By Ferry
Most visitors arrive by ferry from Mersing on the mainland. Bluewater Express operates the ferry services and its boats are fast and comfortable taking approx 1 hour 20mins to the first jetty. This ferry is now the only option, the smaller and faster services being cancelled because of safety concerns after a tragedy. Unfortunately in countries that cannot afford to patrol their regulations well, some ferry companies overcrowd their vessels. If you ever feel uncomfortable boarding a vessel for any reason, refuse. A good way to avoid this is to avoid the last vessel as it is always the busiest. The boat is sometimes boarded by the Malaysian coast guard but it appears that the operators' are aware of when this will take place and take pains to follow the rules only on those days.
Coast Guard boards Tioman ferry for safety check
There are three services per day in each direction, but tidal issues (or lack of passengers) may cause cancellation. Bluewater Express charges RM 35 (RM 45 on public holiday) for an adult ticket, RM 25 for a child ticket (babies in arm free, as of last info), and departs from Salang at 07:15 am, Panuba at 7.30am etc etc and at noon, and picks up travellers all the way down the coast. It should be noted that apart from the first sailing of the day, the ferry operator tends to leave Mersing when the tide is high enough for the ferry to be able to pass through the mouth of the river, there are sufficient passengers aboard, or perhaps they are waiting for a connecting bus. Because of this, it may not always be possible to strictly adhere to the timetable. So, if you are planning onward journeys based on the timetable, then leave sufficient buffers (1-2 Hours).
In Mersing, the main bus terminal is about 1000 metres up river from the ferry terminal. From the terminal face the river and go right. Follow through the commercial centre of Mersing, past the
