Share experience - Tioman

[reflush]

Hi..,
just want share my experience for go to tioman for the first time!
1. ferry from mersing to tioman
- going to tioman, 5 person use "extra" chair
- return to mersing, 7 person use "standing" chair
- if the life jacket on ferry only stored/ located on top rack that visible from passenger, i believe, it is not enough for all chair/ seat available.
- time of the ferry going and return, is base on "who first who get"
- when checking ticket inside the ferry, more then 4xRM50 value of ticket, people buy the ticket on the spot!

2. stay in berjaya.
room + service, good and everything OK
beach, good and clean
food, nice and affordable (inside hotel or along way to jetty)
snorkeling, good and affordable
weather, is perfect, especially in the morning!
is it because berjaya resort is really near to the hill/ mountain?

3. what to do in tioman?
only play in beach hotel and snorkeling.
the trip to round island is not worth, because actually 1 round of tioman island is very big(take longer time to travel)!

4. when use taxi to eat seafood outside hotel, my camera forgotten to take from the taxi.
I use the taxi for one way, mean i already pay the taxi, but just after i finish the dinner, the taxi driver come to look for me and return my camera(not dslr). i gave him 100rm, for his kindness.

5. don't forget to bring waterproof camera.
the new panasonic ts-20 cost $349.
it is very wonderful to take picture when snorkeling or play in the beach.

hope my sharing info is useful

 

[perly]

Hi..,
- when checking ticket inside the ferry, more then 4xRM50 value of ticket, people buy the ticket on the spot!

hope my sharing info is useful

what do you mean?

 

[reflush]

what do you mean?

i saw some people buy the ferry ticket inside the ferry.
so when checking the ticket(inside the ferry), this people not give their ticket, but give money
i wonder how this people can boarding without "boarding pass"

i really can not think the reason why it is very hard to have "proper" ticketing system.
if the reason of the unpredictable weather, it is not make sense.
because the management can give more time between ticket schedule.
so when i went last week, 1PM ticket to tioman, have 3-4 ferry.
is it very hard to state in ticket 1pm, 1.30pm and 2pm?
and i arrive 12pm at the jetty, i boarding on 1.45PM ferry.
while waiting, i saw 3-4 ferry leaving.

i thinking, if you have 3pm ferry ticket, you come 10am to jetty, big probably you will get "boarding pass" and go with 12-1pm ferry.

like i mention, it is my first time go to tioman and now is 2012, i wonder like year 1995, what is the ticketing system look like?

 

[msw8908]

Hi Reflush,

I am making a trip there next week, self drive but departing from Tg Gemok as I will be coming down from Terengganu and I heard Tg Gemok is less crowded and not affected by the tides. Anyone tried Tg Gemok before?

Can I ask,

a. Is ferry safe, ie. you get a seat and there are no sign of overcrowding, I have read old reports of people standing during entire journey and I am not ready to risk my life and those of my family for Tioman's beaches, no matter how pristine they are.

b. How do you get from Tekek, arrival point at Tioman for Berjaya guest, to Berjaya resort? I DIY my travel plan and can't seems to find the info on Berjaya website.

c. Best restaurant in Berjaya and outside the resort.

d. How much did you pay for the round the island snorkelling trip? Did you book with resort or with private operator?

e. Can fish in Tioman?

Thanks in advance.

 

[reflush]

Hi Reflush,

I am making a trip there next week, self drive but departing from Tg Gemok as I will be coming down from Terengganu and I heard Tg Gemok is less crowded and not affected by the tides. Anyone tried Tg Gemok before?

Can I ask,

a. Is ferry safe, ie. you get a seat and there are no sign of overcrowding, I have read old reports of people standing during entire journey and I am not ready to risk my life and those of my family for Tioman's beaches, no matter how pristine they are.

b. How do you get from Tekek, arrival point at Tioman for Berjaya guest, to Berjaya resort? I DIY my travel plan and can't seems to find the info on Berjaya website.

c. Best restaurant in Berjaya and outside the resort.

d. How much did you pay for the round the island snorkelling trip? Did you book with resort or with private operator?

e. Can fish in Tioman?

Thanks in advance.

a. if the ferry is not safe, it is not possible. why? because when i going to tioman, is about 4 ferry, 1 ferry about 100-150 capacity and it is full and maybe 'more'
like i said in 1st post, if the life jacket only keep in above passenger seat, it is not enough for all passenger. but maybe the ferry keep it in other place, i don't know.

b. when you arrive tekek, there is berjaya bus shuttle(white bus with green or blue seat). it is free.

c. if you stay more then 1 night, try b'fast + lunch + dinner at berjaya, it is worth and not over value. then the other night, you may try to eat outside berjaya.
from berjaya to tekek, there is some sea food restaurant(for dinner). for lunch, only at tekek (in front of jetty), you can find for lunch.

d. in berjaya, have two acvtivity provider, 1 from berjaya, 1 from outside. both is good. if you have young children, better take half day tour. because, if you take full day tour, your children will easy get tired and they will miss the tour.

e. in mersing jetty, there is big sign board (about 4 meter x 2 meter, with big word too!), said you can not fishing at tioman.
but in ferry i go and return from tioman, i can say, 40-50% people use "profesional" fishing equipment, fishing net, crab net/ container to keep the fish live, few full size rot, etc !

remember, if your ticket have departure time, better come 2-3 hours early.
trust me, is not you have a ticket, for sure you can board the ferry. it is who come first and who can go.
in my experience, people can buy ticket after they inside the ferry and for sure this people is not elite people. they just know how to go to ferry without the ticket and buy on the spot!

have a fun !

