Islands

The islands around Pulau Langkawi provide for holiday adventures of their own. Visitors and tourists can use ferry services from Kuah Jetty to reach most of these surrounding islands. Most famous of them is Pulau Payar, which is a pristine tropical island with a large coral reef that provides diving and snorkelling activities. Other popular islands include Pulau Dayang Bunting, which is part of the Geopark in Langkawi, and Pulau Singa Besar, an island that doubles up as a wildlife sanctuary. Pulau Beras Basah, Pulau Tuba, Pulau Timun, Pulau Langgun and Pulau Datai make up the rest.

Pulau Payar is a little island 19 nautical miles from Langkawi that's a tropical paradise famous for the coral reefs in its surrounding waters. This island is a must visit for tourists, all it takes a is a ferry ride from Kuah Jetty that is about 2 hours long. The calm waters and warm beaches are perfect for families and friends to enjoy a day out under the sun. There are two Pulau Payar ferry rides cum tours, one with packed lunch and the other a buffet.

Once at the island, visitors will be greeted by a vast coral garden in the immediate waters of the island. The island itself has warm and sparkling white beaches while the waves are calm and gentle. In the surrounding shoreline, fishes of many different colours and sizes swim with visitors in the waters and enjoy feedings from their hands. The baby black-tipped sharks are famous residents of this island, and you can swim with these majestic creatures in the shallow waters at most times. Besides relaxing on the beach, you can take up the snorkelling gear and just paddle around the waters and observe the corals and fish below. Further out to sea, diving opportunities are available to see even more marine life and corals.

Also called the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, Pulau Tasik Dayang Bunting is the second largest island after Langkawi, covered with lush rainforest and lined with unique limestone outcrops. A large cave called Gua Langsir sits here, offering geological explorations and sights. A short walk through the forest will take you a large freshwater lake on the island that is said to have magical properties, giving barren women the ability to have children.

The name 'Pulau Singa Besar', which means Island of the Big Lion, is somewhat of a mystery as there are no lions here, and neither does the island landscape resemble the shape of one. Still, Pulau Singa Besar is interesting for its rich variety of flora and fauna, with vast jungles providing a refuge for all sorts of animals, including monkeys, snakes, lizards, hornbills and other creatures. This is why the island has been gazetted as a wildlife sanctuary. Wooden platforms, paths and trails have been built around the island, covering 8 hours in total trekking.

Pulau Rebak Besar is a little island privately owned by the Rebak Marina Resort. Situated at this island is a world class marina for luxury yachts. Other than that, the 390 acre island has some fantastic beaches and pleasant scenery along with a shopping arcade. A 10 minute boat ride from Port Langkasuka brings you the island. At low tide, you can even walk there from the shore.

Pulau Tuba is a small island inhabited by traditional Malay fishermen that offers a home stay programme for visitors and tourists. Under this home stay programme, visitors will enjoy a holiday experience living with the Malays of Pulau Tuba and partaking of their rustic lifestyle. Some of the activities include farming domesticated animals, collecting harvest from the forest, tending to the orchards and fishing with traditional nets. The island takes its name from a poisonous plant found here and used for fishing.