Beaches in Malaysia

Langkawi's main beach: a two-kilometre strip about 15 minutes from the airport and the busiest stretch of sand on the island. Swimming is safe for most of the year, parasailing and jet skis run all day, and the beachfront bars stay open late. Underwater World and the duty-free shops are within walking distance. Choose it for convenience and nightlife, not for quiet.

Two islands off Terengganu: Besar is the quieter, resort-heavy one, while Kecil has Long Beach and the backpacker crowd. Water clarity here is the best on the peninsula, with green turtles and blacktip reef sharks on shallow snorkelling sites. Boats run from Kuala Besut jetty in about 30 minutes. Almost everything shuts for the northeast monsoon, so travel between March and October.

Best Time: April to September

The east coast's main resort island, inside the Pulau Redang Marine Park in Terengganu. Pasir Panjang on the east side is the long white beach most hotels sit on, and the water is clear enough to snorkel straight off the sand. Trips are usually sold as three-day, two-night packages with boat transfers from Merang. Closed for the monsoon, November to February.

Best Time: March to September

Penang's main resort beach, a four-kilometre stretch about 30 minutes by road from George Town. Hotels line Jalan Batu Ferringhi and a night market runs along it every evening. Jet skis, parasailing and banana boats operate off the sand. The water is silty rather than clear, so come for the resorts, the food and the water sports, not for snorkelling.

Best Time: November to January

A 20km long island off Pahang with the best mix of beach and jungle on the east coast. Salang and Air Batang suit divers and budget travellers; Juara, on the far side, is the quiet surf and turtle beach, reached by a 4WD road across the interior. Ferries run from Mersing and Tanjung Gemok. Resorts and boats close down from November to February.

Best Time: May to September

Malaysia's only oceanic island, rising some 600 metres from the seabed off Semporna, and consistently ranked among the world's top dive sites. The wall drops away metres from the beach, with barracuda schools, bumphead parrotfish and green turtles on almost every dive. Only 176 diving permits are issued per day, so book months ahead. Nobody stays on the island: divers base themselves at Mabul or Kapalai.

Langkawi's northern tip: a wide stretch of pale sand backed by casuarina trees, with limestone stacks standing offshore. At low tide you can walk out onto the sandbars. It is far quieter than Pantai Cenang, about 40 minutes away by car, with only two resorts and a handful of cafes. Come in late afternoon, when the sunset lights up the limestone.

The largest developed island in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, 20 minutes by speedboat from Jesselton Point in Kota Kinabalu. A curved white beach runs along the south shore with reef close enough to snorkel from the sand. Day trippers get snorkel hire, a dive centre and a restaurant; a small resort takes overnight guests. It is busiest between 11am and 3pm, so go on the first boat.

Langkawi's northwest corner, a sheltered bay where rainforest runs down to the waterline, long cited among Asia's best beaches. Two luxury resorts hold most of the frontage, so it is easiest to reach as a hotel guest. The water is calm and shallow and good for swimming, and hornbills and macaques are common along the access road. About 45 minutes from the airport.

Kota Kinabalu's city beach, 10 minutes from the airport and split into First, Second and Third Beach. Third Beach is the widest and least crowded. It faces west across the South China Sea, which makes it the standard sunset spot, with food stalls setting up along the promenade each evening. Swimming is fine, but for clear water take a boat to the park islands.

A sandbank on the Ligitan Reef off Semporna in southeast Sabah, with no real land: the resort is entirely stilted chalets standing over the water. The house reef is the draw, strong on macro life such as frogfish, mandarinfish and ghost pipefish. Access is a 45-minute boat from Semporna town after flying into Tawau. Sold as dive packages, not as day trips.

A small Perak island reached by a 40-minute ferry from Lumut, roughly four hours from Kuala Lumpur. Pasir Bogak is the main beach, while Nipah and Coral Bay are quieter and better for snorkelling. Hornbills are fed daily on the west coast. It is cheaper than Langkawi and busy with domestic weekenders. Best between November and March, when the west coast is dry.

Best Time: January to February

1 Pulau Pangkor Attractions

A protected marine park about an hour south of Langkawi by catamaran, run as a day trip rather than an overnight stay. Snorkellers work a roped reef area straight off the beach, often with baby blacktip reef sharks in the shallows, and a floating platform serves non-swimmers. Boats leave in the morning and return mid-afternoon. Visibility is best from February to May.

A small car-free island about 15 minutes by boat from Marang, south of Kuala Terengganu, with a handful of short beaches along its west side. Snorkelling starts straight off the sand and divers head for the wreck near neighbouring Pulau Raja. Accommodation is simple chalets rather than resorts, which keeps costs well below Redang. Boats stop running during the November to February monsoon.

