Pulau Lang Tengah Guide (2019 Update)

A tiny tropical paradise between the popular Redang and Perhentian islands, Pulau Lang Tengah is often overlooked by tourists visiting the east coast. But that’s a good thing if you’re looking for a chilled out escape away from the crowds. Lang Tengah is kind of like an upmarket version of Pulau Kapas, with the same quiet vibe but better quality accommodation options. Unless you decide to volunteer on Lang Tengah (details below), the only accommodation options here are spacious resorts, but there is something for most budgets. It’s a place to kick back and relax by the pool or on the beach for a few days and would be a good place to go after a few nights in the busy Perhentian Islands.

When to go to Pulau Lang Tengah

Views from the boat ride to Lang Tengah

Resorts open in March, when the monsoon season is over, and close at the end of October. March and October are considered the ‘shoulder’ months so you get great off-peak rates and will have the beaches to yourself – but the weather can be less consistently sunny than peak months. The weather was amazing when we were there at the start of March though! Tim and I usually try to travel during these shoulder months as you get great deals, and you almost always get a room upgrade.

Peak months are between April and September, with June & July being the busiest. You’ll pay peak prices during these months, and if you want to go at the weekend you will need to book in advance as these days are booked out first. You can usually find a Monday or Tuesday night free though.

How to get to Pulau Lang Tengah

Lang Tengah is a 40 minute boat ride from Merang Jetty (not to be confused with Marang on the south side of Kuala Terrenganu). The boat costs 60MYR / £11 / €12 per person each way and is organised through your accommodation, which you must book before you get to the island. There is a conservation charge of 30MYR / £5 / €6 per person which is paid to your hotel on arrival.

To get to Merang Jetty we booked a Grab taxi from Kuala Terengganu for 40MYR /£7 /€8. The Jetty is kind of in the middle of nowhere so you’ll probably have to rely on a taxi to get here. Download Grab, which is the SE Asia version of Uber and you can book transport easily and really cheaply. Unlike Uber they give the full cost of your ride up front so you always know exactly what you’re paying.

Where to stay in Pulau Lang Tengah

There are just three resorts on the island, spread over 4 stunning beaches: Pantai Pasir Air, which is the longest stretch of beach and hosts the island’s two 4-star resorts; two tiny private beaches belonging to D’Coconut Lagoon; and a longer, mostly empty stretch west of there which has a small seafood restaurant and an abandoned resort. You can get between each of them easily on foot (there’s a jungle track which links the back of Sari Pacifica Resort with the empty beach west of D’Coconut) and if you’re not booked as part of a package then you can eat and drink at all of them. There is also the option to volunteer with a turtle conservation project which I have detailed below.

Summer Bay Resort $$$

This 4 Star Resort seemed to be the most popular, and was definitely the most expensive on the island. It boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool, three restaurants and a diving school for the guests to use. We passed it a few times while we were on the island but never ate here as it was so busy, and we thought the food would be out of our budget.

There are a number of room choices and they start from 370MYR / £67 / €76 per night for a standard twin room with air con and a garden view. This is the Booking.com bed and breakfast only option, but you can also book a package directly on the website. Packages are very popular with Malaysian and Singaporean guests – they include your accommodation, food, transport and activities and cost a lot more money. It’s basically the luxury all-inclusive option – except usually without alcohol.

Sari Pacifica Resort $$

Sari Resort is the mid-range option on the island, but like Summer Bay it’s a 4 Star Resort. It has much prettier restaurant with a veranda overlooking the beach and great food. There is a nightly BBQ here on the beach which is really popular but at 80MYR / £15 / €17 per person we decided not to indulge.

Accommodation here consists of wooden beach huts circled around a swimming pool with a balcony and air con. Prices for bed and breakfast start at 280MYR / £52 / €58 per night for a standard room, with a minimum stay of 2 nights. Sari seems to have good reviews online and seems to be better value for money than Summer Bay – at least that’s my impression from walking past very slowly and peeking inside peoples rooms! (Does anyone else do this?)

D’Coconut Lagoon $

We found Lang Tengah island when we were staying in the sister resort D’Coconut Island on Pulau Babi Besar. We spotted a sign for D’Coconut Lagoon at reception and once I saw how gorgeous Lang Tengah was we decided to go!

