Across the border – Day Trip Man!
Need to practise for your next Mentawai mancation? If you’re looking for real waves, beyond what you can find at Wavehouse Sentosa, here’s how to keep your cutbacks on track while living in Singapore. You can be there and back in a day!
Desaru Beach
Home to an annual surfing festival (aptly called Monsoon Mayhem) that happens every second weekend in January, Desaru is a coastal resort area in Southeastern Johor. Don’t expect chic boutiques, fancy restaurants, or glitzy nightlife here; what you’ll get is 22 kilometres of wide beaches with a few aging resorts on the side. The water is clear some of the year and silty the rest, but it’s not smelly and still okay to surf.
During the monsoon season (Dec-Feb), the waves are consistently high, though the water temperatures might be on the cool side. But the fact that there’re no jellyfish or sharks (plus there’s a company that provides surf lessons and surf board rentals) makes Desaru inviting for (wannabe) surfers all year round.
You can check the swell here. Tip: swell really needs to be over 1.5m high to be worth your travel time.
Get There
If you’re driving, take the Senai-Desaru Expressway after crossing the border – it’s only about an hour from Johor Bahru. Do note that there are tolls, so have some ringgit in change with you.
Alternatively, take a ferry from Changi Ferry Terminal for Tanjung Belungkor. There are buses at the Tanjung Belungkor jetty to take you to Desaru or Kota Tinggi, so make sure you get on the right one!
Tanjung Resang
This remote spot on the east coast of Malaysia is no tourism brochure darling, which probably makes it all the more attractive to serious surfers. There’s definitely some good shore-break surfing to be found here, especially during the monsoon season (Nov-March).
Get There
By car, Tanjung Resang is about a 2.5 hours drive from the Causeway. After passing the checkpoints, head towards Kota Tinggi, and then Mersing. After crossing the Mersing River, follow the “Tanjung Resang” road signs. If you’re not the type to follow the GPS, check out this directional video.
If you’re not driving, take a bus up to Mersing New Bus Terminal, and then take a taxi (which will take about 15 minutes).
All Images: Bigfoot Industries
