans and sea sponges, as well as shipwrecks. Even though the island has been major tourists’ attraction, popular with tourists for so many years, it is still not overly commercialised. Tropical rain forest covers a significant portion of the island, with a hilly topography, inland forest, and small flat land areas along the coast.

Beach Villa

Getting to the island is a little bit of challenge though and requires advance planning. It is advised to book your ferry ticket right after your hotel stay is confirmed. Otherwise, you might be in trouble as the ferry ticket sold out quickly. On the departure day, you need to get to Mersing in Johor by any land transport (KL- Mersing ~ 4.5 hours) then transfer to a 1.5 - 2 hours ferry before you can reach the island. Unlike the surrounding islands, there are 7 public jetties in the island, namely, Tekek, Paya, ABC, Salang, Genting, Juara and Mukut with some distances away from each other. 

Beach Villa

Paya is a small village and beach at west coast of Tioman Island, located south of Tekek and north of Genting. It's a second stopover jetty for boats coming from Mersing and Teluk Gading Terminal. Paya has two major Tioman Island resorts and a small budget hotel providing chalet accommodation. The beach area stretches across Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort with a sight of beautiful expanse of soft white sand fringed by gentle seas.

Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort 

Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort 

You will be wowed by the crystal-clear water even before you set foot on the jetty. The cooling mountain streams, spectacular boulder formations and lush rainforest views occupy Paya's hilly backyard, with a dramatic view of Gunung Kajang. Interestingly, Paya village is named after its abundance of mangrove swamps ("paya" in Malay language) in the backyard.

Luggage pick-up truck

Despite being one of the most visited islands in SEA with tourists from all over the world, you will not feel crowded as the island is huge and guests are mostly distributed over the 9 beaches which are totally isolated from each other. One of the biggest family Tioman resorts on the island being the Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort situated at Kampung Paya. There are no lack of small restaurants and shops at this place. 

 

Surroundings within Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort

 Dinner buffet at Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort

The peoples on the island are friendly and mostly fluent in English though the local villagers converse in Malay. Paya village is accessible from Tekek Village and Genting Village by hiking. Speedboats or seabus are the primary transportation option for travelling among the villages in Tioman Island. There are many activities on the Tioman island resort as you can do a lot of sea sports like swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, you can also do jungle trekking and sunbathing. You will never feel bored at Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort but time is flying here!

Seaview from room

Sea-fronting lounge and open bathtub

Once we set foot on the Paya jetty, a small truck was seen to pick up our luggage to the hotel reception area. The check-in process was fast and smooth too. Tourism tax (foreign tourist) and Pahang Sustainability Tax were to pay at the check-in counter.

The beach villa is within a walking distance from reception. The spacious villa is built elegantly on stilts above the sea! We were delighted to have the whole villa by ourselves as that meant more privacy. The villa also comes with a sea-fronting semi-outdoor lounge and a bathtub perfect for relaxation and some much-needed me-time on this Tioman Resort. While you soak for a few minutes, you can almost feel all your problems just washing away.

 

Colourful fishes at Marine Park

Fast boat at the Paya beach

The neighbouring island and Marine Park are where living coral reefs reside for snorkeling activities. We gathered at the reception area on Day 2 for briefing before embarking on a boat to the Renggis Island. 

One thing we never expected was the small Renggis Island has great loads of colourful fishes that swam around us when we were underwater. But we had been warned not to swim too far away from the boat as the current could push us further to the other direction. This happened to us when my husband and I were not aware of the current when both of us were too indulged with the sea corals and fishes underwater (our heads were submerging in the water). We were alarmed by the whistle that the boat was about to leave, only then we both in shock that we were some distances away from the boat. We tried our best to swim towards the boat, but our efforts were wasted as the strong waves took in the control. It was fortunate that the boatman saw everything and saved us with the float. Regardless of this incident, the snorkelling experience here was great!

15 min mangrove swamp walk from resort to Rock Fall

Breakfast beside the beach

Complimentary yoga session at 7am

Our 3 days 2 nights stay at Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort was worry free. The on-island meal, recreational activities and accommodation were arranged prior arrival to the island. We strongly recommend those who want to travel to Tioman Island to take the 3D2N Full Board Package that covers almost everything you need at Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort. Furthermore, you have the option to top up for their barbecue dinner, kayaking, ATV and scuba diving! Don't hesitate, book Tioman Island package now to enjoy a perfect getaway with your family & friends at Paya Beach Resort. The room rate per night is as low as RM243 now, log on to www.payabeach.com to know more!