Lang Tengah Island

Lang Tengah Island

Lang Tengah Island (or Pulau Lang Tengah in Malay) is an island off the coast of Terengganu, Malaysia. It features crystal clear seawater, white beaches and an untouched tropical jungle. It is located roughly halfway between Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian, and is connected to the mainland by ferries to Merang.

Getting There

Lang Tengah Island is located about 40 km north east of Kuala Terengganu (22.5 km from Tanjung Merang) on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Tanjung Merang is a small fishing village 45 minutes north of Kuala Terengganu and the jetty is a few minutes outside of the village. The Lang Tengah Island can be reached by boat from Tanjung Merang (not to be confused with Marang, south of Kuala Terengganu), 45 minutes’ drive north of Kuala Terengganu. Speedboat departures from here are usually pre-arranged with your resort and take 40 minutes. Most boat operators have a fixed schedule, with two departures daily (morning and afternoon) in peak season and one departure in off-peak season. Transfers cost around RM95 return.

It is possible to charter a boat (from RM380 per trip) to Lang Tengah Island from Tanjung Merang, Redang Island or the Perhentian Islands.

Hotels

The island appeals more to holiday goers who are looking for a quiet tropical island getaway. This is much quieter with less development than nearby Redang Island). There are only 4 resort hotels located on the island. including one which has closed down.

• Sari Pacifica Lang Tengah
• Lang Sari Resort (formerly Square Point Resort)
• Summer Bay Lang Island Resort (formerly Redang Lang Resort)
• D'Coconut Resort
• Blue Coral Island Resort (closed down)

Diving and snorkelling

The water around Lang Tengah are a marine park and the corals and fish life are excellent. The water is calm and usually crystal clear, excellent for learning to dive with one of the dive centres (scuba-yu, D'coconut.

Wildlife

The island has excellent coral reefs with teeming fish life and occasional sharks and rays. The island has nesting green turtles from April to October. Occasional hawksbill turtles also nest and are regularly seen in the sea. There are quite a few monitor lizards (biawak in Malay) but they are rarely seen near the resort beaches. In the early morning, the smaller monitor lizards commonly patrol the shoreline in the quiet parts of the island. The island is covered with primary forest and has a wide variety of birds, frogs, lizards and insects.

Weather and seasons

The monsoon from October to March frequently makes the seas rough, however apart from the occasional rough boat ride the diving and snorkelling in the low season can be excellent. Peak season prices are obviously higher but budget conscious travellers can have a fantasic time in the low season. In 2012, all the resorts closed for the monsoon from November to March.

External links

• Lang Tengah Island Conservation Information
• Tourism Malaysia - Lang Tengah Island