1

Have you thought of taking the overnight bus? You can get the bus driver to let you off at Jerteh instead. You dont need to travel all the way to KotaBharu and back down to KualaBesut.

2

Courtesy of Seat61
Take the overnight sleeper train from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore to either Tanah Merah or Wakaf Bahru stations, see the Jungle Line section for train times. The train fare is about 54 Ringgit (£11 or $18) including a 2nd class sleeper. The overnight train from KL has both 2nd class sleepers and 1st class 2-berth sleepers, the overnight train from Singapore just has 2nd class sleepers, but even 2nd class sleepers are comfortable, air-conditioned and perfectly adequate. Taking the sleeper train saves a hotel bill, is an experience in itself, and can even save time compared to flying.

Take a taxi from Tanah Merah or Wakaf Bahru to the main ferry port at Kuala Besut. Local taxis will be waiting for the train at either station, the taxi fare is 50 Ringgit (£10 or $15), the journey time about 50 minutes from Wakaf Bahru or 30 minutes from Tanah Merah.

Speedboats from Kuala Besut take about 30 minutes to reach the Perhentian islands, and depart 4-5 times daily 09:00-17:00 according to demand. The fare is about 60 Ringgit (£10/$20)return. There are also slow boats which leave Kuala Besut at 08:30 and 14:30, taking 1.5 hours, fare about 40 Ringgit return. There's another (private) jetty at Tok Bali, but ferries from here are less frequent.

3

Thanks so much! :) Its a relief to know there are regular ferries, so it doesn't matter when we arrive :)

4

We took the train in 2010 and really enjoyed it - so much nicer to sleep flat than sitting up in a bus! Though rather bumpy! The train was running late (about an hour), but our resort (Bubbles) held their boat for us . . .

5

There are direct overnight buses from KL to Kuala Besut run by Mahligai Express. It is not necessary to travel to Kota Bahru (although it might be worth a night or two if you're interested).

6

Great info already. You could do a tour of Taman Negara which ends in Perhentians. I did this a few years back and it was awesome. It's really easy to arrange tours and travel in KL. The jungle train sounded pretty cool too!