In a way I am quite reluctant to share about this attraction, Turtle Beach (Pantai Kerachut) in the Penang National Park (or Taman Negara in the Malay language, Bahasa Melayu) as it's probably the only beach left in Penang that is clean and relatively untouched. To get there you could take a boat or hike there, about a 1.5 hour hike, on a well-marked trail though difficult in places. We discovered this place by mistake because the place we wanted to visit was actually Monkey Beach but on that day the trail to reach it was closed due to a landslide. The park opens at 8 am and entrance to the park is free. Bring your own water as Turtle beach is a conservation area so there are no vendors there (thank goodness). If you wear proper walking shoes the walk is pleasant and manageable. You are walking through the forests so it's shady for the most part. When you reach the last 20 minutes of the trail you have the option of taking the shorter but steeper drop to the beach or the gentler path that goes behind the Mecromitic Lake and parallel to the beach. So take the gentler track on the return trip if you are walking back. If you choose to take a boat back to the park entrance, do book the boat before you set off on your track. The boat fare is about 90Rm per boat (not per passenger) per trip. Of course, we walked back. Please bring your trash out with you. No swimming is allowed on the beach. There is a small turtle sanctuary (nothing to shout about). Definitely worth a visit - you will need a whole morning but you can reward yourself with a nice lunch at one of the restaurants near the entrance to the park (you have choice of Malay or Chinese ones that serve western dishes as well)

One thing to note is not much opens in Penang before 10:30-11am, including the national park. When we arrived we were told there was a landslide on the track to Monkey Beach and we could not walk there and we had to get a boat, we weren’t sure whether this was true but chose to get the boat anyhow so we could see Monkey Beach and Turtle beach. The boat is 90-100MR per boat, regardless of number of people, so try and team up with some people to make it cheaper. We were also told the suspension bridge was closed, again, didn’t check, so unsure if this is true. We stopped at Monkey beach and walked up to the lighthouse, the lighthouse was not worth the effort but we saw what was maybe a lemur and that was pretty cool, Monkey beach itself is cool with its little shacks and monkeys all around, would recommend. We were Then dropped at turtle beach and then walked back, its a nice walk and in the heat a decent effort with a few up hills. Overall, I wouldn’t go out of my way to do this, we did it as we kind of had an extra day to use up. Cheers!

We took grab to the main gate, easy and cost effective. Was a typical hot day 33C so took plenty of water I would also advice sunscreen and bug spray due to a number of hungry mosquitoes that live in the woods. Within 10 minutes walk the pave road ends and you are on well worn paths. The road braches ( and is signposted) left to turtle Beach etc and right to monkey beach. We went right, and walked another kilometer before stopping on a lovely beach for pictures and to mop the stinging sweat that was running like a river into my eyes causing almost total blindness. We decided at this point to head back and take the boat, part laziness and part wanting to see more than one beach. The boat was around 170 rinngit, you could get cheaper but I wasn't for sharing. The walk along the jetty was beyond frightening, a good 100 meter's on rotting planks which felt like they were going to snap on every step as they creaked and moved. This was just a warm up for the boat, the captain was a wild eyed individual with a large maniacal grin, which I realized after departure was caused by the G force of the rocket propelled vessel. My spine and backside was tested like a shock absorber as we bounced across the sea like a skimmed stone, and wobbly kneed we arrived at Turtle beach. I was not impressed with turtle Beach, not much to see and the lake at the far end was non existent, possibly because it was the wrong time of year but this wasn't explained when we looked at beautiful pictures from the boat rental company. After an hour the maniacal captain returned and bounced us round to Monkey beach. Now I like Monkeys, they remind me of very naughty children and Monkey beach was full of them. We sat in a shack that served cold beer and coconuts we had one of each and within seconds we had a gang of little mischievous monkey friends. A firm grip was required on the coconut as naughty monkeys would remove it from you possession in the blink of an eye. Afer an hour our captain appeared and it was another high speed bumming back to the pier of death, it is worth noting that parts of his boat fell of during the trip and piecies of metal bounced in the bottom of the boat as we skimmed the sea. Overall a 10 out of 10 experience, beautiful landscape with more excitement than any rollercoaster could provide with the added bonus of monkeys.