It may not be on everybody's list of places to visit in Malaysia, which only adds to the exclusivity of Redang as an excellent destination for a tropical beach holiday.

Redang Island or Pulau Redang (Pulau means island in Malay), situated off the east coast of Malyasia in the South China Sea, owes its popularity to its rich flora, fauna and marine life that ensure an absolutely memorable experience.

Redang Island is in fact a cluster of nine islands, which have collectively been designated as the "Pulau Redang Marine Park".

These 9 islands are: Pulau Redang (measuring about 7 km long and 6 km wide, this is the biggest of the nine islands), Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang.

Redang's designation as a Marine Park makes it a protected area under the surveillance and management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE). This ministry ensures that the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Malaysia are not affected by human activities while ensuring conservation of coral reefs and terrestrial habitats.

The borders of the Pulau Redang Marine Park are marked by a line that links all points from the shores of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu and Pulau Pinang from a distance of 2 nautical miles from each shore.

There are other islands close to Redang such as: Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Kapas and Pulau Susu Dara that have also been officially designated as a Marine Park.

Resorts and other commercial activity are mainly limited to the larger islands such as Redang, Perhentian, Lang Tengah and Kapas. With a larger number of resorts, Redang is considered more up market compared to the other islands.

Redang enjoys typical tropical climate with daily temperatures ranging from 22 degree Celsius to 33 degree celsius with humidity in the 80-85 percent range. The Marine Park also enjoys quite good rainfall, particularly during the month of December.

The best time to visit Redang is during the relatively dry summer months [from late March to October] to enjoy the sun, sand and the captivating marine life. Most of the resorts barring one, are closed during monsoon which makes the place literally a private holiday spot if you choose to holiday during the monsoon. However, you may miss out on many of the underwater activities [such as snorkeling or scuba diving] that Redang is so popular for.

If you are indeed interested in visiting Redang during the monsoon soon, you must check with the Malaysian Meteorological Services (MMS) for weather and sea conditions as rough seas may prevent journey in to and out of Redang.

Pulau Redang is located 45 kms off the coast of the Terengganu state is Malaysia. One can reach Redang through boats operated by the resorts here from any one of the jetties : Merang or Kuala Terengganu. It takes an hour from Kuala Terengganu and 50 minutes from Merang.

International visitors to Redang can access Redang by air from Singapore's Seletar Airport or the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur by Berjaya Air.

Irrespective of your choice of transport, an entry to the marine park will cost you a fee of RM5 which is levied on all visitors to the island.

There are no organized transport services within Redang, therefore you need to rely on transportation services offered by your resort and the boat services.

Redang, with its unspoilt beaches and exclusive private resorts, offers an ideal beach holiday. With its beautiful coral reefs and rich marine life, it is a great haven for scuba divers, with numerous dive spots in and around Redang. Those who cannot dive can still get a sampling of the amazing underwater world by snorkeling. Besides this, one can also enjoy boating, canoeing and jungle trekking in Redang.

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