Port Dickson Beach

Port Dickson is a beach resort destination at Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia, about 90km south from Kuala Lumpur and 30km away from Seremban. Also called 'PD' by locals, this popular holiday retreat is located within easy reach from KL and Singapore by major highways and roads. From PD's town center, a coastline of warm beaches and calm seas stretches along a 10-mile strip towards Malacca, ending at the tip of Cape Rachado (Tanjung Tuan). The most popular beach zones along this stretch are Teluk Kemang, Blue Lagoon, Bagan Pinang and Pantai Cahaya Negeri, supported by major hotels, resorts and apartments that offer budget and luxury family accommodation.

Port Dickson began history as a small Malay village inhabited by fishermen and traders. It used to be first known as 'Arang', which means coal, a reference to a carbon mine in the area. Around the 1820s, tin ore was discovered in Lukut town about 7km north, leading to an influx of Chinese migrants into the area. In the 1880s during the colonial era, a British official named Sir Frederic Dickson turned Arang into a port for transporting the rich tin ore deposits from Sungai Ujong to Klang. The town was renamed Port Dickson (after the official) and became a busy, railway-linked harbour. After the tin ore trade faded, the town grew into a beach resort destination, its popularity reaching a climax in the nineties as large numbers of visitors streamed from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Beachfront property developent escalated at an alarming rate, buoyed by investor speculation and tourist crowds. In addition, hotels and condominiums displaced much of the natural surroundings with stunning alacrity, far more than what the landscape could afford. At the height of her popularity, the sparkling beaches were stained with pollution while the clear seas became a turbid mess of brown water. Appalled by the poor holiday environment, visitor numbers dwindled steadily, culminating with the Asian economic crisis that brought development to a crashing halt. With the sudden realisation of their cracked honeypot, hotel companies quickly worked with civil authourities to clean up Port Dickson, but it took a good number of years to rehabilitate the beach and sea waters. Today, PD has recovered and on the rise again, with visitors and resort development rising steadily.

Port Dickson is connected through Seremban by the North-South Highway, conveniently linking various states and cities around Peninsular Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, to this popular beach resort destination. Mostly hot and humid throug the year, the equatorial weather brings heavy rains during the monsoon period from October till December, with the sunniest months are generally between May and August. A wide range of accommodation is available along PD's 10-mile beach stretch, including budget hotels, family apartments and luxury resorts. Restaurants, shops, banks and other modern amenities are plentiful throughout town and popular beach spots, while public transport is available through taxis and buses that ply the coastal route.