A short day trip to Perhentian Kecil Island

We made a quick day trip from Pulau Perhentian Besar just to get the feel of being in the much happening island.

How to get to Perhentian Kecil Island from Perhentian Besar Island?

It is super easy and quick.
The only way to get across is by the boat taxis. It not hard to find them, they are everywhere offering services. You can even ask your resort or hotel to arrange a boat taxi for you.
The drop off point is the ever buzzing Long Beach.

the water taxi stand near our resort in perhentina besar

How long it takes?

Approximately 20 minutes, one way.

How much does it cost?

RM25 one way per person. So it costs us RM100 for two ways but I bargained for RM80. Not much of a difference, but something is better than nothing at all. HEHEHE!
Always try negotiating the price before agreeing to the rate at any tourist spots. Most rates are accustomed to spending capabilities of tourists.

Perhentian Kecil Island 

The first thing I noticed about Perhentian Kecil is the crowd. It is so much crowded compared to Perhentian Besar. They are more backpackers hostels here. There are accommodations to fit all types of travelers here. From luxury resorts to chilled backpackers hostels. There are more convenient stores and food stalls here as compared to Perhentian Besar. But got to give the credits to Perhentian Besar for its spectacular beach!
We spent around 4 hours plus in Perhentian Kecil Island and we managed to experience the island for a bit.

Having my favourite drink on a hot day by the beach.  Perfect moment!

Windmill station and blue lagoon.
 It is the gem of Perhentian Kecil Island!! If you are in Perhentian Island, regardless of Besar or Kecil, make sure you find time to get here. It is HEAVEN ON EARTH!
It requires quite a bit of hiking under the hot sun to get to the view point. But the view up there makes up for all the struggles under the hot sun. We enjoyed our little walk and hike to this place. Give yourself about 25 minutes to 45 minutes to make it to the viewpoint. You will definitely want to spend some time at the view point. If you are a vivid lover of ariel panoramic view like us, we might spend even longer gazing away. So, plan your timing accordingly.
Beach bar
The main reason Perhentian Kecil is more preferred than Perhentian Besar is because of the tiny beach bars with music by the beach. The bars made out of wood with coconut leaves roof by the beach will surely give you the tropical beach vibe. The bars serve both alcohol and non-alcohol beverages. Our pick was a refreshing coconut drink and a chilled beer. Cost us about RM28 for both. Considering the location is on an island, the price is reasonable.
Evening by the beach.
We had our tea time right after getting down from the windmill station. There are a lot of stalls selling local delicacies and fried food by the beach. They even have chairs and tables that we can grab for a seat. We ordered 2 sets of keropok lekor, pisang goreng, waffles, and coconut shakes. A bit too much food for a simple teatime for the two of us. But, YOLO! Hahaha! Plus we don’t always get to have tea time by the beach.

We spent more than hour here just looking at the view from the wind mill hill view point

That is all we managed in about 4 hours plus we were there. We were advised by our boatman to not delay too much after 5 pm. According to him,the tide is not predictable and it's not too safe to ride on tiny one engined boats past the sunset. W did not want to argue on that. Out boatman, a local Terengganu man was already waiting for us before 5pm.
Speaking from my experience, always take note of how your boat looks like or ask for your boatman's name. There will be a lot of boats waiting by the shore and some of them may look very similar. It can be confusing. Thank god for us, we could easily remember our friendly boatman's face. So it was not  much of  struggles.
We didn’t get explore much in the lesser taken paths of the island, but we were so happy to be able to tick off the one must-do activities in Pulau Perhentian. Worth the ride, money and our time!!
We were told, the island comes to life at night. We can imagine. They even have the fire dance shows  and movies at night. Didn’t have any first-hand experience of witnessing that, so I can't be too sure about that.
I think both islands has its pro and cons and are beautiful in its way.