Tioman

The village on the northwest side, where the dive shops cluster. Coral starts a few steps off the sand, so at low tide you swim out past the buoys rather than tread on it.

On the far side, and there is surf. Unlike the calm western villages it faces the open sea, so people come to learn, and with one road over the ridge a motorbike taxi takes forty minutes.

The water slides down bare rock into something close to a natural chute. The flow is fullest just after the wet season and the rock stands bare in the dry months, and the sign recounts a film shot here in 1958.

Set off carrying at least two bottles. Tekek to Juara over the ridge runs three and a half hours with nowhere to buy water. Concrete steps mean you will not lose the path, but the humidity keeps the sweat from drying, and you pass macaques and monitor lizards.

A rock five minutes off the main island, with a circuit of about forty minutes. Shallow water makes it where beginners take their first snorkel, and since boats pass close, staying inside the buoys is the rule.

At Juara, where relocated eggs are hatched and the young released. Releases follow the hatching rather than a timetable, so whether one happens that day is a question you ask at the door. Volunteers run it and take donations instead of admission.

The largest village, holding the airstrip, the jetty and the duty-free shops. There is one bank and the cash machine runs empty often. Drawing money on the mainland first is the safer plan. A concrete path along the shore makes cycling possible.

Two granite spires at the southern tip, named for how they read as horns from a boat. Climbing them is closer to rock work, so most visitors settle for the view from the water. Island-circuit boat trips include this stretch.

A village within walking distance of Tekek, shortened to ABC. Guesthouses run in a single line along the shore and prices sit low, and facing the sunset it gathers people at the jetty's end each evening. The coral is better at Salang.

The southern village under the Dragon Horns, reached only by boat since no road runs there. Some twenty families fish, and in the evening power comes off a generator that goes off at a set hour.

A small bay halfway along the forest trail from Air Batang to Salang. The path climbs over boulders and tree roots, so wear proper shoes. Tired walkers flag a boat back from the beach, and as the name warns, monkeys go for bags.

A small uninhabited island off Salang, known as Coral Island, a regular stop on snorkel boat tours for its clear water. Shoals crowd the shallow coral round its rocks. Nobody lives there, so bring drinking water and something for shade.

A quiet beach facing west, a little south of Tekek, shared by a handful of resorts. Calm water makes it good for swimming with children. Evenings are for sitting and watching the sun go down across the sea.