Tiga Ruang is a shallow dive site located on the northwestern side of Pulau Perhentian Besar, south of Tanjung Basi. This site has boulders down to coral and sand which extend out to the sea with staghorn and table corals colonizing the shallower reef slope.
Due to the amount of the coral reef at this site, this is a good spot to observe reef fishes. On the sand, sea cucumbers, anemones, urchins, and stingrays can be found.
The visibility at this site is about 10m or lower because of the sandy bottom, and the maximum depth is 12m. A good training site for beginners.
One of the more popular diving sites, the Vietnamese Shipwreck is located at the southwestern side of Pulau Perhentian Kecil. At the site, divers can find half of a steel landing craft while the location of the other half of the boat remains a mystery to many.
Due to the fallen half side of the boat, divers can easily swim through the boat and observe the marine life within it. There is no lack on the variety of the corals and sea fans at this site. Scorpionfish, stonefish, butterfly fish, angelfish and barracudas are habitants here. Occasionally, divers can get to see leopard sharks lying near the wreck resting.
The visibility at this site ranges from 7m to 10m and the wreck is located at 22m under the surface.
Another popular diving spot at Perhentian. Sugar Wreck is a sunken freighter located at the west of Pulau Perhentian Kecil and resting 18m below the surface. It sank in 1999 during the monsoon period. As the name suggests, it was previously used for transporting sugar and currently, it is the house for many marine life.
Schools of juvenile barracuda, lionfish, scorpionfish, stonefish, red snappers and sweetlips are commonly found here. Growth of corals is limited here though as compared to the Vietnamese Shipwreck.
The visibility at this site ranges from 5m to 10m and penetration into the wreck is only for experienced divers.
Centered at the east cost of Pulau Perhentian Besar, this site is claimed to be the best diving spot at Perhentian. Stacks of large boulders, crevices and bedrocks make a perfect spot for marine life to hang around, divers will love this place.
The shallower waters are carpeted with leathery soft corals and tree corals on rocks. Deeper down, divers can find large gorgonian fans and table corals. Bumphead parrotfish can be seen at times grazing through the corals. Other fish life including surgeonfish, barracuda, angelfish, sweetlips, jacks, razorfish and hawkfish as well as turtles are regular visitors of this place too.
Visibility averages at 10m and the underwater currents can be strong at times making it a challenging task for beginners to maneuver around the site.
South of Pulau Perhentian Besar is the Shark Point. It used to be a place to observe sharks in the past but the sightings of sharks have gone down significantly during the past years. This is another site which has the remains of a shipwreck and divers can find a submerged bank reef deeper into the bay.
Reef fish are abundant here. Fish life including slingjaw wrasse, parrotfish, damsels, striped sea pike, demon stingers, shrimp gobies and blue spotted stingrays inhabit around this area.
Visibility ranges from 7m to 10m. This site is one of the easiest dive spot around Perhentian and used often as a training ground and for night dives.
The northernmost diving spot at Pulau Perhentian Besar, Tanjung Basi, offers caves and overhangs in a jumble of huge boulders extending down to sandy bottom. The rocky surface provides crevices and substrates for a wide range of marine life including moray eels, marble groupers, pipefish, nudibranchs, shrimp gobies and triggerfish.
Because of the open sea to the north, pelagic species can be seen occasionally, including grey tip and white tip reef sharks.
The visibility here averages at 10m.
Located at the northwest corner of Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Temple of the Sea is one of the most popular diving spot in Perhentian. The visibility averages at about 30m. Trees of black coral and gorgonians thrive at the ledges and beautiful soft corals grow around the overhangs and cliffs in the shallow regions.
The jumble of large boulders with crevices is habitats for marine life such as nurse sharks, bamboo sharks and moray eels. With plankton constantly brought in by the currents around the area, this place is an active feasting area for fish, both for the plankton eating fish and predatory fish that feed on the smaller fishes.
Occasionally, if divers are lucky, they can also spot whale shark hanging around this area. The diversity of the marine life is unparalleled compared to other dive sites in Perhentian. A must dive site when in Perhentian.