Program Reviews

I joined the team for a week or so as a volunteer for their marine research programme, and through that I learned so many things. As a Malaysian myself and as a person quite invested and well learned in our conservation side of things, these guys are one of the best at what they do.
I would highly recommend it to ANYONE interested in learning more about our beautiful islands and oceans, from learning about to sea turtles to seeing the magical coral reefs up close, it truly is a once in a lifetime experience.

I recommend this program for those who want to get involved in marine conservation & improve their skills in scuba diving. During my time, the staffs were helpful. I got new friends. The villagers in Perhentian Island were nice too. Food was good except volunteers need to make their own breakfast so if you’re a picky eater, bring your own preferable breads or foods. The accommodations should be improved because the image shown is not the same as in reality. I rate this program 9/10, -1 for the accommodations.

After the long two weeks I have spent on the Perhentian Islands in the Perhentian Marine Research Station Volunteering Activity, I have gained so much experience as well as made new memorable memories. I would highly recommend this trip to those who want to learn more about our oceans as well as those who want to discover.

Firstly, I don’t the pricing to be quite reasonable for well maintained and updated equipment. I feel safe when diving with the equipment provided. I would recommend bringing your own scuba mask if anyone plans to take part in this activity.

Secondly, I find the staff friendly. They aren’t shy and I find their guidance helpful. They really go out of their way to prepare and make sure every activity is fun and exciting. If you need any help or have any questions, the staff is always there to assist you with any issues.

Moreover, I have learnt various new diving skills like scientific diving skills and conservation of my country’s water. I have gained an abundant of new memories. This programme has shown me the importance of our oceans and the effects of human presence to our waters. I have gained a new perspective when it comes to judging the condition of our oceans and wish to do more to preserve it.

Aside from the pros, I do find that the accommodation is a little under maintained when I arrived. I have experienced a little bed bug bites on my hands, the mattresses were old and contained bed bugs. This is not a serious issue as the staff progressively renovated the place. On the second week after the mattresses were cleaned, the issue was solved.

To sum up, I would recommend this programme to those who are looking for some research experience as well as those who want to learn scientific diving as well as recreational diving.

This is so much fun!!! Highly recommended!!!! Really worth the money and time, it is a valuable experience. The staff are friendly, they answer most of our queries and are suitable to chat with, we have a lot of fun with them. I really love how the project goes, as we go for kayak survey, Turtle ID, and most importantly, we get to go to the turtle nesting beach to help and save the turtle eggs!!! We learn how to differentiate the species of turtles, what they feed on, where they mostly nested, how to take care of their eggs, what to do when you encounter the turtles appearing to nest on the beach, etc. The food is absolutely delicious, I love it!!! It is really worth a second trip!!!

last year, I was inspired to join a volunteer program but I wasn't so sure where to start searching. A friend of mine recommended Fuze Ecoteer's Perhentian Turtle Project and ever since then, it has been the best volunteer program I've ever joined so far. It was definitely eye-opening as it was also hands-on. During the program, I was taught on how to swim and kayak in the open sea, identify turtles and was even lucky enough to get to name a new identified turtle during my program. We lived in village amongst a local community, which is also a unique experience for even for a Malaysian myself who has come from the hustle and bustle of cities. On the 4th and 5th day of the program ,we've also camped at the beach and joined a night watch to watch over the turtle hatchings and released them at night. It was a well structured program for volunteers looking to learn something new and work closely with the program team leads. It was a good combination of volunteer work and relaxation, as you get some downtime to go snorkelling at Perhentian's beautiful and clean waters or just relax by the beach. I had an amazing time and I would definitely recommend anyone to join.

Really interesting and changes one's thinking. However the length of the program is not enough to do a lot (one needs to train for some of the activities) but it gives an insight on the required activities for conservation of coral reefs and related nature. And during this it provides useful experience, interesting connections to the local people, and lots of fun which we still talk about almost a year later. We actually want to go back to do something even more (less training and more action). Recommended for people who try to do something and want to be involved!

To breathe underwater is a magical thing, and this is a great place to do it for the first time! If you’re already a diver, you will also learn a lot as you will be trained in improving your dive skills and being ecologically minded while diving, learn about specific marine life and the challenges they face, and get an intro to scientific diving. Use these skills to support monitoring, clean ups, and maintenance of an artificial reef. For you, you’ll learn a set of skills that you can take anywhere to work to protect the ocean. For the project, the data collected helps to make informed decisions to better protect the marine park. Unique to many conservation projects, you will stay in the village, which is an amazing opportunity to learn about another culture and get to know the local people. I had fun interning with this project and meeting divers from all over the world!

I was a volunteer coordinator for the project from June - November 2017 and it was an incredible experience. I learned so much about turtle conservation and met so many great people during my time there. The work that is done has a real impact on the turtles within the area, we carried out worthwhile research and did our part to protect the local environment. The perhentian islands are a beautiful place to work and the local people are extremely kind, I had an amazing time and would recommend to anyone!

Dedication. The tea at the Perhentian turtle Project are dedicated to their cause, and do it all the while with a positive attitude. Everyone on that team loved what they were doing and to be able to experience something so special... Recording nesting or feeding turtles... Releasing hatchlings back into the ocean... Was something no one could soon forget. I hope this project flourishes and progresses far into the future. Projects like these will save our marine turtles and keep them among us in years to come.

It was a very unique experience for me. I haven't been to the rainforest before, so it was challenging for me at the beginning, but I am glad I could meet the indigenous Batek tribe. We did a lot of jungle trekking, they thought us how to cook in bamboo, make a shelter (hayak), we have learned a lot about their culture and traditions (I wrote the whole article about Batek).

There is no other way to experience than through the project, so I think it's 100 % worth it!