Pulau Aur

Some Dive Resort

This trip was planned entirely by my friend, therefore, I was too lazy to remember the name of the dive resort. I just went to dive leisurely nothing more nothing less. I went with a super cool bunch of people who made the trip whole lot better. The trip was good, it is just that Aur has been recently opened up again for divers, they do not have frequent shuttle boats to the island like how Tioman has it. Instead we took speedboat rides that took about 3 hours. The speed boat was the main problem, it was a long and painful ride for most, it is strongly recommended that you wear waterproof clothes. If you are ok to be splashed by sea water, constantly for 2-3 hours as though you were in a heavy rain and you can't open your eyes, feel free to go ahead. Of course there were nice sweet spots on the boat where you can stay dry, however, everyone would want to be there right? Oh yes and did I mention? Do remember to bring bags that are waterproof so that your change of clothes will not get wet. You can choose not to shower on the last day when heading back because you will take a shower on the way back while on the boat with sea water. 

The dive sites were fantastic at Aur, if you are a turtle lover, we had a turtle nearly every dive and the waters were pretty easy to dive in. However, there was a huge flaw to the dives. This is because the boatman there were not trained to pick up divers as they were fishermen, also, you dive off the fishing boat so you do not have tank straps like how diving speedboats were made. There was once where we ended the dive and surfaced, the boat was the size of my pinkie (I do not have fingers of a hulk). Even when we sounded the air horn, he did not pick us up until at least a good 15 minutes after. Reason: He was busy fishing. However, if you just want somewhere near Singapore but not Tioman, I would recommend Aur. This is because the dive sites were really good with friendly waters.  

The dive sites which I went to during my stay there were: 

1) Captain's Point

2) Lang Bay

3) Sky Hawk 

4) Rayner's Rock

5) Grouper Lair

If you have a camera to shoot marine life, Aur would also be a place where you will leave with a fair amount of photos in your memory card. 

More about Aur

The island was once known as the heaven to open water diver students. It was the island before tioman that was packed with students who were interested in Scuba Diving.

The place I stayed and where I prepared my dive gears were on the same island but different shores. Therefore I have to take a speedboat with my equipments to my room and travel to the dive shop the next morning in the same way again. This is slightly more troublesome. However, if you love to have an island that is super chill and sleep a day away quietly, Aur is the way to go. However, I believe that Aur is an island that is on one and of a scale with Tioman on the other and Perhentian in the middle.