My First Dive in Tioman

I know, I know. For any students coming from Singapore, the nearest dive site to get their open waters diving licence is Tioman. It is only a half-day ride away from Singapore and does not cost a lot.

Prospective divers can get their licence without tapping into their annual leaves or skipping school. To them, Tioman is their first dive site as a student. Most divers I know from Singapore had their first dive in Tioman.

Whereas for me, this was my first time diving in Tioman as a newly minted Open Waters Diver (OW). I took my OW over a weekend in Bintan, Indonesia a year ago.

So here goes – three days of dives in Tioman! You can find all the dive sites in Tioman here.

This dive trip happened in September 2018.

Day 0: Getting There After Work

We met across the immigration at Johor Bahru on a Friday night, all six of us crammed in a Malaysian-registered car. 

The hours flew by rather quickly after several stops for supper, gossip and random singing. 

By the time we reached Tanjung Gemok jetty in Mersing, it was about 5 AM. For those without cars, this website provides an alternative to Tioman.

Our lead, the friend who organised the trip, bought the tickets there and then – no need for an online reservation.

We were on our way across the sea for another couple of hours. Depending on the tides and time of departure, the journey can be choppy and nauseating for some.

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Day 1: The First Dive | Marine Park Shore Dive

Most of us went with the lead with zero expectations. You could imagine the surprise we got upon seeing the accommodation we would be staying in for the next two nights. 

After a quick breakfast, the team dispersed into their pods to rest until lunch.

Post-lunch, it was sizing the suits and gears we would need for our first dive. Burps.

The first dive was an easy shore dive, which was perfect since half of us had not dived for more than half a year. This dive was a refresher of sorts.

We did not see much in the first dive – common fishes and corals. The corals in Redang looked much better in hindsight.

And that’s exactly what we did on the first day – an easy and unremarkable shore dive.

As all good divers were, we went out to scavenge for food and alcohol like a pack of famished hyenas in the evening.

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Day 2: Three Boat Dives | Chebeh, Telok Kadok, Renggis

We left the main island on a speedboat shortly after breakfast. Our first stop was Cebeh, followed by Telok Kadok, then lunch on an island, and finally Renggis.

Everyone was dead tired after spending a whole day out in the sea.

But you do not always have such great company in a beautiful setting. So we ended up borrowing bikes from our dive store and cycled as far as we could go, breaking the journey here and there to have some snacks or marvel at the beach.

When night came, the sky and shores of Tioman were lit despite it being a moonless and cloudless night. Above us was the milky way; between our feet were the illuminated plankton, shimmering from the gentle waves.

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Day 3: Two Boat Dives before Home | KM Sipadan, Soyak

Despite having half a day left in Tioman, we still managed to squeeze in two boat dives. One around the wreck KM Sipadan, and the other at Soyak.

The team left for the jetty before 1 PM, was back in Mersing at 5 PM and had a delicious Korean BBQ buffet in JB for dinner. By the time we were across the custom, it was past midnight.

Back to work and reality on Tuesday!