Redang Island
Whiter-than-white sands, bluer-than-blue seas, a vivid green jungle backdrop and otherworldly coral gardens: Redang is barefoot luxury against a luminous tropical backdrop in the ever-warm, ever-beautiful Gulf of Thailand.
45 km off the coast of Terengganu State, in the north of Peninsular Malaysia, Redang is the largest in an archipelago of nine islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Geographically speaking, it’s cut from the same cloth as Thailand's famous party islands – complete with whiter-than-white beaches and bluer-than-blue seas – but this is tropical paradise done Malaysian style. That means you can forget raucous nightlife and instead factor in smooth roads, fabulous cuisine, and top-notch resorts offering an array of excursions all over the island.
We like to think of Redang as the mature older sibling of the more backpacker orientated Perhentians, just a stone’s throw to the north. Here, it’s all about that barefoot luxury experience. You come to pamper yourself at a world-class resort on an isolated stretch of beach, not to rub shoulders with the masses on a lively beachfront strip.
Our favourite resorts arrange guided excursions into the jungle-covered interior of the island (home to monkeys, monitor lizards and mouse deer), scuba trips to over 30 dive sites (frequented by sea turtles, reef sharks, giant stingrays and moray eels), and island-hopping options to all corners of this beautiful archipelago.
Redang is at its best when the west coast islands are at their worst, making it a fantastic alternative to the more famous beaches of Langkawi from March to August.
