Pulau Sipadan, Sabah
Good for all level of divers, big sea creatures, challenging dives.
The first time celebrity diver Jacques Yves Cousteau visited this island in the 70s, he was so impressed with the island's biodiversity that he stayed on for six months and crowned Sipadan as one of the top five dive sites in the world. Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin, Chairman of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia and an avid diver, agrees. " You can see everything in one single dive - turtles, giant parrotfish, schools of trevally jacks, sharks, and many species of reef fishes ". What makes Sipadan so unique is its location at the heart of Indo-Pacific basin, which supports a rich marine ecosystem dating back to 100 million years. shaped like a mushroom, the island is perched on top of a submarine volcano.
The list of dive sites in Sipadan is staggering and it is the playground of giants: turtles, hammerheads, manta rays, gray reef sharks and humphead parrotfish. Most of these creatures are hard to come by elsewhere in South East Asia. You get to surround yourself with a vortex of barracudas so huge that they eclipse the sun. Swim into an underwater cavern that sneaks up the 'central pillar' of the islan, or go to the Cleaning Station to see turtles and other big fishes behaving docilely while being cleaned by small reef fish such as moon wrasse and surgeonfish. When you want to take a break from the legendary wall dive, perch yourself at the edge of the Drop-off and stare into the deep blue. Prepare to be overwhelmed as ocean life plays out in front of you. Do like most divers do - group Sipadan together with Kapalai and Mabul in one extended dive holiday.
Lodging: There is none on the island. Divers stay at Mabul and Kapalai, which are just 15 minutes away.
Getting there: Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau before continuing the journey on hired minivan to Semporna for your boat transfer to the Islands.
Pulau Mabul, Sabah
Good for Much Diving, Experienced divers.
Mabul holds the reputation as one of the best sites in the world for much diving (diving in shallow depths with limited visibility). The objective is to spot rare and sometimes bizarre macro species such as vibrant-coloured nudibranches, mantis shrimps, ribbon eels, seahorses, stonefish and ghost pipefish.
Lodging: Sipadan Water Village Resort is one of the premier places to stay.
Getting there: Same as Pulau Sipadan. Its adviseable to arrange for pick-up from Tawau airport for a fuss free journey to Pulau Mabul.
Pulau Kapalai, Sabah
Good for Beginners, night dive, macro diving.
Though it is very near to Sipadan, diving in Kapalai opens up to a completely different world. The island's relatively shallow waters is suitable for beginners, yet a quick dive off the jetty is fascinating enough with the presence of leaf scorpionfish, crocodilefish and lionfish. Kapalai is considered a heaven for macro lovers and a good site to spot rare creatures such as frogfish, blue-ringed octopus, harlequin ghost pipefish and sea moths. Hifzie Hassan, an underwater videographer who has logged in more than 500 dives, highly recommends a dive in the evening to steal a peek at the mating dance of the elusive Mandarin Fish.
Lodging: Sipadan-Kapalai dive Resort is a beautiful gateway tailored for divers.
Getting there: Same as Pulau Sipadan.
Pulau Mantanani, Sabah
Good for Manatee and ray spotting
Mantanani is a faily new dive spot but already, 16 dive sites have been identified along with three wrecks. The dive sites are home to the rare and gentile manatees, known locally as dugong. You'll also be able to spot many different species of rays, including the marbled stingray, blue spotted ray and eagle rays. Muck diving is also recommended, with high chances of finding imperial shrimps, pink-eye gobies and blue-ringed octopus.
Lodging: Mantanani Resort is the only dive resort on the island.
Getting there: Fly to Kota Kinabalu and the make your way by taxi to Kota Belud, which is just an hour away. There are speedboat connections between Kota Belud and the island.
Pulau Mataking, Sabah
Good for Macro diving
Mataking is linked to Sipadan via the 328ft deep Alice Channel. Of the 30 dive sites available at Mataking, Magic Rick, Mantis Reef and the Alice Wall are firm favourites. The island is known for macro and well camouflaged creatures, such as thorny and pygmy seahorses, scorpion leaf fish, robus giant pipefish and blue ribbon eel. It is also common to find trevally, giant clams, Spanish mackerels and dogtooth tuna in these waters.
Lodging: The Reef Dive Resort is a recommended place to stay.
Getting there: Pulau Mataking is accessible from Semporna via a 45 minute speedboat ride.
Layang-layang, Sabah
Good for Hammerhead shark spotting, experienced divers.
Layang-layang is not an island but an atoll of linked coral reefs that have never been polluted or fished. Hence, the biodiversity is astounding and rewarding to all levels of divers. The highlight is to swim with schools of hamerhead sharks, which gather here in April and May to perform their mating ritual. The visiblity at Layang-layang can reach up to 50 meters. However, ths can also be dangerous because you could easily dive deeper than you think, so check your depth constantly.
Lodging: Layang-layang Island Resort is the only dive operator and accommodation on the island.
Getting there: There are regular flights between Kota Kinabalu and Layang-layang
Pulau Langkayan, Sabah
Good for Quiet dive holiday macro diving
Victoria Hilley of Kota Kinabalu based Touchdown Luxury Yacht Charters prefers to dive in the secluded setting and quiet atmosphere of Langkayan, an island that combines a rewarding cocktail of reef, wreck and macro diving. Jawfish Lair is one of the mostloved dive sites. The resident yellow jawfish is well camouflaged and easily missed by untrained eyes, so ask your dive master to point one out to you. Who knows, you might see one with a mouthfull of eggs. Also try spotting mimic octopus, ghost pipefish, frogfish, devil scorpionfish, stingray and leopard sharks.
Lodging: The resort on this island is run by Pulau Sipadan Resort & Tours
Getting there: Fly from Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu into Sandakan. The speedboat transfer to Langkayan departs from Sandakan Yacht Club.
Good for all level of divers, big sea creatures, challenging dives.
The first time celebrity diver Jacques Yves Cousteau visited this island in the 70s, he was so impressed with the island's biodiversity that he stayed on for six months and crowned Sipadan as one of the top five dive sites in the world. Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin, Chairman of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia and an avid diver, agrees. " You can see everything in one single dive - turtles, giant parrotfish, schools of trevally jacks, sharks, and many species of reef fishes ". What makes Sipadan so unique is its location at the heart of Indo-Pacific basin, which supports a rich marine ecosystem dating back to 100 million years. shaped like a mushroom, the island is perched on top of a submarine volcano.
The list of dive sites in Sipadan is staggering and it is the playground of giants: turtles, hammerheads, manta rays, gray reef sharks and humphead parrotfish. Most of these creatures are hard to come by elsewhere in South East Asia. You get to surround yourself with a vortex of barracudas so huge that they eclipse the sun. Swim into an underwater cavern that sneaks up the 'central pillar' of the islan, or go to the Cleaning Station to see turtles and other big fishes behaving docilely while being cleaned by small reef fish such as moon wrasse and surgeonfish. When you want to take a break from the legendary wall dive, perch yourself at the edge of the Drop-off and stare into the deep blue. Prepare to be overwhelmed as ocean life plays out in front of you. Do like most divers do - group Sipadan together with Kapalai and Mabul in one extended dive holiday.Lodging: There is none on the island. Divers stay at Mabul and Kapalai, which are just 15 minutes away.
Getting there: Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau before continuing the journey on hired minivan to Semporna for your boat transfer to the Islands.
Pulau Mabul, Sabah
Good for Much Diving, Experienced divers.
Mabul holds the reputation as one of the best sites in the world for much diving (diving in shallow depths with limited visibility). The objective is to spot rare and sometimes bizarre macro species such as vibrant-coloured nudibranches, mantis shrimps, ribbon eels, seahorses, stonefish and ghost pipefish.
