Hafiz's Cherating Activities — Local services in Pahang

Knocked down 3 stars for very disappointing customer service. Made booking online for kayak, opt to pay cash in person. Whatsapp them to confirm, slow and unhelpful (not addressing my questions), and they insisted payment in advance is needed to secure my booking. At this point I was not confident, so I didn’t pay in advance.

I arrived on the day of my booking. My slot was 9am, there was nobody at all, no visitors, no staff, phones off. At 9.10am, a lady showed up nonchalantly, no greetings whatsoever. She just took the payment and told another male staff to arrange our kayak. There was barely communication from her side. Her service is like a disgruntled cashier in a busy shop.

When we walked to the dock, we were told to go kayak ourselves. We were shocked as we assumed it was a guided tour, given the time slots booking and request for advance payment. If we were told it was self kayak free & easy, we would have turned up at a different time rather than keeping to the limited time slot.

We were not given any explanation or shown maps at the counter either, so we asked the male staff for direction & estimates before we paddled off somewhat cluelessly. Anyway, we didn’t want to focus on the experience, and half an hour later we managed to find the turning into the mangrove forest approx. 1+km from dock.

The only positive experience was the beauty of the forest itself, and spotting a family of wild otters. Unfortunately, the other great reviews were very far off from my experience. Most of reviews were the guided fireflies tour at night. I am quite appalled to experience this level of service as it is supposed to represent tourism for Cherating. Very, very...

Before I explain why 3 stars?..

10/10 for AMAZING firefly calling skills. I have been to other firefly watching but this guy is super good at it. Rm45 per adult. Rm35 for 3 year old above. Clean life jackets given. There 8pm and 9pm slot. Come 10 minutes before. Can online transfer or pay cash. Ample parking available. Short briefing with information before you get onto the boat.

But....

3 stars given because my daughter and I I were given a wooden boat which seat was a flat long plank, and my back was resting on another plank. It's alright if it's a short trip but the whole thing takes 1 hour so the boat was not suitable for large people, old people and people with back pain. Due to its nature, it was rather wobbly and this makes it unsuitable if you wave a fidgety toddler. Luckily mine stayed still.

I saw other tourists got better boats with comfortable plastic seats - maybe it was a paid trip from their expensive hotel (one was Club Med) , but still...what I paid was still hard earned money. So I think you can imagine what I felt. I really wouldn't mind paying extra for a better boat if I had to.

So in short, worth the trip, but if you're old, large or have back pain, check which boat you're getting...

We called to book for the firefly tour but when we arrived, there was no actual booking. They only take your booking if you pay cash at the counter.

We called 30 minutes before arriving and we're told that we can just drop by. He even took our name and number.

But when we arrived, it was already full. Because they just want to make money, so they will continuously allow people in and also not say no to people who call in to maximise on their profit.

So if it's full when you arrive, too bad, just go back home/hotel.

We booked mangroves tour the following day. Same modus operandi. Just come as early as possible and pay up.

We were taken on a very slow tour along the mangroves. The guide pointed out a few snakes in the trees. And slow boat ride back.

Along the way, the guide was advertising his own services for the firefly tour at night.

The trip was rather dull. It would have been better if the boat was not so slow.

It was definitely not worth the money. Save your money and just stick to enjoying the beach in cherating.

If you're looking for fancy tours, visit...