Diving report... Sipadan , Seporna , Sabah, Malaysian Borneo ...june 2013.
Sipadan Island east Sabah is listed amongst the best dive locations in the world so that was our Borneo diving priority whist holidaying in Sabah. To help protect this pristine location the authorities issue a maximum of 120 daily visitor permits to the Sipidan area .We found the dive company with the most permits was "Sipidan Scuba ". We purchased a 6n/ 5d dive and accommodation package for 3 people ( 3 guaranteed dives at Sipidan) , it worked out at about. 2450rm. A$830 each including diving, equipment rental &,accommodation and a pick from the closest airport about an hour drive away a Tawun We ended up diving at Sipidan 4 days as they had addition spare permits ...we payed 50rm $17extra each for the extra day at Sipadan .
Sipidan Scuba operate from the large town of Semporna ....it's about an hours fast boat ride to Sipidan and about 30 -40 minutes to the other dive sites. The accommodation was at their own "Holiday Dive Inn" just opposite their dive shop.
From afar one flies into Tawin which is about an hour by road to Sempora , Sipadan Scuba picked us up and delivered us direct to hotel . We had selected our hire gear and had our weeks agenda sorted soon after we arrived .
*"Sipidan Scuba" company report..
Organization and service was professional and friendly. Our dive boats were fast and well maintained . Our dive guides were excellent and all qualified to Instructor Standard.. 2 French, 1 American and an Aussie . We dived in groups of from 3 -6 . All went smoothly and we had fun interaction between us all. When we dived with 6 we had 2 dive masters in our group so it wasn't an excessive number .The dives were all basic drift dives along the walls with modest currents . The meal provided for lunch was a roll of sorts plus all the bananas you could eat. On the down side their hire equipment was very average and could do with some updating and more frequent maintenance .However the diving is easy so I would still rather hire their equipment than have the hassles of transporting my stuff from Australia . But if possible at least bring your own computer and mask would be my suggestion .
* "Holiday Dive Inn Sempora " accommodation report
We stayed in a 3 bedroom " deluxe" room ...it was 145RM to stay there extra nights after we finished our dive package. By western standards it was a very basic 1 star room but it was ..big, clean, air con, tv , warm shower etc. the wi fi was weak upstairs but not to bad in the lobby. Staff were friendly and helpfully so although our room was rather sparse we enjoyed our stay. There are Lots of small eating restaurants within a short distance to enjoy breky and dinner at a very modest prices.
*Scuba diving Sipidan location report..
My Son (100 dives GBR and PNG ).... rated the diving as incredible.
I (300 dives GBR and PNG )......rated the diving as very good .
My partner (3000 dives all around the world ).................voted it good.
We all really liked the large number of very tame turtles that were everywhere , the walls were good but we never saw any hammerheads, whale sharks , Manta rays or anything very spectacular .
The outstanding dive was at Barracouter point which was our final dive each day .
We always jumped in next to a beautiful big school of jacks , worked our way down to the entrance of a large coral channel where most days a large school of Chevron Barracouter hung out and after that excitement as an added bonus further into the channel we visited a turtle cleaning station atop a large coral rock ...a superb dive to finish each day
Vis was usually 20-25 me.
The little muck diving we did around the other islands for me was very interesting because of a different mix of coral and Marine critters than what I have been accustomed to on the GBR ,but for other seasoned Asian divers I chatted with it rated as just average.
If under water photography is your passion you must also consider that very soon in all probability underwater photography at Sipidan will be banned to reduce coral damage . Its been recommended by the authorities but not implemented as yet. So if you are keen to shoot the schools of jacks and barracouter at barracouter point or the very tame turtles on turtle rock and around the walls then you may soon be disappointed . Check before you book.
Over the last few years in my retirement I have been lucky enough to have dived the GBR from end to end plus a few of the coral sea atolls from my own boat so I was particularly keen to compare this area with what I have become accustomed to.
We all agreed this area doesn't have anything much that the GBR doesn't also have.
