SIPADAN

Sipadan: overview

Pulau (Malay for Island) Sipadan needs little or no introduction to most avid scuba divers - it is considered one of the best locations to dive on the face of this planet. Jacques Cousteau once said of Sipadan “I have seen others places like Sipadan 45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have found an untouched piece of art”. Well, untouched may be pushing it a little, but it certainly is still a piece of art - rising over 600m from the sea bed it features some spectacular walls and is home to hundreds of Green and Hawksbill turtles. But aside from the turtles, what Sipadan is really famous for is large pelagic action, it is possible on a good day to see thousands of Chevron Barracuda swirling around in a tornado, followed by huge schools of Jacks hanging around, reef sharks playing around in the current and if you are really lucky maybe even Manta Rays, a Hammerhead or even a Whale shark. Sometimes so much is happening around you that you just don’t know where to look as was the case on a recent visit.

With such a well deserved reputation as a diving mecca it is no surprise that Sipadan is exceptionally popular as it is possible to dive all year round. Thankfully the Malaysian government has realised what a treasure they have and have taken action to try and preserve it as much as possible. Up until 2005 it was possible to stay on the island itself, but due to the damage being done to the reef the government ordered the resorts be dismantled and moved off the island. Nowadays you will need to stay in the nearby Mabul or Kapalai islands or stay on mainland Borneo in Semporna and take days trips out to Sipadan. In addition to this, you will need a permit to dive on Sipadan of which there are a limited number. As of 2019, 178 are available, having risen from 120, but in two sessions and diving limited to no more than 3 dives per diver - at the moment this appears to be working, but we can only hope that the temptation to exploit the commercial potential of Sipadan doesn’t lead to the quota being gradually increased bit by bit until it is ruined.

Sipadan has had a negative reputation in recent times with kidnappings occurring where Filipino pirates took tourists hostage from the resorts. The Malaysian government has responded to this threat and both times I have been I have felt reassured by the military presence both at the resorts and on the island itself. While some countries may advise against travel to the region I did not feel unsafe during my visit. That is not to say a visit there is completely without risk but you need to weigh up the pros and cons for yourself and make a risk based decision.

Sipadan Island

If you are lucky enough to get a permit to dive on Sipadan expect an early start, in my most recent trip in October 2019 we set off from the resort at 5:30am - that may seem early but sometimes it is worth it as you may be lucky enough to see the huge schools of bumped parrotfish that can be seen. When you arrive you will need to come ashore and register on the jetty, once this is done then you have three dives to enjoy on the island and a large choice of dive sites. The main dive sites are:

Barracuda Point

This is probably the most famous of all dive sites at Sipadan, my personal favourite dive site anywhere and regularly features in the top 5 dive sites in the world. The site takes it name from the hundreds and thousands of swirling Barracuda - its is certainly a spectacular sight. The site starts off quite shallow and gradually slopes off until a dramatic wall appears. Apart from the Barracuda we saw Jacks here in 2017, although they has since shifted to South Point by 2019, as well as Bumphead Parrotfish, Grey & Whitetip Reef Sharks, Dogtooth Tuna, Trevally and of course…turtles. You will probably drift along once you hit the wall and finish in the shallows before coming to the surface. A dive site with so much going on you often have to dive it twice to make sure you saw everything, even then you might miss something!

Depth: 25m

Normal Day: Whitetip Reef Sharks, Chevon Barracuda, Jacks, Turtles

Lucky Day: Chrevon Barracuda (Tornado), Grey Reef Sharks, Dogtooth Tuna, Bumphead Parrotfish

Coral Gardens

A dive that starts with a sheer wall and then shallows off at the end with a sloping reef. Some magnificent corals can be seen.

Depth: 20m

Normal Day: Turtles, Whitetip Reef Sharks

Lucky Day: Manta Rays

Whitetip Avenue

A site that definitely lives up to its name with Whitetip reef sharks causing along above, below and beside you. Another wall dive, and often dived at the same time as Mid Reef if the current is strong enough. Besides the Whitetips, you will often see turtles, trevally, and other common reef fish and if you look closely enough maybe some spiny lobsters hiding amongst the crabs in the reef.

