Redang or Kapas for a short weekend

For a two-day, one-night weekend, Kapas spends far less of your time on boats. The crossing from Marang is about 15 minutes, and the crossing from Merang to Redang is about 45 minutes. Redang suits you if the extra boat time is a fair price for a resort holiday.

For the islands themselves, see our Pulau Redang guide and Pulau Kapas guide. If you are weighing the length of stay, read 2D1N or 3D2N on Redang.

How many boat minutes does each island use?

A 2D1N trip crosses the water twice. Multiply each crossing by two.

	Redang	Kapas
Jetty	Merang	Marang
One crossing	About 45 minutes [1]	About 15 minutes [2]
Boat time, out and back	About 90 minutes	About 30 minutes
Reported boat hours	Set by resort, ask	About 07:00 to 17:00 [2]

The difference is about 60 minutes in total. That is the boat only, so the next section adds the rest.

What sits on top of the boat time?

Three things add time before and after the crossing. Fill them in from your own plan.

1. The road to the jetty, from your home or airport.
2. The jetty buffer: check-in, queueing and the wait for the next boat.
3. The wait for your room, if check-in is later than your arrival.

Kuala Terengganu airport to Merang is reported at about a 30 minute taxi ^[4]. Redang Airport is for charter flights only ^[4]. Our guide to Marang to Kapas, the short hop shows what the Kapas side looks like.

How do you count your usable hours?

Write down your arrival time at the jetty on day one and your departure time on day two. Subtract the boat, the buffers and a late check-in.

As an example with round numbers, suppose you reach the jetty at 10:00 and must leave the island at 14:00 the next day. That is 28 hours between the two jetty times. Take away 90 minutes of Redang boat and two 45 minute buffers, and you keep about 25 hours.

On Kapas, the same plan loses 30 minutes of boat and the same buffers, so you keep about 26 hours. The gap is small in hours, but it is the part of the weekend that feels like holiday.

Which cost lines differ?

The boat is a cost line as well as a time line. Ask each resort whether the transfer is included, both ways. Mak Cik Gemuk Beach Resort on Kapas runs its own speedboat of 10 to 15 minutes ^[3], so ask whether a resort boat replaces the public one.

For Redang, read the Merang boat transfer cost. Then total both options in the island trip cost calculator.

When is the season?

Most Redang resorts close during the northeast monsoon, roughly October to March ^[5]. We have no confirmed season for Kapas, so ask. Our guide to Kapas season and weekend access explains more.

A better fit if…

Kapas may be a better fit if:

• you want the most beach time from a short weekend.
• you are travelling from far away and have little spare time.

Redang may be a better fit if:

• you want a resort holiday and accept more time on the boat.
• you can stretch the trip to three days.

For a plan, read a 2D1N Kapas weekend plan.