How Much It Costs to Visit the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia!

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The Perhentian Islands in Malaysia are a slice of Paradise and one of the best and most underrated islands in South East Asia in my opinion.

They are popular with backpackers travelling Malaysia and South East Asia but also families and Malaysians too. They offer the ‘backpacker vibe’ as well as the ‘holiday resort vibe’, so how much does it cost to visit the Perhentian Islands? Are the Perhentian Islands budget friendly? This is what I wanted to know before visiting and after staying on Perhentian Kecil aka the Small Perhentian Island for 5 days.

Perhentian Islands Cost

Keep Reading for all the information on the Perhentian Islands costs!

I am happy to say that although the Perhentian islands are not really cheap to visit, you can visit the Perhentian Islands on a budget or you can splurge on more luxurious stay if you want as they suit all budgets.

These are the costs I picked up on during my time on the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia to help you work out how much it costs to visit the Perhentian Islands. The costs may be different on the big island aka Perhentian Besar however I can’t imagine they vary much so the below information will still give you a good idea of how much the Perhentian islands in Malaysia cost to visit:

My Total Cost for 5 Days on the Perhentian Islands:

I spent about 800RM / £150.00 / $195.00 in 5 Days which does sound like a lot (to me anyway) but I paid £10.00 a night for 5 nights by myself as I travelled solo. I also spent about £10.00 on 3 meals a day and didn’t hold back with what I ordered. I did a snorkelling trip and a refresher dive and this includes the return boat over, so I guess it wasn’t that bad at all.

To SEE the Perhentian Islands and my Trip there, have a watch of this YouTube video here!

Cost of Getting to the Perhentian Islands and back from the mainland:

Return Boat Ticket from Kuala Besut to either of the Perhentian Islands – 70RM / £12.90 / $17.10

Conversation Fee – 30RM / £5.50 / $7.30

Bus from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Besut – 51RM / £10.00 / $12.45. Bookable in advance on 12GO Asia.

Cost of Accommodation on the Perhentian Islands:

Prices totally range for accommodation on the Perhentian Islands because there are budget chalet options and fancy resort options.

I managed to get a hut at Butterfly Chalet on Coral Beach for 50RM / £9.20 / $12.20 which is exceptionally good, it was very basic and I was there in low season, in high season it goes up to 80RM / £14.70 / $19.50 per night. (This cannot be booked online, you have to turn up)

Other basic bungalows, huts and rooms on Perhentian Kecil which also cannot be booked online range from the above prices up to about 150RM / £27.60 / $36.70 in low season which will increase slightly in higher season.

For a room in a better resort with more facilities or a bungalow at a higher quality than basic you’re looking at about 200-400RM / £36.84-£73.70 / $48.90-$97.81.

Booking a hotel or resort online will cost roughly between 270RM-500RM / £50.00-£90.00 / $66.00-$120.00.

Some accommodation will include breakfast, especially if you book it online so keep this in mind when working out costs as it’ll mean the room rate is higher but you save money on one less meal.

Cost of Food on the Perhentian Islands:

These are the average prices of food I saw in local restaurants on the beaches:

Small bottle of Water – 2RM / 30p / 50c

Big bottle of Water – 3RM / 55p / 73c

Juice and Shakes – 7RM / £1.20 / $1.70

Breakfast of Toast and Eggs or Cereal – 7RM / £1.20 / $1.70

Noodles, Rice, Soups – 12RM / £2.20 / $2.90

Curries – 15RM / £2.75 / $3.66

Sandwich and Chips – 12RM / £2.20 / $2.90

Evening BBQ on the beach – 25RM / £4.60 / $6.10

To SEE the Perhentian Islands and my Trip there, have a watch of this YouTube video!

Cost of Activities on the Perhentian Islands:

Diving is one of the most popular things to do on the Perhentian Islands, not only because the water is so incredible but because it’s the cheapest place to dive in South East Asia and one of the cheapest places to dive in the world. I dived with Anti Gravity Divers on Coral Beach, I really recommend them and these are their prices for diving on the Perhentian islands which will similar prices as the other dive schools too.

Scuba Diving Dives & Courses:

Try Dive – 250RM / £46.00 / $61.00

Refresher Dive -120RM / £22.10 / $29.30

One Dive – 90RM / £16.60 / $21.90

2-3 Dives – 85RM (and then it goes down in price even more) £15.65 / $20.70

Open Water Certificate – 1150RM / £211.00 / $281.00

Advanced Open Water Certificate – 1050RM / £193.00 / $256.00

If you will dive a lot on the islands it’s worth speaking to a dive school which has accommodation as then you can get a package price for dives and accommodation together which will work out cheaper. Some dive shops offer free accommodation when you book a certificate with them too!

Snorkelling Trip:

6 Hour Snorkelling Trip – 40RM / £7.30 / $9.70

3 Hour Snorkelling Trip – 30RM / £5.50 / $7.30

Mask & Fin Hire to Snorkel by yourself – 10RM / £1.85 / $2.45

Taxi Boats to other island and remote beaches:

Start from 20RM / £3.70 / $4.80 for shorter distances to 60RM / £11.00 / $14.70 for longer distances.

Aside from Snorkelling and Scuba Diving there are not many other things to do on the Perhentian Islands apart from visiting the beaches and walking around the islands which is free!