been to tioman numerous times but find the best location is Salang, the very last stop.
reasons:-
(1) all ferries will berth at the jetty there, hence the following day, will be among the 1st few to board, not too much of hassle as u know, tioman is just like our Sentosa, over long weekends etc tons of malaysians also make their way there
(2) like the resort which is slightly further but the resort owner very enterprising, has a chinese restuarant within the resort area, good food and cheap too!
name of the resort is Salang Beach Resort
(3) always like salang as it kind caters to all age groups as there are modernised shops that sells toys etc for kids and ost restaurants serve beers and during EPLs season better still ....
(3) if u r into diving, just in fromt of the resort is Dive Asia, which offers the usual dive package, but best of all, can do a shore dive and the Salang Wreckis located just outside the resort/dive shop. wreck is worth going IMO but be wary of the strong current, always double check with the operator as in when is the best time. there is one residential huge Napoleon Wrasse/humphead wrasse.
hope it helps!