Admiral Marina at Port Dickson

We have stayed over a week at Admiral Marina in Port Dickson a bit past half-way up the Straight of Malacca on our way to Pangkor. We stayed here once before just for a night when we were in a rush to make our haul-out last May. But, this time we stayed longer to allow the kids on s/v Totem the chance to hang out with the kids from other boats here. One of those boats is s/v Pickles which we had last seen in New Zealand. Here is a photo of Tahina at sunset one evening.

The kids have had a grand time playing hard every day here. There is a pool next to the clubhouse and an exercise room as well (although I never had a chance to get to those because of the lightning project). About 1km away is the main road leading to “PD Town” (Port Dickson). They have ride-share taxis that pick you up and take you to town for only 2 RM (about $0.75). That’s the cheapest way to get into town.

Another thing we found that greatly enhances this place is a mexican food restaurant! The name of the restaurant is “El Cactus”. Jamie and Behan of s/v Totem joined Karen and I to try it out (the kids were too busy playing to bother). We had margaritas that were quite acceptable, and the food was very tasty and filling. But, the meals were a Malaysian interpretation of mexican dishes. Fortunately, the Chimichanga I got, while not the same flavor or texture as expected, it was not overly spicy like most Malay food. And, it was good quality food and very tasty. Overall, we liked it!

Watching happy kids on the dock playing is definitely a big plus when otherwise having to endure being in a marina. It was fun watching the antics of the kids between bouts of projects and errands for the boat.

Some other pluses to the marina here are: it has a fuel dock with pumps (although it is temporarily out of order – they expect it to work again in 2 weeks), rental cars are available nearby, there is dining in the clubhouse including a reasonably priced buffet, there is a bar at the marina as well. The marina is just over an hour’s drive from the southern part of Kuala Lumpur, and a little over an hour from Malacca. Overall, I can recommend this as a stop if you need to use a marina to keep your boat, get fuel, or stick around and relax in a marina environment for a while.

Here is the location: