Paya Beach Resort at Tioman Island Review

The unique Paya Beach Resort at Tioman Island is one of the popular resorts located at Kampung Paya which is right in the middle between all the other villages.

The beauty about this resort is that it is located strategically between mangrove and sea. Getting here is fairly simple as the ferry service from Mersing town would make various stops along all the villages at Tioman Island.

If you should also know, this is a Singaporean run resort with Malaysian partners, so you will be guaranteed to see many Singaporeans here.

Porter to carry your luggage on arrival

Paya Beach Resort Review

On arrival at the Kampung Paya jetty, a porter from the resort will be there to collect your bags to be sent to the resort.

The Paya Beach Resort is located at the end of this traditional Malay Kampung (Village). So you will be taking a nice scenic 500 meter walk to your resort.

View from the beach

Walking along the bronze coloured sand beach you will have to opportunity to see some local Malay homes, restaurants and convenient shops.

There are also other guesthouses and chalets along the way, which are run by locals of Tioman Island.

Main entrance to the Paya Beach Resort

On arrival at the resort, you will be served a welcome drink and cold towel on checking in. The staff are pretty well trained and friendly who speak good English.

I gulped the drink quickly as I could not wait to see the rooms that were promised. Lakeside or should I say, Pond-side chalets at the Aman Damai Wing were the ones I booked for three full days.

Aman Damai pond chalets at Paya Beach Resort

My first impression was ‘Wow, not bad at all’. The wooden walkway over the pond lead straight to my chalet unit.

Surprisingly, they actually created a man made pond and built the chalets over it, which is quite interesting.

This was something different compared to most of the other chalets and hotels I stayed. Looks like I was in for a fun time here.

Paya Resort room photo

The chalet room was pretty simple and tastefully done. No bad smell, proper sheets, nice mattress, comfy pillow and simple decorations in the room with a television and air condition.

The shower was basic and clean, which is important to me, and the chalets were also connected to just one unit next door. Loud lovemakers beware.

Pond view from the room

View form the chalets was pretty nice too. You could see the entire pond and other chalets from your bed window.

Honestly, it looked even nicer when night falls. Just so you also know, the resort has four types of Malaysia-styled chalets available.

There are even deluxe beach front units, and garden chalets for those who prefer something else.

Deluxe Sea Front Chalets

Night view, chalet walkway

At night, the Paya Beach Resort pond chalets are well lit and walking around brings a nice feeling. That true feeling of being on holiday, I kind of liked it.

This is what a holiday should feel like. I spent some time every night outside the chalet sitting and just relaxing, watching the lights reflect against the pond while having a nice cold beer.

Occasionally you would get some noisy groups of teenagers laughing on top of their voices but that did not disrupt much of the beauty here.

Paya Beach in Tioman

One thing about the Paya Beach Resort is that you are not going to get white powder sand beaches here, so you have been notified by me.

The beach is normal with bronze coloured sand, and when the tide goes out, you start to see the coral rocks. So best be very careful if you plan to swim around the resort area.

Snorkeling at Kampung Paya, Tioman

However, for snorkeling, I found that this place is absolutely fantastic as coral life and fishes are abundant here.

One has to go out about 100 meters into the sea and start snorkeling to witness the beauty of this underwater world, which is ranked highly as one of the top snorkeling sites on Tioman Island.

Live corals and coral fishes in Tioman Island

Even from the main jetty, you can see the corals and fishes as the waters here are really clear. Do bring along some bread and you can feed the coral fishes from the jetty.

For those who came unprepared, not to worry as you can buy some from the sundry shop along the beach.

Sunset at Rama Rama Restaurant

Paya Beach Resort Restaurant

There is only one main restaurant here which is called the Rama Rama Restaurant, serving buffet and also a-la-carte meals.

Breakfast is served buffet style from 7.00 am to 9.30 am, while a long lunch is from 11.00 am till 5.00pm and is also a-la -carte or set lunch.

You have an option to choose from pizzas, sandwiches and also salads. Dinner is from 7.00 pm to 10.00 pm and both options are available.