But the big advantages with Sipidan are that there is a lot of interesting stuff all together, the waters always warm , seas are a lot calmer and its located relatively close to shore with quick easy access . As a holidaying diver I personally would choose Sipidan over the GBR ..but as a cruising boaty who enjoys diving , the GBR is number 1 and an incredible place to explore .
*Semporna report..
The towns safe . The people are very friendly and interesting . Quaint markets and lots of little shopping areas are jammed in everywhere so I enjoyed a couple of free days wandering around and exploring , but if you are looking for something more touristy there is not much happening.
*Borneo holiday report..
Apart from the excellent diving seeing Borneo's unique wildlife in its natural habitat was a major attraction for us . It's not like Africa where safaris strife to deliver u eyeball to eyeball right into the savannah direct to wildlife locations . Here it's dense and mostly impenetrable rain forest , but we enjoyed in the jungle of the Danum Vally and cruising by small boat along the Katangan River lowlands . They were worth the effort to visit and we found lots of amazing Borneo creatures and got a real feel for life in the borneo jungle.
The cities and towns felt safe where ever we went . Crime rates are low...we never saw any drunks, drugs, prostitutes , crims ,etc . People are friendly, healthy and inquisitive and we enjoyed chatting . As keen amateur photographers we love exploring shooting around Water villages and off the beaten track locations so it was great fun meeting the people and shooting where ever we went without any hassles.
Tourism ranks second only to the massive Palm oil plantations as an income earner in Sabah so visitors are well catered for with lots to see and do ...I won't try and list all the attractions .
Borneo is right on the equator so I was personally expecting the weather conditions to be stifling but instead it was always about max 29- 30 c and the high tropical humidity never bothered any of us, for some reason it always felt good. That was a surprise and a relief. Whew ....
If you are somewhat like minded to us based on our experience I would recommend Sabah for vacationing . Diving, viewing tropical flora and fauna , exploring the local culture and photography all worked out well for us and at a low price. Most things like food, accommodation and goods were about 1/2 - 1/3 the price of what we would pay in Aussie or the US .
Cheers Rob
Check out a short video of our pics." Sabah..Reef to Rain forest "
Sabah reef to rain forest video | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Sipadan Island east Sabah is listed amongst the best dive locations in the world so that was our Borneo diving priority whist holidaying in Sabah. To help protect this pristine location the authorities issue a maximum of 120 daily visitor permits to the Sipidan area .We found the dive company with the most permits was "Sipidan Scuba ". We purchased a 6n/ 5d dive and accommodation package for 3 people ( 3 guaranteed dives at Sipidan) , it worked out at about. 2450rm. A$830 each including diving, equipment rental &,accommodation and a pick from the closest airport about an hour drive away a Tawun We ended up diving at Sipidan 4 days as they had addition spare permits ...we payed 50rm $17extra each for the extra day at Sipadan .
Sipidan Scuba operate from the large town of Semporna ....it's about an hours fast boat ride to Sipidan and about 30 -40 minutes to the other dive sites. The accommodation was at their own "Holiday Dive Inn" just opposite their dive shop.
From afar one flies into Tawin which is about an hour by road to Sempora , Sipadan Scuba picked us up and delivered us direct to hotel . We had selected our hire gear and had our weeks agenda sorted soon after we arrived .
*"Sipidan Scuba" company report..
Organization and service was professional and friendly. Our dive boats were fast and well maintained . Our dive guides were excellent and all qualified to Instructor Standard.. 2 French, 1 American and an Aussie . We dived in groups of from 3 -6 . All went smoothly and we had fun interaction between us all. When we dived with 6 we had 2 dive masters in our group so it wasn't an excessive number .The dives were all basic drift dives along the walls with modest currents . The meal provided for lunch was a roll of sorts plus all the bananas you could eat. On the down side their hire equipment was very average and could do with some updating and more frequent maintenance .However the diving is easy so I would still rather hire their equipment than have the hassles of transporting my stuff from Australia . But if possible at least bring your own computer and mask would be my suggestion .
