Scuba Diving in Kecil, Perehentian Islands – Malaysia

By Rory

Posted January 28, 2014

After our snorkeling trip, we had decided to go scuba diving in Kecil the next day. And since scuba diving has always been on my list of “Things to Do before I Die” and with the cost to go scuba diving so inexpensive here in the Perhentian Islands, I decided why not. Plus, I already knew how great the waters were around this island and we didn’t even have to travel far to get set up either as there were scuba diving schools everywhere on the island of Kecil.

We were staying in the Shangri La Resort and luckily they had a school connected to the beach side of our place. You’ll want something close to the water too because if you’ve ever been scuba diving, you know how ridiculously heavy all your equipment can be before you get in the water! And for those of you who think we had a leisurely stroll into the water, oh no sir, it was a 10 minute hike up and over a section of the island. Although this was the least fun part of the day lugging the equipment, there was very helpful gradual descent into the water from the beach section we were heading to.

Scuba Diving in Kecil – Perhentian Islands

When we actually made it into the water, what a difference it was! Now was the time to start learning ‘scuba basics’. And how much fun it was trying to ‘balance’ the pressure in our tanks along with the weights strapped around our waist. Ridiculous! Every time I sank, I’d over-inflate then fall backwards… But within ten minutes of running through procedure, we were already underwater and heading down the sandy slope on the ocean floor. I think our instructor chose this area as you don’t really notice you’re getting deeper when swimming a few feet off the bottom and it was gradual enough too for our ears to adjust properly. There were a few times I had to stop and decrease depth so that my ears didn’t explode but everyone else seemed fine. By the time we reached 4 meters (about 13′) I was fine.

Checking air pressure in the tank…

It was amazing down here as well. We came across a lot more fish than I’d expected to see and many more so than we saw on our snorkeling tour (LINK). There were sting rays, sea turtles, eels, corals and a much different and larger variety of fish down here. And about 25 minutes into our scuba diving tour, out of the corner of my eye, I saw what I thought to be a very large shark. And sure enough too as it came swimming towards the front of us before it quickly swam off. When we had surfaced, our instructor said it was the largest shark he’d ever seen since doing about 90 dives on this island. The shark was about 7 feet in length and while that isn’t huge, it’s plenty big to raise your pulses when you’re that close and that far underwater… And of course, I can only assume it was a harmless reef shark.

Should you come to the Perhentian Islands and want to go scuba diving in Kecil, there are more than a few places to go scuba diving. Just some of these include: Sunlight Divers, Spice Divers, Turtle Bay Divers, the Quiver Dive Team and the Angel Divers. You can find them on both the Coral Bay side of Kecil as well as Long Beach. Should you go, all dive shops have introductory courses like the one we went on as well as PADI training.

Barracuda

And if you go, be sure to check out some of the more popular dive sites such as Sugar Wreck which is a sunken sugar freighter and is easily accessible at 18m. There is also the very popular Redang Island which is said to be the best around the islands. There are multiple dive sites around the small island of Redang and it has much clearer water visibility and a greater diversity of marine life. Check out Divescover for more information on both a list of dive centers and dive locations for scuba diving in Kecil and Besar in the Perhentian Islands. It seemed to offer the most information.

What Does it Cost:

Most scuba diving centers in Kecil cost around RM60 for a shore dive, around 90RM for a boat dive and expect around RM160 for a discovery dive. Keep in mind however that these prices can fluctuate based on the season when scuba diving in Kecil. Just be sure whichever place you choose is reputable and PADI Certified.