Pulau Dayang, alongside Pulau Aur, is the furthest island away from Johor and the mainland of Peninsular Malaysia. I have actually stepped on to Pulau Dayang soil few years ago during my Pulau Aur 3D2N trip. Back then we had a hiking activity to Pulau Dayang on the second day. This time around, I had the opportunity to experience a full 3D2N trip at Pulau Dayang itself with my buddy Fun Liang.
The transport to Pulau Dayang was by a speed ferry from Mersing Jetty. We arrived at Mersing at about 45 minutes before departure time and collected our ferry tickets from a guy named Ah Chew. The best thing about traveling to such a far away island is that we get to pass by all the Johor islands on our way to Pulau Dayang. As the ferry had to make a stop at Pulau Pemanggil, the entire journey was stretched to about 4 hours. Yes, 4 hours on the ferry!
Finally at about 1pm, we arrived at Pulau Dayang. As there is no jetty at Pulau Dayang, we had to be transferred into a small boat which ferried us to the shore. It may be a long and tiring journey, but the scenery of Pulau Dayang pretty much made up for it. The beach is silky white and sea is so blue! Also you have this magnificent view of Pulau Dayang on one side and Pulau Aur on the other.
We stayed at Dayang Island Resort, which seemed like the only operating resort on the island. Rooms here are made up wooden chalets which comes with attached bathroom and air-conditioned. No water heater though and there is a current switch-off from 7am to 7pm. So yea it was pretty hot during the day. After a simple Nasi Lemak lunch, we just hanged around outside at the seafront verandah for some sea breeze and explored the beach.
Day 1: Shore Snorkeling and Finding Nemo
Day 1 was free and easy. We explored the beautiful silky white sandy beach and did some shore snorkeling. The entire beach wasn’t too big. Our favourite spots were the swing and also the huge rocks on the left far end of the beach.
With Fun Liang 
Pulau Dayang is one of the very few islands where the corals by the shore were still intact and alive. The best spot was towards the left far end of the beach where we saw some really colourful corals and also a Nemo reef! Not only that, the underwater visibility here was fantastic. Super clear as if you are not underwater at all.
There are also kayaks available for use (free) if you fancy some rowing. Waves in front of the shore are pretty gentle almost lake-like. Perfect for kayaking.
As night falls, we had a simple Malay cuisine dinner and just sat at the verandah chit chatting away. Phone and internet connection at Pulau Dayang was very limited so I’m pretty glad to have Fun Liang for company. We talked about many things but mostly centred around business and investment ideas. Fun Liang is currently working on his investment portfolio and an online investment educational project – one of the brilliant minds that I got to know out there so I did learn quite a lot by listening to his perspective.
Day 2: Deep Sea Snorkeling and Hiking
We started off Day 2 with some deep sea boat snorkeling in the morning. But before that, our first stop was to Teluk Berhala, Pulau Aur just opposite Pulau Dayang. Teluk Berhala is the main village of Pulau Aur where they have resorts, kampungs, some shops, school and police station.
However as it was during Ramadan, the place was very quiet. We didn’t spend too much time here before heading to our first snorkeling spot – Pulau Lang.
Pulau Lang is a small uninhabited island located at about 10 minutes boat ride away from Pulau Dayang. This little rocky island had coconut trees all over, really beautiful. The corals here were also beautiful with lots of mushroom corals. However, visibility wasn’t too great when we were there and it’s a shame that it was also high tide, which means the corals were pretty deep. So tempted to take off my life jacket and dive deeper but safety always comes first yeah.
Our second spot was to the back of Pulau Dayang. The boat made a big round around Pulau Dayang and we got the opportunity to closely admire the beauty of Pulau Dayang. Similar to the situation at Pulau Lang, the tide was high plus some current as well. We spent about half an hour here and all of us were already exhausted and looking forward to lunch.
After lunch and some rest, it wasn’t long before we set off for our hiking excursion to the peak of Pulau Dayang at about 4:30pm. The hike was pretty short at approximately 25 minutes but there were some boulders to cross and a steep segment (almost vertical climb) where you need ropes to go up. Sports shoes are recommended and it should be manageable for most teenagers and adults.
I’m sure many of you may feel quite exhausted after snorkeling but trust me, you won’t wanna miss the breathtaking view at the peak. No matter how tired you are, pump yourself up for this hike and you will thank me later.
Dinner on Day 2 was a simple BBQ with satays, roasted chicken and fried beehoon. After dinner, we also did some star gazing as the sky was clear. With minimal light pollution, Pulau Dayang is perfect for night sky enthusiasts.
Day 3: Good bye Pulau Dayang
Day 3 morning at Pulau Dayang began with a super low tide. All the corals that we saw on Day 1 were exposed on the surface. I wonder how about the Nemo reefs. Hopefully they are still submerged.
After a heavy breakfast, we packed up and bid farewell to Pulau Dayang. Due to its location so far away, I’m not sure when I will be back here again. But one thing’s for sure, the breathtaking scenery and carefree kampung vibe here will stay in my memory for a long long time. Our journey back to Mersing was shorter at about 2.5 hours as the ferry did not make a stop at Pulau Pemanggil.
We are thinking of going to Pulau Dayang this coming May. Have you experienced sandflies problem at Pulau Dayang ?
Hi Agnes~ we did not experience any sandflies at Pulau Dayang. No worries =)
You may still bring along some insect repellent for the hike.
Breathtakingly beautiful island!
Yes indeed! One of the most beautiful islands I’ve been to in West Malaysia =)