Lodging: Sipadan Water Village Resort is one of the premier places to stay.
Getting there: Same as Pulau Sipadan. Its adviseable to arrange for pick-up from Tawau airport for a fuss free journey to Pulau Mabul.
Pulau Kapalai, Sabah
Good for Beginners, night dive, macro diving.
Though it is very near to Sipadan, diving in Kapalai opens up to a completely different world. The island's relatively shallow waters is suitable for beginners, yet a quick dive off the jetty is fascinating enough with the presence of leaf scorpionfish, crocodilefish and lionfish. Kapalai is considered a heaven for macro lovers and a good site to spot rare creatures such as frogfish, blue-ringed octopus, harlequin ghost pipefish and sea moths. Hifzie Hassan, an underwater videographer who has logged in more than 500 dives, highly recommends a dive in the evening to steal a peek at the mating dance of the elusive Mandarin Fish.
Lodging: Sipadan-Kapalai dive Resort is a beautiful gateway tailored for divers.
Getting there: Same as Pulau Sipadan.
Pulau Mantanani, Sabah
Good for Manatee and ray spotting
Mantanani is a faily new dive spot but already, 16 dive sites have been identified along with three wrecks. The dive sites are home to the rare and gentile manatees, known locally as dugong. You'll also be able to spot many different species of rays, including the marbled stingray, blue spotted ray and eagle rays. Muck diving is also recommended, with high chances of finding imperial shrimps, pink-eye gobies and blue-ringed octopus.
Lodging: Mantanani Resort is the only dive resort on the island.
Getting there: Fly to Kota Kinabalu and the make your way by taxi to Kota Belud, which is just an hour away. There are speedboat connections between Kota Belud and the island.
Pulau Mataking, Sabah
Good for Macro diving
Mataking is linked to Sipadan via the 328ft deep Alice Channel. Of the 30 dive sites available at Mataking, Magic Rick, Mantis Reef and the Alice Wall are firm favourites. The island is known for macro and well camouflaged creatures, such as thorny and pygmy seahorses, scorpion leaf fish, robus giant pipefish and blue ribbon eel. It is also common to find trevally, giant clams, Spanish mackerels and dogtooth tuna in these waters.
Lodging: The Reef Dive Resort is a recommended place to stay.
Getting there: Pulau Mataking is accessible from Semporna via a 45 minute speedboat ride.
Layang-layang, Sabah
Good for Hammerhead shark spotting, experienced divers.
Layang-layang is not an island but an atoll of linked coral reefs that have never been polluted or fished. Hence, the biodiversity is astounding and rewarding to all levels of divers. The highlight is to swim with schools of hamerhead sharks, which gather here in April and May to perform their mating ritual. The visiblity at Layang-layang can reach up to 50 meters. However, ths can also be dangerous because you could easily dive deeper than you think, so check your depth constantly.
Lodging: Layang-layang Island Resort is the only dive operator and accommodation on the island.
Getting there: There are regular flights between Kota Kinabalu and Layang-layang
Pulau Langkayan, Sabah
Good for Quiet dive holiday macro diving
Victoria Hilley of Kota Kinabalu based Touchdown Luxury Yacht Charters prefers to dive in the secluded setting and quiet atmosphere of Langkayan, an island that combines a rewarding cocktail of reef, wreck and macro diving. Jawfish Lair is one of the mostloved dive sites. The resident yellow jawfish is well camouflaged and easily missed by untrained eyes, so ask your dive master to point one out to you. Who knows, you might see one with a mouthfull of eggs. Also try spotting mimic octopus, ghost pipefish, frogfish, devil scorpionfish, stingray and leopard sharks.
Lodging: The resort on this island is run by Pulau Sipadan Resort & Tours
Getting there: Fly from Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu into Sandakan. The speedboat transfer to Langkayan departs from Sandakan Yacht Club.
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