 

[msw8908]

Thanks for your humourous sharing. Maybe I will go buy my own life jackets. LOL! Hopefully, Tg Gemok is less crowded.

I have booked the tickets in advance, will arrive early so as to ensure we get onboard the ferry we want.

 

[msw8908]

Came back from Tioman about a few days ago, stayed at Berjaya's junior suite and it was very good, spacious and comfortable. Went island hopping and a fishing trip, water clarity was acceptable but inferior to those in Redang and Perhentian. We saw more marine life and corals at islands off terengganu but Tioman has its charm as well. We particularly like the fact that we could fish and cook the catch at one of the restaurants outside the resort.

Tg Gemok is quite a safe car park as it apparently sits on government land and some parts of the property is used by other governmental agencies. I however doubt it is guarded 24 hours a day, not sure if the gate is locked up at night but I found my car where I left it after 4 days on Tioman.

Ferry crossing was ok, no sign of overcrowding although it was more than 90% occupied. The journey is little too long and the many stops add to the time, seats are also not very comfortable considering the distance and time. Hated the aircon, weak and made the place stuffy.

 

[PCdumb]

Though I've been to Berjaya Tioman many times, I've not had the opportunity to do any fishing there.

Thought i'd like to try that out this time round over the national day weekend.

Appreciate if you can advise the price of the fishing boat charter, the timing fo the charter, any toilet on board? Did you go far to fish and was the catch good. My daughter & wife also wants to try their hand at the rod....

Thanks

Came back from Tioman about a few days ago, stayed at Berjaya's junior suite and it was very good, spacious and comfortable. Went island hopping and a fishing trip, water clarity was acceptable but inferior to those in Redang and Perhentian. We saw more marine life and corals at islands off terengganu but Tioman has its charm as well. We particularly like the fact that we could fish and cook the catch at one of the restaurants outside the resort.

Tg Gemok is quite a safe car park as it apparently sits on government land and some parts of the property is used by other governmental agencies. I however doubt it is guarded 24 hours a day, not sure if the gate is locked up at night but I found my car where I left it after 4 days on Tioman.

Ferry crossing was ok, no sign of overcrowding although it was more than 90% occupied. The journey is little too long and the many stops add to the time, seats are also not very comfortable considering the distance and time. Hated the aircon, weak and made the place stuffy.

 

[msw8908]

Though I've been to Berjaya Tioman many times, I've not had the opportunity to do any fishing there.

Thought i'd like to try that out this time round over the national day weekend.

Appreciate if you can advise the price of the fishing boat charter, the timing fo the charter, any toilet on board? Did you go far to fish and was the catch good. My daughter & wife also wants to try their hand at the rod....

Thanks

We hired a boat from an independent operator. We paid around RM250 for a 3 hour fishing trip. The activity counter at Berjaya, at lobby, is also able to offer such trips (both shore and open seas fishing) but at a premium. Go only when weather is good as the water off Tioman can be choppy at times.

The boat is a 24 footer, small but just nice for my family of 4. No toilet. The operator supplies the handlines and the bait.

The catch is decent, we caught more than 15 fishes (ie Angkoli, grouper, etc.) in about 2.5 hours, my opening statement to the captain that his tip is entirely dependent on the catch probably helped as he moved us along quite a bit, looking for the best fishing grounds. We fished in waters of around 40 ft deep, so the shoreline never leave our sight.

If you need info on the operator, PM me.

 

[compro_1975]

how u got from here to mersing?

 

[msw8908]

I drove, Mersing to Singapore about 3 hours.

 

[PCdumb]

Did you take the new Desaru highway? Understand that it cuts down the travel time a fair bit.

I drove, Mersing to Singapore about 3 hours.

 

[DouBleB]

Can you pm me the contact person fr the fishing please?

 

[msw8908]

Did you take the new Desaru highway? Understand that it cuts down the travel time a fair bit.

No, I travel via route 3, the Desaru highway heads south.

 

[sunnycrowe]

i will be gg Tioman this wed for 4D3N... looks like its gonna be cloudy this week...

any idea how many hrs from SG to Jetty by coach, and the time for ferry?

the tour agent told me 4hrs coach time and 1 hr ferry...

 

[Limestone]

Fast forward 7 years...

I just came back from Tioman (stayed at Berjaya, Parked and took ferry from Tanjung Gemok). I'm lazy to start a new thread, so just want to post some info for interested parties.

This is in 2019.

Tanjun Gemok Jetty:

Parking is very crowded during peak days (I reckon PEAK is defined as from Saturday to Monday) I went on a saturday at 10am, and the carpark at the Jetty was already full (can hold about 30 cars). There are 2 external carpark operators outside the Jetty entrance, and 1 of them is also already full (can hold about 15 cars). I ended up parking at a open space behind the Jetty, and paid money to the 2nd independant operator. (Why i have to pay a guy to park along the outskirts of the Jetty entrance, baffles me entirely, but I have little choice)

So my suggestion is that on peak days, better to arrive before 9am to get a lot. Otherwise you're screwed. Or rather stuck with the choice of parking at other open spaces further away from the Jetty.

I did get back my car in good shape after 3 days, so that does give me abit of confidence on the safety of the independant operators, and parking in Tanjung Gemok in general.

Jetty carpark is 12rm/day. independant operators are 10rm/day.

Jetty and tickets:
I went to buy the ticket for marine conservation (RM30 for foreigners), but to my surprise, nobody checked for this ticket at all throughout my trip to and from Tioman. so I wonder why did I bother to pay for this ticket.. maybe someone can enlighten me.