To put things simply, Redang Island is a tropical paradise. To be more accurate, it’s a group of very small islands off the coast of the Malaysian peninsula, that have the trifecta of great weather, lush jungle, and beautiful beaches – at least for six months of the year (the island and it’s hotels are generally deserted during monsoon season).

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The central areas of the island are covered with thick rainforest. If you’re willing and able, you can hike through it to find other isolated beaches you’ll have all to yourself. In the jungle, you might come across giant monitor lizards, which can grow up to 200 pounds, but thankfully prey only on eggs, frogs, and small fish.

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Redang isn’t a place for local culture, shopping, or nightlife. Instead,  it’s a place to experience the beauty of the sea. While there is a small village, it’s primarily populated with tourists looking to do snorkeling and diving.  Directly off the main beach on which the majority of the hotels are located, you can find a lively coral reef, where it’s easy to find resident baby reef sharks and a huge variety of tropical fish. With a bit of luck, sea turtles, octopus, giant trigger fish, and moray eels are common sightings here as well.

 

As a bonus, we got to take a self guided tour of Kuala Terengganu, a medium sized port city with service to many of Malaysia’s eastern islands. Notable in “KT” are some spectacular floating mosques, and a Chinatown that dates back to the 17th century.

 

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