The release of turtle hatchlings ranks among the top of life's memorable experience for me. The experience was well executed beginning with proper registration of guests and hatchlings divided into enough boxes for every group to enjoy their a personal experience admiring these rambunctious babies and naming them, with many praying over them. The guide's informative briefing before the event set a nice tone with interesting insights to understand turtles and their habitats better. Between the 3 of us we had 7 hatchlings to release on a beautiful Cherating beach. Watching them scramble instinctively towards the start of a challenging life filled me with awe and respect for the Creator and Creation.

We booked a nite fire fly tour with Hafiz and was pleasantly suprised by his ability to call the fireflies to come perform for him. It was an interesting experience, and although the number of fireflies are not as much as Kampung Kuantan in Kuala Selangor, there were places where there were a fair bit of them. To see them twinkling like little stars, and moving to land on the person infront of you, is quite an experience. Coupled with the stars above, and the shiloutte of the trees against the night sky, and the still of night broken only by the purr of the boat engine is quite an experience. For RM45 per person for an hour is quite worth the while considering Hafiz is quite knowledgeable in this field, and have taken a 5 year.course to learn to communicate with fireflies. Good to educate children about the fireflies too.

Cherating is not all about the beach. We went for a 1 1/2-hour mangrove river cruise with Hafiz's Cherating Activities at 9 a.m. As it was high tide (high water level), the departure was at another jetty further upstream located across Jalan Kuantan-Kemaman (federal road #3 - essentially after the bridge) from the main Cherating area. We drove our own vehicles to the said departure point which is less than a kilometre away. Our boatman did not say very much but have a keen eyesight. He spotted three yellow-ringed cat snakes (or mangrove snakes), mangrove crabs and the very adorable dusky-leaf monkeys (or spectacled langurs). Birds can be heard but very difficult to spot. We saw a collared kingfisher and a Brahminy kite. Did not see a water monitor lizard although they are usually very common in such a habitat (saw one the next day rummaging through rubbish near a bin together with some long-tailed macaques). The journey along the Cherating river is serene and picturesque with mangrove trees with fascinating air roots and some Nipah palms lined up on both sides of the river under the beautiful blue sky. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and apply sunblock to protect yourself against the sun's rays. All in all, an enjoyable outing to appreciate our natural heritage - both the wildlife and the mangroves.

A truly magical experience. The guide found so many fireflies along the river. Peaceful and tranquil.

My wife and I rented a kayak from Hafiz and after one hour of paddling, the kayak took in water and the kayak sank. Upon getting rescued from the dirty river, The owner, Hafiz admitted that he was aware that the kayak was unsafe. He told us that there had been a large crack in the bottom and holes duct taped. He promised to compensate us and make things right. I lost my iPhone which had been wrapped in plastic and also my wallet with 450 RMS inside. He admitted to not having liability insurance and after three separate conversations did not compensate us at all. We found ourselves in a potentially very dangerous situation. Had we been further up the river, there was the potential of not getting rescued for hours in the humid heat with limited drinking water I would not recommend this company as the risk of accident could be quite harmful to unsuspecting tourists expecting a safe journey.

For family who lives in the city and can't see the fire flies. This is indeed a must go tour. Along the mangrove river, our of the lights. Only moonlight lead your way to fire flies.

We did both the firefly and the turtle tour which were both excellent. The fireflies began with an introduction from Hafiz who clearly knows his fireflies. We then went in a convoy of 4 boats up the river which in itself is pretty cool at night! The fireflies were magical, like something out of Peter Pan so thoroughly recommend the experience! The Turtle tour was even better though! We were met at a petrol station about 20 mins further north (we had our own transport) and then taken down to a beach in the dark where a ranger showed a huge green turtle laying 96 eggs! An awesome sight and feel blessed to have seen it! Also learnt quite a lot about the turtles while we there before mamma turtle finally waddled off back into the sea. A must do on your trip if you can 🐢

This was a wonderful trip. Hazif is clearly very passionate about the fireflies and their conservation, it was unbelievable how they approached the boat. This is a must-do!

We take a boat into the dark recesses of the mangrove forest, and once we leave civilization and light pollution behind, the magic begins. Fireflies twinkle in the mangrove trees along the riverbank, and then amazingly, fly towards you, as if to greet your guide, and their friend, Mr Hafiz. Mr Hafiz has been studying Cherating fireflies and conserving their mangrove habitat for about 6 years, in collaboration with Japanese conservationist Prof Ohba Nubuyoshi and the Malaysian Nature Society. He generously shared with us his vast knowledge about these beautiful insects and best of all, his uncanny ability to communicate with them. This trip is a must if you're in Cherating and Kuantan - you will have a newfound respect for mother nature and realize the importance of preserving the mangrove forests. Here's a picture of the river before sundown, prior to the boatride. We were not allowed to use our phone during the trip, so that we don't scare the fireflies away.

Highly recommend it was fantastic to hear the guide who by the use of torches gets them to fly to the boat.

Being surrounded by firefly called on demand by the tour in the middle of a very dark night on a boat is surreal. Never done anything like this before. I just wish the boat were electric: No gas smell, and no noise would make it even better

We loved seeing all the fireflies! It really was magical and exciting. They could make this tour better by actually giving some information and explanation before the tour .

We joined Hafiz’s Cherating fire fly tour to c this amazing fire fly. The tour is very well organize n informative. This is also one of the must do tour in Cherating.

A great couples experience. A brief talk before the boat ride to explain what we are going to see and to raise awareness of the fireflies from Hafiz himself. Then a short boat ride to the fireflies and there is no shortage of fireflies to see, from the start to finish there is always plenty to see and enjoy. Recommended

The Cherating Firefly experience started with a briefing given by Mr Hafiz himself. He explained to us the things he himself had learnt over the last 5 to 6 years about the fireflies found along this particular river. He was informative which helped us to understand why we are able to see the FireFlies along this Cherating river almost the whole year round. We were very fortunate to be in the boat manned by Mr Hafiz himself, among the many boats which headed out all at the same time. He slowly showed us where to look for the FireFlies as we made our way up and down the river. His passion as a guide and the love for his study of the FireFlies is an added bonus for us. He let us experience the FireFlies close up by calling for them to fly from the trees to where our boat was resting with a special light. He cautioned us during his briefing conducted prior to the boat ride to not hit the FireFlies or try to trap them. Just let them fly and land wherever they wanted to land and enjoy the amazing awesome experience. It was an unforgettable night where we experienced nature in a very relaxing, interesting, educational and professional way. This is definitely a must-do activity if you are visiting Kuantan and the price is really value for money because you can learn so much and see so much. Everyone must put on a life jacket before boarding the boat, so it is very safe and even the children will enjoy and be awed by what they have seen.