Usually when you book your package, they will suggest a full board package where all your meals are taken care of.

Kampung Paya local stall

However, there are also other local options available along the main beach of Kampung Paya. A number of local run stalls serve kampung style food like fried rice or fried noodles.

There are also some who do a variety of mix Western and Asian. You could also order a Chinese Fried Rice and have an ABC or Ais Batu Campur from these local restaurants. Prices are very reasonable too.

Kampung Paya view from the jetty

Exploring Kampung Paya would be pretty quick as there is only one main beach road for about 500 meters.

There are no cars or motorcycles here, and to move around to other places on Tioman Island, you need to book a boat taxi there.

You can enquire with your resort or even some of the local shops along the beach, as they provide boa taxis to other parts of Tioman Island.

Kampung Paya main jetty

Things to do at Paya Beach Tioman

I spent a good three days here, and if you do not dive or snorkel, there is nothing much to do but laze around reading a good book.

Otherwise, you can just catch up with that much needed sleep, get a tan, go island hopping or even take a nature trek provided by the Paya Beach Resort.

Kampung Paya Jetty View

Evenings at the main jetty would be a great place to hang out as sometimes there are excellent sunsets here.

You can see locals going out fishing, or even some local kids fishing from the jetty. While the Paya Beach Resort has a nice wooden sun deck, I see most travelers hanging out at the main jetty area.

There is a small beach cosy bar and also Karaoke for the wannabe singers, while internet is also available for those who cannot be disconnected from the net world.

Paya Beach Resort swimming pool and spa area

Paya Tropical Holistic Spa

A swimming pool is also available at the resort, but do not expect anything big as all you will get is a general sized pool only.

There is also a spa and massage called Paya Holistic Spa at this resort so for the ladies, your holiday here would be so complete with a spa treatment.

The Paya Holistic Spa is open from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm and prices start from as low as RM66.00 for a head and shoulder massage.

Activities available at Paya Resort

Activities at Paya Beach Resort

For other sea activities, the resort offers you canoeing and fishing besides the general snorkeling or scuba diving. They have a sports center where you can rent the equipment.

For those who wear glasses, you can check with the resort if they have powered goggles, if not, you best get a pair of contacts as snorkeling here is a must do when visiting Tioman Island.

Paya Beach Resort Duty Free Shop

Tioman Island Duty Free Shop

A fantastic duty free shop is available at the resort, and it is pretty well stocked up with lots of cigarettes, beer, wines, champagnes and liquor.

For the party groups, this is a must visit as you can probably get all you need for your island getaway from the city.

Along the entire Kampung Paya, this is the only shop which is duty free. Other items available here are chocolates, beach wear, sunglasses, playing cards and some souvenirs.

The other shops on the main beach are local run sundry shops and food stalls. There is also one main sundry shop that also sells beer and souvenirs.

You will not miss it as it is a very popular shop that everyone needs to pass while walking the beach towards the jetty.

Sun Tanning in Tioman Island

Scuba diving tanks ready to be loaded onto the boats

Scuba Diving At Paya Beach, Tioman

Finally for scuba divers, the resort has a dive shop called Paya Diver’s Cove, which is a full range dive shop catering to all kinds of diving around Tioman’s best dive spots.

Scuba dive courses are also available for first timers right up to the professional levels, and you can enquire with the dive shop here.

Dive Course Price at Paya Beach

• Open Water Course the price starts at about RM920.00
• Advanced Open Water Diver priced about RM830.00
• Prices based on 2009

The general dives that are available here are general and leisure diving, deep dive, night dive, wreck dive and technical dives.

Weekends and holidays are an extra RM50.00. Best to check with you travel agent or call the resort for ongoing promotions.

I would easily recommend this resort as it is one of the better resorts which give you pure value-for-money. Professional, clean and quite reliable in every way possible, that will make your vacation a memorable one. 

For those seeking a mild and not so busy area around here, I would recommend you try out the Paya Beach Resort at Tioman Island.