My wife and I are looking for an area in Malaysia to focus our search for dive sites/companies, for a week's diving trip from 8th-15th April 2012. Have always done day diving in the past but would consider a few days on a live aboard as well if they were reasonably comfortable (I'm slightly prone to seasickness!).
We'll be flying from Hong Kong so can easily get to Kota Kinabulu or KL.
We're looking for relaxed diving, moderate to no current, and calm conditions. Given this, it appears the east side of Malaysia's Peninsula and all around Sabah is coming into season from what we have gathered so far.
Preference is for soft coral and fish/pelagics over muck diving/small creatures.
In order to narrow the search, could anyone recommend an area to focus the search on which is likely to tick most/all of the criteria above. Was starting to look at Sipidan area, but got the impression is a bit over-dived and has coral damage, and slightly unpredictable/variable conditions, and hence, not so keen on it.
Is the east side of the peninsula equally as valid as the Sabah options, or are the Sabah options consistently superior?
Thanks in advance for any pointers you can provide.
Quero
April 1st, 2012, 08:30 AM
ggg, in April in Malaysia, your best bet is going to be the Sipadan area (Mabul and Kapalai for resorts). There is just one liveaboard in the area, and as it's already April 1, and you appear to be wanting a trip in one week (!) there are definitely no more spots on the liveaboard. You could also look at Tioman, Redang or Perhentian islands, that are just at the beginning of their seasons.
If you really only have fewer than 25 dives, I think you'd enjoy Redang and the Perhentians. The dives are enjoyable and fairly easy.
gggtraveller
April 1st, 2012, 10:28 AM
ggg, in April in Malaysia, your best bet is going to be the Sipadan area (Mabul and Kapalai for resorts). There is just one liveaboard in the area, and as it's already April 1, and you appear to be wanting a trip in one week (!) there are definitely no more spots on the liveaboard. You could also look at Tioman, Redang or Perhentian islands, that are just at the beginning of their seasons.
If you really only have fewer than 25 dives, I think you'd enjoy Redang and the Perhentians. The dives are enjoyable and fairly easy.
That's great advice, thank you. I do indeed only have under 25 dives, but am keen to get that number up!
A couple of clarifying questions then if I may:-
1) Discounting the liveaboards then in Sipidan, do you know if day diving is still manageable from one of the nearby resorts in terms of distance/boat out time, or is it the equivalent to trying to do day-diving from Khao Lak to Similan islands (which we looked into for a previous trip, and didn't do in the end) when really one should do it by live aboard (which we didn't do either!)?
2) Having trained/dived in the Red Sea, and recently dived off Koh Phi Phi, how do the Pehentians and Redang compare to these places I've dived before? I am assuming from everything I've read that Sipidan would be on a par/even better, but I'm not so sure about the sites east of the Malaysian peninsula. If they compare well to the Red Sea/Phi Phi then I think this would be the answer.
Thanks for the quick responses - it is indeed only 1 week away as we didn't decide we were going to go until 2 days ago!
Quero
April 1st, 2012, 11:06 AM
That's great advice, thank you. I do indeed only have under 25 dives, but am keen to get that number up!
A couple of clarifying questions then if I may:-
1) Discounting the liveaboards then in Sipidan, do you know if day diving is still manageable from one of the nearby resorts in terms of distance/boat out time, or is it the equivalent to trying to do day-diving from Khao Lak to Similan islands (which we looked into for a previous trip, and didn't do in the end) when really one should do it by live aboard (which we didn't do either!)?
Diving in the Sipadan area from a land-based resort is the usual setup. I recommend staying at a resort on Mabul Island (or perhaps at the one resort at Kapalai). These are all-inclusive resorts with diving, meals, and accommodations packaged in one price. Boat rides are short from Mabul, so it's really not at all like daytrip diving from Khao Lak to the Similans.
2) Having trained/dived in the Red Sea, and recently dived off Koh Phi Phi, how do the Pehentians and Redang compare to these places I've dived before? I am assuming from everything I've read that Sipidan would be on a par/even better, but I'm not so sure about the sites east of the Malaysian peninsula. If they compare well to the Red Sea/Phi Phi then I think this would be the answer. If you want the best diving you can get in Malaysia, go to Sipadan/Mabul. The diving at Redang and the Perhentians is a step or two down from Sipadan.
Thanks for the quick responses - it is indeed only 1 week away as we didn't decide we were going to go until 2 days ago! My pleasure, and if you wish, you may contact me by PM for more detailed recommendations, including specific resorts and operators.
jh_MacLeod
April 1st, 2012, 11:14 PM
Hi,
(I'm slightly prone to seasickness!).
We're looking for relaxed diving, moderate to no current, and calm conditions.
preference is for soft coral and fish/pelagics over muck diving/small creatures.
Thanks in advance for any pointers you can provide.
Given the criteria quoted above, I think your best option is Redang. Even if the sea isn't settled yet for the season, there are some sheltered dive sites with good soft coral; and the resorts there can offer you relaxed and comfortable land-based accommodations. You've waited a bit late to make your plans, however, so it would probably be a good idea to take advantage of an agent like Quero to get things booked quickly :-)
gggtraveller
April 4th, 2012, 02:10 AM
Hi all - thanks for the input and advice. Have ended up booking to dive with Universal Divers at Tuna Bay Resort, on the big Perhentian Island. Fingers crossed it all works out... connections from Hong Kong to make it in time for the boat crossing are rather tight though.
gggtraveller
August 8th, 2012, 08:47 AM
All,
Months have gone by and I forgot to complete the loop on this! So I thought I'd post a "what happened" response...
So as above, we ended up going for the Perhentians. The connections from Hong Kong were tight, but it worked out. Everything was going swimmingly until we got to the cross from the mainland to the Perhentians. Instead of using Tuna Bay Resort's own covered transfer boat, because we were the last crossing of the day, the resort put us on a public transfer speedboat. We didn't mind actually, and the bumpiness and speed added to the adrenalin and excitement... until we sailed into a massive rain storm. We were then lashed by strong winds and rain, completely soaking us (passport, iPhone, even our luggage was completely wet) for what felt like a lifetime (!) but was probably around 25 mins! Wouldn't have minded if the resort had warned us they were putting us on this exposed boat - we would have put our wet gear on and snorkel and mask! So if you do go to the Perhentians, make you you ask clearly what the transfer arrangements are, and make preparations.
Tuna Bay Resort itself was great. Good value for money, rooms pretty basic, but they were liveable and we could sleep. The restaurant was absolutely fantastic and the best around there from what we could gather. Its not the cheapest, but still pretty reasonable prices.
The Universal Divers guys (and gals) were fantastic. Really friendly and we did a few days of diving with them. Professional and the best thing about it was because the sites are so close, its possible to have your morning dive, come back on dry land, have lunch, go back out on the afternoon dive, come back, and if you want, go out on the evening dive. Universal Divers is the only dive operation around there that actually have a proper hard bottom dive boat - the rest use RIBs. Currents on some of the dives were stronger than I had expected, but it was manageable. Visibility varied on some days around 10m, and other 15-20m.
All in all it was a very enjoyable trip (even despite the near destruction of our passports and electronics!) and one I would recommend. Feel free to ask if you have any questions on specifics.
