Pantai Penarik

Penarik is a stretch of the Terengganu coast in the Setiu district where the beach runs for kilometres with almost nothing on it - a few homestays, some fishing boats pulled up, casuarina and pandanus behind the sand, and villages set back from the shore. Behind the beach the Setiu wetlands run parallel: a system of lagoon, river and mangrove that is one of the more significant coastal wetlands on the peninsula, holding fireflies in the trees at night, otters, painted terrapins under a conservation programme, and a long bird list. Boat trips through the mangrove and out to the river mouth are run from the village homestays, along with fishing and simple beach stays. It is genuinely quiet, which is the point, and there is very little in the way of services.

What you actually see

• Kilometres of empty beach - almost nothing built along the sand.
• The Setiu wetlands - lagoon, river and mangrove running behind the coast.
• Fireflies in the mangrove - the night boat trips from the village.
• Village homestays - the accommodation and the way trips are organised.

When to go

March to October; the monsoon closes it. Two days.

Honest expectations

There are almost no shops, restaurants or facilities - the homestays feed you. A car is essential. Closed and battered during the monsoon. Sandflies at dusk are severe.

Nearby

Merang and the Redang boats are south; Setiu town is inland.