Redang & Perhentian Islands · Malaysia · Reef · Artificial reef
Tanjung Tengah
Redang's Long Beach house reef, 3 to 15 m off the sand
Area photo: Ditch Townsend · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tanjung Tengah is the house reef of Long Beach on Redang, entered straight off the sand rather than from a boat. Natural coral and artificial reef structures sit inside a mooring line that separates the dive area from the boat lane, in 3 to 15 m of water. The beach entry is used for snorkelling and freediving as much as for scuba.
Where it is and how deep
5.7734° N, 103.0346° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You walk in from the beach. The sand at Long Beach is fine and white and the entry is shallow, so the dive starts before you are out of your depth. A mooring line runs across the site and marks the boundary between the reef and the boat lane, which gives the whole dive a single clear reference on a site with no wall or pinnacle to follow. Depths on the site run from 3 to 15 m.
Beyond the shallows the bottom is a mix of natural coral and artificial reef structures, so you work between them rather than along one line. Because the profile is shallow, bottom times are long, and the site carries snorkelling, freediving and training as well as open-water dives. Published detail on what lives here is thin, so treat it as a sheltered shallow reef dive rather than a wildlife site and let the guide set the route.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Redang & Perhentian Islands: The marine park is officially closed November 1-February 28 for the northeast monsoon; conditions are calmest and clearest April-September.
Know before you go
- The site sits alongside a boat lane. The mooring line marks the limit of the dive area, so stay inside it and surface next to it rather than out in open water.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Tanjung Tengah?+
The site runs from about 3 m near the beach to 15 m at its outer end, so it stays well inside Open Water limits and gives long bottom times.
Can you dive Tanjung Tengah from shore?+
Yes. It is the house reef of Redang's Long Beach and is entered from the sand, which is why it is also used for snorkelling, freediving and course work.
Sources
- Tanjung Tengah - Scubago — Scubago (SSI)
More dive sites in Redang & Perhentian Islands
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A 90 m sugar carrier the coral has not finished claiming
Wreck
Six impounded fishing boats sunk together at 23 m
Pinnacle
Tunnels through a pinnacle in 20 m-plus visibility
Reef
A shallow shark nursery reached straight from the beach
Reef
Coral slope two minutes off Long Beach, ending on rock
Pinnacle
Submerged pinnacle from 14 m down a wall to 32 m of sand
Pinnacle
Exposed northern pinnacle sloping from 5 m to 30 m
Reef
Stacked boulders and swim-throughs on Besar's east face
Similar dives elsewhere
Training bay: sand from 1 to 16 m and concrete reef cubes
Shore-to-boat bay reef with a small wreck at 18 m
Seahorses and bamboo sharks on a slope that ends in sand at 16 m
Gentle coral slope to an 18-metre sand bottom, no current