Rooms at D’Coconut Lagoon start at just 190MYR / £35 / €39 per night for an air conditioned room with breakfast. There are two private beaches, two swimming pools, two restaurants and a bar in the resort spread over two sections of the island that connect through a short jungle path.

We were upgraded from the budget room to an ‘Executive Deluxe’ which was on the second floor, overlooking the sea. Despite the impressive title, the room was basic but clean, with hot water, towels and air con. There were two double beds in the room and a fridge. There was also a balcony where we could eat our breakfast looking out at the sea.

The food here is basic and not as good quality as the other islands, yet it was also a bit more expensive. 18MYR for an omelette where I would pay around 4MYR on Tioman and 10MYR on Kapas. Alcohol is available in the bar from 6pm and a can of beer will cost 12MYR while a cocktail or glass of wine is 18MYR.

LTTW

If you want to stay on Lang Tengah for a bit longer and give a little back then you can volunteer at Lang Tengah Turtle Watch (LTTW). You can stay with other volunteers at this sea turtle conservation project and work with them to protect the endangered turtles and save their eggs from poachers.

For a little more information about the project and pricing details check their website. Also check out this post from a volunteer who stayed there.

What to Do in Pulau Lang Tengah

Diving

There are some great dive spots on the island. Diving can be arranged through your reception or there is a dive school at Summer Bay Resort.

Here’s a list of the top dive spots In Lang Tengah.

Snorkelling

There are some gorgeous snorkelling spots around the island where you can see bamboo sharks and turtles. You can rent snorkels from your hotel and swim out right from the shore or book into an organised tour. D’Coconut Lagoon has a tour that leaves each day at 2:30pm and returns around sunset. This was 40MYR, or free if you’re staying as part of a package.

Beach walks

ander the beaches from D’Coconut Resort to Summer Bay and you’ll come across beautiful isolated spots where you can relax without any interruption. On the far eastern end of Pantai Pasir Air past Sari Pacifica Resort there is a tiny cove which is usually empty and the water is almost free from spiky coral.

I’d definitely recommend going to Pantai Pasir Air to watch the sunset. You can even pick up some beer from the Mini Market at Summer Bay Resort, or if you’re feeling flush have a drink on the veranda at Sari Pacifica.

Jungle trekking

Take a 25 minute walk to Batu Kuching for gorgeous views from the rocks. This is a great place to watch the sunrise (which really is gorgeous here).

There is also a more adventurous trek to Batu Bulan (moon rock) which you can organise at reception. Bring a snorkel as this is a great place to see fish and turtles.

What to Bring

There are no ATMs on the island so bring enough cash to last you for your stay. The resorts do accept card but internet connections are often unreliable/non-existent so we’ve found that cash is the way to go.

Alcohol is served all over the island but it’s very expensive so if you’d rather save money then bring your own.

There is a mini market at Summer Bay Resort, where you can get food, toiletries (and the cheapest alcohol on the island), but they cost more than the mainland. Bring enough sun cream and bug spray etc so that you don’t have to buy them on the island.

Running Route

Theres a 3km route from the D’Coconut Jetty to the Summer Bay Jetty. This takes you along both D’coconut beaches, through the jungle to the western beaches and back. Take an extra few laps of each beach to push it to 5km or more. We mostly ran in the morning from 7:15-8am as it was too hot afterwards.

I also did a few workouts on the beach, there was nowhere to hang my TRX unfortunately so I stuck to HIIT workouts on the sand.

Other Tips

All resorts here add a 6% tax and a 10% service charge onto anything you eat or drink on the island. They also add the 6% tax to your boat fares and accommodation (check on the site if this is already included in the price shown).

Turtles come up to the beaches near D’Coconut Lagoon to nest at night, so if you are walking along these after dark do not use your phone torch to guide you. A head torch with a red light would be fine, or ask at reception for an appropriate torch. The bright lights scare away the turtles and force them back into the sea.

While you’re planning a trip to the East Coast of Malaysia, check out these other beautiful islands!

• Pulau Kapas

• Pulau Babi Besar

• Pulau Tioman

Thanks for reading!
Steph
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