Depth: 25-30m

Normal Day: Whitetip Reef Sharks, Turtles,

Lucky Day: Grey Reef Sharks, Spiny Lobster, Great Barracuda

Mid Reef

Similar to other dive sites around Sipadan, this is a wall dive and you can see a lot of similar life to other sites such as Whitetip Avenue. A good dive, but would recommend really pushing to do some of the other more famous dives, but it does have some of the best corals at the Island

Depth: 25m

Normal Day: Turtles, Reef Sharks, Lobsters

Turtle Patch

South Point

The second most famous dive site at Sipadan and another world class spot. South Point is now home to the resident school of Jacks having switched ends since my last visit. Once you drop into the water you are often greeted by thousands of Jacks just hanging around, they are quite unmoved by the divers and will happily let you swim right through them without dispersing the whole school. You can spend 15-20 minutes just playing around and it really is something to see. Apart form the Jacks, South Point is the place at Sipadan to see the really big stuff, having divided this site a few times, if the visibility is good your guide will often take you out into the blue looking for Hammerheads or Manta Rays. I was lucky enough in October 2019 see see a Hammerhead here, swimming up from the deep to see who or what was making all the noise. I first noticed an eye staring at me and it took a few seconds for me to realise what it was by its shape. By the time I had manage to alert my buddy it was swimming off, no time to take photos or videos but leaving an indelible memory.

Depth: 25-30m

Normal Day: Jacks, Turtles, Whitetip Reef Sharks,

Lucky Day: Manta Rays, Hammerhead Shark, Whale Shark

Staghorn Crest

Just round from South Point with some lovely Coral formations, especially stag horn coral (Hence the name!) you can see many of the same creatures that you would at South Point. We went out into the blue searching for some of the big stuff but weren’t so lucky on that occasion, however we can did a huge school of Jacks chasing off reef sharks which was amazing to see.

Depth: 25-30m

Normal Day: Whitetip Reef Sharks, Turtles, Jacks

Lucky Day: Manta Rays, Hammerhead Sharks, Whale Shark

Lobster Lair

Hanging Gardens

West Ridge

Most dives have an abundance of Turtles at Sipadan, but for some reason this dive seems to have more than others! Again, another wall dive but keep your eyes open to resting turtles all along the way. Lots of lovely coral to see including black coral and quite a few reef sharks causing around in the blue. Well worth diving.

Depth: 20m

Normal Day: Turtles, turtles and more turtles! Reef Sharks

North Point

The Drop Off

In the days when resorts used to be allowed on Sipadan island itself this was a shore dive! Nowadays it is a boat dive, not that this takes anything away from it, located near the jetty and Barracuda Point again it is a wall with a sheer drop off. There is a cool little cave to explore at one point on the dive.

Depth: 25 - 30m

Normal Day: Barracuda, Reef Sharks, Turtles

Turtle Cavern

Getting There

Getting to Sipadan is not easy, certainly if coming from Europe or North America. For those of us based in Southeast Asia things are a little easier, but you can still expect a full day travelling to get to your resort. From Kuala Lumpur the easiest way is to fly into Tawau in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, from here your resort will normally collect you and transfer you via minibus to Semporna where you will be taken by speedboat to your resort on either Mabul or Kapalai.

Airlines flying into Tawau include Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines both of which have a fairly regular service.

where to stay

As mentioned previously, you cannot stay on Sipadan itself but there are a range of resorts to choose from in either Mabul or Kapalai islands. If you are on a budget you can choose to stay in Semporna and take day trips out to Sipadan and the surrounding islands, but if you have made the effort to travel this far it would be a shame to miss out on the excellent macro and muck diving available. Mabul is the larger of the two islands with quite a few different styles to choose from. In 2017 we stayed at Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) in their land based bungalows, although they also have water villas too. other options include dormitory style offerings and even an old dive rig, Seaventures which is also home to one of the most interesting and diverse dives around.

The other option is to stay at Kapalai, which although called an island is actually more of a glorified sand bank, not far from Mabul. There is only one resort here, Pulau Sipadan Resort, also know and Sipadan-Kapalai. The resort is quite upmarket compared to a lot of those on Mabul and offers water villas only, if you can stretch to it, I would thoroughly recommend it as it is not as busy as Mabul and offers great diving for those days not spent at Sipadan.

time to visit

Whilst you can dive Sipadan and the surrounding islands all year round, recently Sipadan itself has been closed in the month of December to allow the marine life and corals to recover - a move that is very welcome. Peak time is from April to August when accommodation can be hard to come by. As with the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the wet season or monsoon starts around the end of October through to February time. Both times I have visited have been in October and have had a fantastic experience. The first time I did manage to catch the tail end of a typhoon that hit the Philippines which did make conditions quite choppy for a couple of days but the most recent in 2019 I had clear blue skies and glass like sea conditions and very few other divers so, personally i would recommend this time of year. An added benefit it being able to secure an additional permit to Sipadan as the resorts normally need to you stay 4 days to secure 1 days diving at Sipadan.

costs

Visit and diving at Sipadan is not cheap so be prepared to part with a fair amount of cash even for the so called budget options. Budget options include staying in Semporna and taking day trips out to Sipadan and the other islands, mid range would be the land based resorts on Mabul with water villages costing the most. But, if you do decide to make the trip you will not be disappointed.