Puteri Harbour Marina Update

It’s already been a week since we arrived at Puteri Harbour Marina. This was the place where we stayed for our first 6 months in Malaysia when we were going to Singapore a lot for health related reasons. We also have been back here several times as we explored around the Malaysian peninsula. We really like this place despite a few inconveniences.

This marina is situated in the middle a huge planned development called Nusajaya. The picture to the left here shows a model of the planned development. It’s essential going to be a private developed “city” with huge condominiums, entertainment theme parks, hotels, shopping centers, and more. It is situated near the beautiful government center buildings for the state of Johor Bahru called Kota Iskandar. The marina has top-quality facilities in terms of dockage, electricals, water, etc. They have guards who stand at the gate 7 days a week so your boat is very secure here. The clubhouse is nice, and includes a chartroom/computer room, and better than adequate shower facilities (clean and plenty of hot water), a laundry, and they have free WIFI (sub-average service in reliability and speed though).

There is also a ferry terminal off the river between Malaysia and Singapore. The ferry terminal has been open for almost a year, but is only serving destinations in Indonesia due to some kind of political issue with Singapore not allowing the service there yet. The good news is that customs and immigration are here and so paperwork here is super easy for arrival/departure of your boat and crew. When they get the Singapore ferry going, this place will definitely get a bump up in popularity.

When we first arrived, the only dining was a cafe at the clubhouse. It had a limited menu, and did NOT service alcohol. There was a hotel under construction (which created a lot of noise). Things have changed dramatically here now. The hotel is open and operational, there are several restaurants open. The club cafe serves alcohol, as do several restaurants. More importantly, some of the restaurants serve non-halal foods – for example the new Brussels Beer Cafe. There is also an excellent Indian restaurant called Olive. There is also a minimart nearby, ATM, and vending machines.

Primary shopping still requires a trip by car. Either taxi, car rental, or the marina vans. The marina makes a few trips per week out at no charge for marina guests to various destinations. The nearest food store is about 5 km. There is a nice air-conditioned mall in Bukit Indah about 15 km away, with a nice movie theater and a good grocery store.

Along with all these new conveniences, the marina has unfortunately chosen to raise their prices. We are paying about 18% more than we did a year ago for a monthly rate for the boat. But, the rates are still quite reasonable – just 10-15% higher than many other locations in Malaysia, which are quite reasonable for us foreigners.