* "Holiday Dive Inn Sempora " accommodation report
We stayed in a 3 bedroom " deluxe" room ...it was 145RM to stay there extra nights after we finished our dive package. By western standards it was a very basic 1 star room but it was ..big, clean, air con, tv , warm shower etc. the wi fi was weak upstairs but not to bad in the lobby. Staff were friendly and helpfully so although our room was rather sparse we enjoyed our stay. There are Lots of small eating restaurants within a short distance to enjoy breky and dinner at a very modest prices.
*Scuba diving Sipidan location report..
My Son (100 dives GBR and PNG ).... rated the diving as incredible.
I (300 dives GBR and PNG )......rated the diving as very good .
My partner (3000 dives all around the world ).................voted it good.
We all really liked the large number of very tame turtles that were everywhere , the walls were good but we never saw any hammerheads, whale sharks , Manta rays or anything very spectacular .
The outstanding dive was at Barracouter point which was our final dive each day .
We always jumped in next to a beautiful big school of jacks , worked our way down to the entrance of a large coral channel where most days a large school of Chevron Barracouter hung out and after that excitement as an added bonus further into the channel we visited a turtle cleaning station atop a large coral rock ...a superb dive to finish each day
Vis was usually 20-25 me.
The little muck diving we did around the other islands for me was very interesting because of a different mix of coral and Marine critters than what I have been accustomed to on the GBR ,but for other seasoned Asian divers I chatted with it rated as just average.
If under water photography is your passion you must also consider that very soon in all probability underwater photography at Sipidan will be banned to reduce coral damage . Its been recommended by the authorities but not implemented as yet. So if you are keen to shoot the schools of jacks and barracouter at barracouter point or the very tame turtles on turtle rock and around the walls then you may soon be disappointed . Check before you book.
Over the last few years in my retirement I have been lucky enough to have dived the GBR from end to end plus a few of the coral sea atolls from my own boat so I was particularly keen to compare this area with what I have become accustomed to.
We all agreed this area doesn't have anything much that the GBR doesn't also have.
But the big advantages with Sipidan are that there is a lot of interesting stuff all together, the waters always warm , seas are a lot calmer and its located relatively close to shore with quick easy access . As a holidaying diver I personally would choose Sipidan over the GBR ..but as a cruising boaty who enjoys diving , the GBR is number 1 and an incredible place to explore .
*Semporna report..
The towns safe . The people are very friendly and interesting . Quaint markets and lots of little shopping areas are jammed in everywhere so I enjoyed a couple of free days wandering around and exploring , but if you are looking for something more touristy there is not much happening.
*Borneo holiday report..
Apart from the excellent diving seeing Borneo's unique wildlife in its natural habitat was a major attraction for us . It's not like Africa where safaris strife to deliver u eyeball to eyeball right into the savannah direct to wildlife locations . Here it's dense and mostly impenetrable rain forest , but we enjoyed in the jungle of the Danum Vally and cruising by small boat along the Katangan River lowlands . They were worth the effort to visit and we found lots of amazing Borneo creatures and got a real feel for life in the borneo jungle.
The cities and towns felt safe where ever we went . Crime rates are low...we never saw any drunks, drugs, prostitutes , crims ,etc . People are friendly, healthy and inquisitive and we enjoyed chatting . As keen amateur photographers we love exploring shooting around Water villages and off the beaten track locations so it was great fun meeting the people and shooting where ever we went without any hassles.
Tourism ranks second only to the massive Palm oil plantations as an income earner in Sabah so visitors are well catered for with lots to see and do ...I won't try and list all the attractions .
Borneo is right on the equator so I was personally expecting the weather conditions to be stifling but instead it was always about max 29- 30 c and the high tropical humidity never bothered any of us, for some reason it always felt good. That was a surprise and a relief. Whew ....
If you are somewhat like minded to us based on our experience I would recommend Sabah for vacationing . Diving, viewing tropical flora and fauna , exploring the local culture and photography all worked out well for us and at a low price. Most things like food, accommodation and goods were about 1/2 - 1/3 the price of what we would pay in Aussie or the US .
Cheers Rob
Check out a short video of our pics." Sabah..Reef to Rain forest "
Sabah reef to rain forest video | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
