How to Get to Tioman Island: All the Ways

How to Get to Tioman

Tioman Island is a protected area, and upon arrival by any means, you need to pay 5 ringgit to the wildlife conservation fund.

You can get to Tioman on your own either by plane or via a combined bus and ferry route. During the dry season (February to October), both options are reliable, and you can choose based on your budget. During the rainy season (November to January), ferries are often canceled due to high waves, making the plane practically the only option. You can also sail here on your own yacht. Travel agencies in Singapore and Malaysia sometimes offer package transfers that include the bus and ferry or boat ride.

By Plane

Tioman has a small airport (IATA code: TOD) with international status. You can fly there on scheduled flights operated by the budget airline Berjaya Air from Kuala Lumpur (from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB), not Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL)) and from Singapore. You can also arrive on a private or chartered plane. Flights are operated on turboprop Dash-7 aircraft; the airport cannot handle larger planes. A round-trip ticket starts from $100 on both routes.

You can buy tickets on the airline's website, Berjaya Air. If you're lucky, you might snag a good promo fare on their official site (not always available; better to book in advance), but unfortunately, these tickets are usually non-refundable.

You can book the entire combined route to Tioman using the search widget below:

ЦЕНА	ПЕРЕСАДКИ	АВИАКОМПАНИЯ	ДАТА ВЫЛЕТА	ДАТА ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЯ
Купить от 44584 ₽	1 пересадка		29.07.2026	12.08.2026
Купить от 43709 ₽	1 пересадка		05.08.2026	24.08.2026
Купить от 45965 ₽	1 пересадка		17.09.2026	19.09.2026
Купить от 45965 ₽	1 пересадка		02.10.2026	29.10.2026
Купить от 48527 ₽	1 пересадка		23.11.2026	08.12.2026
Купить от 49974 ₽	1 пересадка		04.12.2026	11.12.2026

From the airport, passengers are taken by special shuttle buses to hotels along the island's only paved road. For other hotels, you'll need to get there by motorbike taxi, and some hotels are only accessible on foot or by boat.

By Bus and Ferry

Most visitors to the island opt for a cheaper way to get there instead of flying: a combined bus and ferry route. Basically, you travel to the town of Mersing in Johor state, where the jetty is, and then take a ferry from Mersing to Tioman.

• Bus and Taxi to Mersing

  Getting to Mersing is quite easy thanks to Malaysia's well-developed bus network. Direct routes are available from Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Butterworth (near Penang Island), Alor Setar (near Langkawi Island), and also from Singapore. It's best to take an overnight trip so you arrive at the Mersing jetty early in the morning. If you arrive during the day, you might miss the last ferry and have to spend the night in town or hire an expensive private boat.

  • Approximate travel costs and route info:

    • Kuala Lumpur – Mersing. Ticket from 36 ringgit (8.82 USD). Travel time about 5 hours. Overnight services are available.
    • Alor Setar – Mersing. Ticket from 76 ringgit (18.62 USD). Operator S&S Express. One trip daily.
    • Butterworth – Mersing. Ticket from 70 ringgit (17.15 USD). Operator S&S Express. One trip daily.
    • Singapore – Mersing. Ticket from 25 ringgit (6.13 USD).

  • Where to buy bus tickets and check schedules:

    • 12Go.asia — Important for tourists from Russia: on this site, you can book a ticket and pay for it with cash at any 7-Eleven store in Malaysia. This is the only working option if you don't have a foreign bank card.
    • RedBus.my — a popular local aggregator.
    • BusOnlineTicket.com — another trusted resource.

  Please note: Most foreign websites for buying bus and ferry tickets may be inaccessible from Russia due to RKN blocks without using special tools to bypass them.

  You can also get to Mersing by taxi from Kuala Lumpur or Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), but the trip will cost no less than a flight (from Kuala Lumpur around 280 ringgit and up). Buses to Mersing arrive at the bus station, which is a short walk from the ferry jetty.

• Ferry from Mersing to Tioman

  Once you reach the jetty in Mersing, you can take the Blue Water Express speed ferry to Tioman. On the island, the ferry stops at Kampong Genting, Kampong Paya, Kampong Tekek (drop-off for Berjaya Hotel, Tekek village, or Juara), Kampong Air Batang, and Kampong Salang.

  But there's a catch here too: trips are often canceled due to weather conditions and tides. During the rainy season (November-January), they may run irregularly or be reduced to one morning trip per day. So, during this time, we highly recommend getting to the island by plane, especially since the flight cost isn't that much higher compared to the risk of getting stuck in Mersing for several days. The ferry departure can also be delayed until it's full of passengers.

  Price and schedule:

  Blue Water Express Ferry Fares (Mersing - Tioman)

  Route	Adult (one-way)	Child (one-way)	Round Trip (adult)
  Mersing – Tioman (any village)	45 ringgit (11.03 USD)	40 ringgit (9.8 USD)	70 ringgit (17.15 USD)

  You can check the current schedule and book tickets on the official operator's website tiomanferry.com (note that prices when buying online there might be higher than those listed above). It's also convenient to search for ferry tickets through the aggregator 12Go.asia.

Bus Schedule to Mersing, Johor State

Photos in this article are from our readers' review about diving on Tioman, we recommend giving it a read.