Diving

The diving around Sipadan since the removal of the resorts has been strongly regulated by a permit system. This is felt necessary if the environment is to be preserved and not destroyed by over diving so that divers for generations to come can also enjoy this underwater paradise. This involves strict rules and the use of a limited amount of daily permits to be able to gain access to this protected area.  Only 120 divers are allowed a day, all have to have obtained permits in advance, no gloves can be worn and also no diving deeper than 40m.

The permits you have to get to dive Pulau Sipadan’s amazing waters have to be applied for in advance and are done through your resort. The 120 permits are day are shared by all the dive resorts in the area so you need to ensure that you apply early and don’t miss out. Sometimes the system that issues the permits out seems a little unfair and there are horror stories about some people never getting to dive Sipadan due to dodgyly applied for permits, but this is rare and you shouldn’t worry. In a usual holiday of one week at Mabul or Kapalai you will probably get two days diving at Sipadan but this can be more if not in peak season or not affected by the sometimes random allocation of permits. The rest of the time will be spent diving some excellent wreck and muck diving sites around Mabul and Kapalai.

Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia and its walls steeply rise over 600m from the seabed below. This unique feature of the area allows deep water currents to bring up nutrient rich water and is the reason Pulau Sipadan has such an incredible ecosystem and astonishing abundance of marine life. This creates some excellent dive sites and as Sipadan is completely encircled by spectacular reef walls and drop offs, divers are spoilt for choice! 

Easily the best site the island and some say one of the top 5 dive sites in the world is “Barracuda Point”!  This site is famed for its tornados of Barracuda which can completely spiral round and engulf you getting very close and which makes for fantastic photos, so a must for any underwater photographers! You can also see many, many turtles and white tip reef sharks as well as lots of macro life, if you have time to look for it and are not distracted by the spiralling masses of barracuda! This site tends to have a strong current and therefore is unfortunately only really suitable for intermediate and more experienced divers.

Another great dive is South Point which is a great shark site and a great place to spot the rare hammerhead and very occasionally a thresher shark, although these tend to stay below 40m, so sightings if you are super lucky will mainly be from a distance with them out in the blue deeps. This site is also one of the best for rare manta ray sightings, and if you do see any of these amazing sharks or rays you will be the envy of everyone else at the resort.

Although most of the dive sights are only suitable for intermediate to very experienced divers due to the conditions and depths there are a few shallower coral gardens and walls with less current to explore which are full of marine life and of course the one creature Sipadan is most famous for......the Sea Turtle! The Turtles in this area are seen on every dive, if you don’t spot one then you must have had your eyes closed as they are absolutely everywhere! The two main species are the Hawksbill and Green Turtle, with the Green Turtle also using Sipadan’s beaches as a nesting site. If you love turtles then you will be in paradise! 

How to get there

Getting to the islands of Mabul or Kapalai is an adventure in itself and will take a few days with multiple changes. The best way is to fly into Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur on Peninsular Malaysia which receives flights from all over the world. From KL you will need to catch a domestic flight to the city of Kota Kinabalu. You may be able to fly direct to Kota Kinabalu from some countries nearby and if so that is excellent as that will cut off some travel time! From Kota Kinabalu you need to either catch a bus or internal flight to Tawau and then it’s still a 1 ½ bus ride to the port of Semporna! Once here you can take a boat or ferry to the either the island of Mabul or Kapalai where you will prepare to dive Sipadan.

Where to Eat & Drink

Since shutting down all resorts on Sipadan to preserve the marine life, all restaurants and bars have been closed as well. Dive tours will include all meals and water for your dives on Sipadan.

Other Activities

Given that guests are permitted on Sipadan only from 6am – 4pm, on-land activities are fairly limited. Full day tours will often stop briefly on the island for lunch and relaxation before returning to the ocean for afternoon dives.

Elephant Trekking & Abuse

On a general note, while in Asia, please do not support Elephant abuse by riding Elephants or supporting Elephant performance.

• The 'training' Elephants go through to become a part of the tourism industry involves cruel physical and mental abuse over long periods of time starting as a calf
• Asian Elephant's spines cannot support the weight of people. Carrying people on their backs all day often leads to permanent spinal injuries.
• That said, there is responsible Elephant tourism to be found in Asia, a good rule to remember is that if a tourist outfit offers anything other than getting to spend time with elephants, it is not friendly to them.
• Remember; any outfit that offers riding, circuses or paintings it basically means the Elephants have undergone horrific abuse in order to get there

You can help these magnificent animals by making your travel companions aware of what lies behind this industry; the main problem is a lack of awareness.

Dive Report is committed to raising awareness to the abuse suffered by Elephants used in the tourist industry. If you want to know more you can find out more here, here, here and here. Also see a PETA documentary video here.

Tips

Since all activity has been closed on Sipadan, your trip will be entirely organized by a tour operator from Mabul, Kapalai or Semporna. This makes for a very easy trip to the island, where you can focus entirely on diving and relaxing! Note that all divers must vacate the island by 3pm each day.

These islands did witness some political turmoil in 2000 over a dispute between borders between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Filipino rebels did kidnap 20 tourists during this time; however, the Court of Justice since ruled with Malaysia and the Royal Malaysian Navy actively patrols the region.