Sipadan Island, Pulau Sipadan, diving in Sipadan, pulau Sipadan, Malaysia

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SIPADAN ISLAND RESORTS AND DIVE CENTERS

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 Sipadan Island Info page

General Info

 Borneo Divers Mabul Dive Resort

Mabul Island

 Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort

Kapalai Island

 Sipadan Water Village Resort

Mabul Island
   

Sipadan attracts divers from all over the world simply because it is the best diving spot in Malaysia and among the best in the world. The island is situated about 35 km off the East Coast of Borneo and is near the Indonesian border. The tiny 12 ha jungle-covered island is bordered by snow white sandy beaches that rises up out of the turquoise-blue sea. Sipadan was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano. With its surrounding coral reef the island rises in form of a slim rocky needle 600m from the seabed.

A legend in diving circles, the name Sipadan conjures up images of Barracudas and Jacks moving about, Hammerhead sharks patrolling the waters, colourful fishes darting around the reefs and sea-turtles gently swimming with the currents.
A popular feature of this island is the precipitous reef wall just a mere 8 metres in front of Borneo Divers' and Pulau Sipadan's resorts. Many divers have remarked that staying and diving on the island is similar to doing so from a live-aboard ship, coz all dive sites can be reached in a few minutes.

To protect the reef and marine life the number of divers staying at Sipadan has been restricted to 80 per night. The consequence is, that the island is fully booked most of the time. Therefore it is absolute necessary to book several weeks or better months in advance

Formerly declared as a bird sanctuary Sipadan provides another attraction for the visitor with its 47 known species of birds. The island is also home to monitor lizards, fruit bats and the unique coconut crabs.

Although famed for its diving spots, visitors should not miss out on the island's amazing beaches. During low tide you can easily walk around the island in half an hour. Further up from the resort there is a stretch of lonely white beach. As the jungle ends directly at the beach, overhanging trees provide enough shade. You should only watch out for the coral pieces and the shells that are washed ashore and pervaded the beach. It is advisable to bring a pair of sandals along as pieces of corals and seashells are known to have been washed ashore.
During low tide only part of the beach near Pulau Sipadan Resort and the Borneo Divers is suitable for swimming and snorkeling. As the sea retreats, the diving boats from all three islands cannot land on Pulau Sipadan and you can only see the corals of the atoll. Then also the diving boats of the the three last resorts could not land at the beach. During high tide the whole atoll offers excellent snorkeling and swimming opportunities. You can see many fishes, dozens of turtles and if you are lucky, even sharks. Be careful of the strong currents.

In this new millennium SCUBA diving is well on its way of becoming one of the fastest growing recreational sports enjoyed by both young and old. Divers travel thousands of miles to experience amazing wonders of the underwater world and where would diving be better than in the biodiversity hotspot of Southeast Asia: Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. With its sandy beaches, tropical islands, blue waters, coral reefs and atolls, Sabah has several dive sites rated to be amongst the top ten in the world and many more yet to be truly explored. Over the years many prominent marine biologists have visited and dived Sabah's waters, including oceans' greatest ambassador, Jacques Cousteau. He commented 'I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Here we have found again an untouched piece of art... a jewel'.

In fact a diver may find many rare or endangered sea prenatal and hawksbill turtles, napoleon wrasse, giant clams, as well species of sharks and schools of thousands of barracuda and jacks. But Sabah is not only known for the larger inhabitants of its reefs, but also as a 'muck diving' paradise with such rarities as the mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, mandarin fish, harlequin ghost pipefish plus many types of weird and wonderful frogfish and nudibranches. These underwater delights are not restricted to the certified diver; snorkellers and hopeful divers may enroll in one of the many PADI affiliated dive courses run at any of Sabah's dive resorts. Whatever your underwater wish, Sabah's seas and coral reefs can easily fulfill your wildest dream.

 

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More information on Sipadan Island

Sipadan ('Border Island' in Malay) is the only oceanic island in Malaysia; rising 2,000 feet or 600m from seabed; it is formed by living corals that grow on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of Indo-Pacific basin (22 miles South of Semporna, off the South-East coest of Sabah), which puts itself at the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and few hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystems.

Rare diving scenes such as school of greenback turtles and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, school of barracuda & big-eye trevally in tornado-like formation, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks could be seen here.

A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles.

Ever since diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau raved about the diversity of marine life, this dive mecca has been indisputably the most famous scuba destination in Malaysia. It is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third largest island.

The Sipadan diving legend has passed through the world's dive community to the extent that all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites in the world, have this small island near the top of their wish list.

Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact the island shared its top spot with two other destinations known for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia

The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves big fish encounters, something very rare in Asia these days - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead parrotfish. When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to the other major attractions vying for your attention.

Ever since diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau raved about the diversity of marine life, this dive mecca has been indisputably the most famous scuba destination in Malaysia. It is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third largest island.

The Sipadan diving legend has passed through the world's dive community to the extent that all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites in the world, have this small island near the top of their wish list.

Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact the island shared its top spot with two other destinations known for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia

The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves big fish encounters, something very rare in Asia these days - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead parrotfish. When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to the other major attractions vying for your attention

The Sipadan diving legend has passed through the world's dive community to the extent that all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites in the world, have this small island near the top of their wish list.

Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact the island shared its top spot with two other destinations known for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia.

The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves plenty of big fish encounters - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead parrotfish. This is one of the big fish capitals of the world!

When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to the other major attractions vying for your attention.

• Sipadan Island tourist information

• Sipadan Island history

• Map of Sabah - Borneo

How to Dive SipadanFor environmental reasons this tiny island has now closed its resorts. This means the best way to dive here is by staying in on one of the resorts on the nearby islands of Mabul or Kapalai.

The resorts also boast some excellent macro-diving which is a great complement to the breathtaking big fish action of Sipadan Island.

Diving Season

You can dive here all year round. Overall, the best conditions at Sipadan Island exist from April to December, especially July and August. January to March can see some unsettled weather and a decrease in visibility but the resorts still see plenty of guests at this time as the diving can still be fine.

Reef Basics

Great for: Large animals, wall diving, drift dives and advanced divers
Not so great for: Wrecks, beginner divers and non-diving activities
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 26 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 12
Distance: 12 km (25 minutes) south from Mabul and 10 km (18 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Diving from Mabul and Kapalai resorts
Recommended length of stay: 5 - 14 days, including the nearby islands

Dive Sites

More detailed information on Sipadan scuba diving sites:

• Barracuda Point • Coral Garden
• The Drop Off • Hanging Gardens
• Sipidan Midreef • South Point
• Staghorn Crest • Turtle Cavern
• Whitetip Avenue


Recommended Site : South Point, Turtle Cavern and Barracuda Point.
Other sites that can be dived together with Sipadan Island:

• Mabul Island
• Kapalai