A Pahang village 45 minutes north of Kuantan and the main surf spot on peninsular Malaysia's mainland coast. The northeast monsoon that closes the island resorts is what brings the waves here, roughly November to March; outside that the bay is calm and the mangrove river trips take over. A turtle sanctuary runs at nearby Chendor Beach. Lodging ranges from budget chalets to a large beach resort.

Kuantan's town beach, five kilometres from the centre, with a boardwalk running north around the headland to Teluk Pelindung. The three-layer basalt, dolerite and granite rock formations at the point are a local geology draw. The sheltered bay is one of the safer east coast swims and the promenade has cafes. Rough and often unsafe for swimming during the November to February monsoon.

A 25km stretch of casuarina-lined sand on Johor's east coast, about 90 minutes from Johor Bahru and doable as a long day trip from Singapore. The Desaru Coast development added large resorts, a waterpark and golf courses, making it the most built-up beach in southern Malaysia. The surf can be rough, so check conditions before swimming. Car park, barbecue pits and washrooms on site.

Known For : Pusat Ikan Hiasan Teluk Kemang Observatory Wan Loong Chinese Temple

The closest coastline to Kuala Lumpur, about 90 minutes by road, which makes it a weekend beach rather than a holiday one. Teluk Kemang and Blue Lagoon are the main swimming stretches along an 18km run of Strait of Malacca shore. The water is murky and the sand is coarse. Worth it if you are short on time and already based in KL.

Best Time: January to March, June

17 Port Dickson Attractions

Known For : Mount Kinabalu Mari Mari Cultural Village Poring Hot Springs

Sabah's capital is the launch point for Borneo's beaches rather than a beach in itself. Tanjung Aru sits at the city edge, and boats from Jesselton Point reach the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park islands in 15 to 20 minutes. Direct flights from Kuala Lumpur make it the easiest way into east Malaysian coastline, and dive trips to Semporna and Sipadan usually connect through here.

Best Time: February - April

23 Kota Kinabalu Attractions

As Malaysia’s fourth most-populated city, Georgetown is the colourful, multicultural capital of Penang Island. Once an eminent trading hub on the Straits of Malacca, the UNESCO-listed city is known for its British colonial buildings, Chinese shophouses, temples, mosques and quiet beaches. Beyond the old town, Georgetown is a modern city with skyscrapers and shopping malls.

Pantai Pasir Hitam on Langkawi's north coast, where dark mineral grains washed down from the Mount Raya granite streak the golden sand. It is a short photo and snack stop rather than a swimming beach: the shore is narrow and stalls line the car park. Easy to combine with Tanjung Rhu and Kilim Geoforest Park on a north coast drive. Allow about an hour.

A Melaka beach known for the white sand dunes left behind by land reclamation, which photograph well and pull weekend crowds from the city 15 minutes away. Kite flying, horse rides, a children's playground and a line of food trucks (the Klebang coconut shake stalls among them) make it a family afternoon. The Strait of Malacca water is muddy, so treat it as a viewpoint rather than a swim.

Ten kilometres north of Kota Bharu, PCB is the Kelantan capital's main beach. The name means Beach of Moonlight and replaced the older Pantai Cinta Berahi. Casuarinas, seafood stalls, horse rides and kayak hire line the shore, and the sand runs wide at low tide. Kelantan is conservative, so dress modestly. Avoid the November to February monsoon.

Ten kilometres north of Kuantan, named for the black volcanic rocks scattered across its pale sand. Those rocks make it a photo and rock-pooling beach more than a swimming one. A batik workshop sits beside the car park and food stalls run at the entrance. Quieter than Teluk Chempedak and easy to add to the same drive up the Pahang coast.

Known For : Masjid Jamek Bandar Mersing Air Papan Beach Sri Subramaniam Temple

A Johor fishing town that works as the ferry gateway to Tioman, Rawa and Sibu islands rather than as a beach stop in its own right. Air Papan Beach, 20 minutes north, is the local swimming spot. Ferries to Tioman take roughly 90 minutes and run far less often during the November to February monsoon. Most travellers pass through in a morning.

Best Time: April to September

5 Mersing Attractions

The Beach of Melody at Bachok, roughly 25km from Kota Bharu, laid out as a landscaped park with lawns, casuarinas and a paved promenade above the sand. It is built for families rather than swimmers: playgrounds, picnic shelters and food stalls, with a gentle slope into the South China Sea. One of the tidier public beaches in Kelantan, and free to enter.

The Beach of Whispering Breeze at Cherang Ruku in Pasir Puteh district, named for the sound of wind through its casuarina and coconut groves. It is a quiet local picnic beach about an hour south of Kota Bharu, with barbecue stalls along the promenade. Facilities are basic and there are no resorts. Come between March and October; the monsoon strips the sand back.