Discover the diving at Sipadan and Mabul with our comprehensive dive guide
Tara North
Sipadan is Malaysia’s most famous diving spot. Nearby, Mabul Island offers more excellent diving for smaller marine life, and a good choice of dive resorts.
These nutrient-rich waters attract huge numbers of Turtles, while the area is also home to large number of White-tip Reef Sharks, Bumphead Parrotfish, Trevally and Barracuda.
Larger visitors such as Hammerhead Sharks & Manta Rays can also be seen, while Sipadan also sits within the coral triangle, ensuring a huge diversity of marine life to add to the area's attractions.
Highlights
Best diving spots
One of Sipadan’s most popular diving sites is Barracuda Point, which, as the name suggests, is a great place to see huge, swirling schools of Chevron Barracuda. Whitetip Sharks can be seen on the reef here, while occasionally Grey Reef Sharks & Eagle Rays cruise in the blue. As with all Sipadan’s diving sites Green Turtles are a very common sight.
South Point is another great spot for larger marine life and is famous for it's Hammerhead sightings, while the Drop-Off - a sheer wall plunging to great depths straight from the beach, is another fantastic spot. Currents can sometimes be strong at these sites though, so a little care is needed.
Large schools of Trevally can be seen on any site here and Bumphead Parrotfish are often heard crunching through the reef before they are seen. The Bumpheads can also be seen in procession on their way to 'work' for those that are prepared to wake up early.
West Ridge & Mid Reef, among others, have a profusion of corals and colourful reef-life. If you fancy something a little different, Turtle Cavern is a cave where many Turtles and other marine life have met their maker, leaving an eerie display of skeletal remains. If a turtle can get lost in here though, so can a diver - so do not enter without the proper safety precautions and take extreme care. Larger visitors such as Hammerhead Sharks & Manta Rays can also be seen, while the area also sits within the coral triangle, ensuring a huge diversity of life to add to the area's attractions.
Just a short distance away, Mabul & Kapali have reefs of a very different nature. Shallow fringing reefs are home to all manner of unusual critters, with Mandarinfish, Frogfish, Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Seahorses, Ribbon Eels and more, making these small islands one of Asia's current hotspots for macro lovers.
The combination of Sipadan's dramatic walls & big marine life, plus the unusual delights of Mabul & Kapalai are a tribute to this areas diversity & give the area a unique appeal for divers, making it one of Asia's top spots for diving.
When to dive
Sipadan's diving is excellent all year round. April through to December is the best time to dive, with July & August normally bringing the very best conditions.
Getting there
The gateway to Sipadan is;Tawau in Sabah, which has an airport. From there, many choose to Mabul Island or Kapalai, via the town of Semporna, but it is also possible to stay at Semporna.
There are flights to Tawau from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur on the mainland. Trips here should be arranged in advance with the resort. It is also possible to get to Semporna by bus from Kota Kinabalu in the north of Sabah.
Activities
On Mabul Island or Kapalai, the most popular activities aside from diving or snorkelling are simply relaxing, enjoying a cocktail and admiring the view.
In Semporna, it is interesting to take a walk along the seafront and admire the local's beautiful 'Lepa' boats. Every year in April, they hold an impressive regatta, involving hundreds of these boats. There is fairly lively nightlife in the town and it is possible to arrange trips to Sabah's popular Orangutan rehabilitation centres from here.
Resort and liveaboard options
The majority of guests diving Sipadan make their base on the nearby islands of Mabul or Kapalai. Mabul has a range of accommodation options, all offering similar packages that include accommodation, diving and meals. Kapalai has just one resort, Kapalai Island Dive Resort, built on stilts over the sandbank, the resort is a really incredible location for a special trip.
More budget accommodations options are available in Semporna on the Sabah coast, albeit with longer boat journey's out to Sipadan and Mabul Island.
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Redang
On the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just a little south from the Perhenthians, is Palau Redang.
This island is a relatively recent entrant on the dive map and is proving to be an increasingly popular destination, with healthy corals and abundant marine life, including Turtles, Sharks & Rays.
The diving is generally easy, while the island's lovely beaches & quiet ambience ensure a very relaxing stay.
Burma Banks
The Burma Banks in the Andaman Sea are around 200km off the coast of Burma (Myanmar), north-west from the Similan Islands. There are six ‘banks’ - actually the tops of large submerged mountains - Heckford, Coral, Big, Silvertip, Rainbow & Roe.
These underwater mountains were rediscovered in the 1980’s. Before this, their existence was known but their exact location was not.
Southern Andaman
Thailand's southern Andaman sea boasts numerous beautiful islands & beaches, plus some great diving opportunities.
The southern Andaman region of Thailand is less developed than further north, offering a refreshingly relaxing alternative to the hustle & bustle of Phuket & even Ko Phi Phi.
Bangka & Sangihe
Just off the northern-eastern tip of Sulawesi, between Bunaken & Lembeh, lies the islands of Bangka & Sangihe.
These volcanic islands are less renowned for diving than Lembeh or Bunaken nearby, but are equally fascinating.
The volcanic nature of the area has led to some very unusual dive sites, including the chance to dive an active volcano and a dive site in a sunken village.
Layang Layang
Layang Layang is a remote atoll in the South China Sea, around 300 kilometres off the coast of Borneo.
The 14 kilometre long atoll rises from the depths 2000 metres below, providing awesome wall diving and some great opportunities for shark lovers.
Underwater photography hotspots
