Recommendations for diving and accomodation in Malaysia

[sringari]

Hi, my husband and I and our 10 month old are travelling in Malaysia mid February - early March. I am interested in doing some diving while there but we also just want to chill out on some beaches and maybe check out the rainforest or do some hiking as well. We will be in Malaysia for approximately 2.5 weeks. We are planning on ending our trip in Sipadan for a few days so I can dive but are unsure where to go before. We land in KL around Chinese new year and will stay there for a few days. So what am I looking for help with is the following:

1. I haven't gone diving since Nov 2012 when I was in the Philippines - where would be a good place for me to get back into it before heading to Sipadan? That also has nice beaches and decent accomodation? Particularly given the fact that it will still be monsoon season on the east side of Malaysia. We have looked at Langkawi but I'm not sure that there is enough to do on the island for a week without getting too bored.

2. are there still security issues in Sipadan/Mabul?

3. Any suggestions for dive shops/accomodation on Mabul? We definitely want to stay somewhere decent but not too expensive as my husband doesn't dive and will basically be hanging out on the boat with our child while I am diving.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[racerx_]

I would just stay in east Malaysia for the whole trip. There's a ton of nature stuff to see in Sarawak and Sabah plus diving and all. You can trek and see orang utans and there's a lot of nature preserves rivers etc. can't remember all off the top of my head maybe look up sandakan, or Labuan. Miri diving is super expensive. KOta Kinabalu has decent diving, is a good place to get reacquainted with diving, plus Mt. Kinabalu to climb which is iconic. Dive with diverse Borneo if you're there. Maybe checking out some of these will point you in the right direction?

 

[pughio83]

It's end of wet season on that side so you can gamble. I went to tioman in April and it was a mixed bag. Tioman is amazing with great rain forests and can stay at the Berjaya resort. Redang is also quite nice. Both have diving that's good but not great. Langkawi isn't as beautiful but might be a better option that time of year? Sipidan is dive able all yr but season starts April I think. Diving is great and not particularly challenging. I dived with Borneo divers which were ok not great. I recently have seen mabul water bungalows at a dive show and it looks amazing. That's where u need to stay with your husband. Make sure u see the wildlife on sabah land. Kinabantangan river, tabin reserve. Danum valley, sepilok all recommended. And climb Kinabalu.

 

[racerx_]

True. Although I don't know if tioman will be open end of February. I think it's sometime in March they open

 

[sringari]

Thanks racerx and pughio83. My husband has been doing some looking at accomodations in KK and on mabul and is a bit discouraged by the prices and quality of accomodations. His impression is that it is expensive for what you get. I think we are now planning on just travelling on Borneo island and diving so any suggestions for where to stay would be excellent. i will check out mabul water bungalows. We can't travel around with a 10 month old like we could on our own so we want to find somewhere to just chill out before going to mabul.

 

[jake11]

There are some beautiful resorts in KK. Also, make sure you go and visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo. This was one of the highlights of our trip!!!!!

 

[sringari]

There are some beautiful resorts in KK. Also, make sure you go and visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo. This was one of the highlights of our trip!!!!!

Thanks Jake! Any resorts in particular you recommend? There are quite a few!

 

[ScubaDutch]

I have written some reviews about different dive sites in Malaysia and the operators that I felt comfortable with, have a look at my site: ScubaDutch · Reviews-Malaysia

Drop me a PM or email through the contact form on the website if you require some additional information.

In general the dive destinations in Malaysia are not very close to forest erea's. The only place where I had some average dives and still close to wild life was in Kota Kinabalu. And might be the best option for you guys. Only KK doesn't have amazing beaches.

Cheers, Rogier

 

[sringari]

Thanks everyone for your assistance! In case you are wondering - we ended up staying on Gaya Island at Gaya Island resort and then stayed on Mataking Island. I did a couple of dives with the dive shop that operates out of Gaya Island (Borneo Dream) and while the diving was pretty crap (i think there was a red tide at the time), the equipment they provided was good and the boat was fine. It was a good way for me to refresh myself and get comfortable with diving again after several years away from it.

Diving at Mataking was amazing!! When we arrived at the island I was immediately met by staff from the dive shop and informed that I would be doing a dive that afternoon (a check dive that is mandatory for all guests who are diving) and would be diving Sipadan the next day. The house reef at Mataking is spectacular and frankly on par or in some respects better than Sipadan. I even saw Charlie, their super old barracuda who has been there longer than the resort has. The next day I went to Sipadan with 6 other people. I was the only diver though (the others were snorkelling) so it was basically a private dive trip for me. Sipadan was quite lovely but busy with other divers. The only drawback of staying at Mataking is the long boat ride to Sipadan but in nice weather its really not a big deal. I did a few more dives off Mataking during our stay, including a wreck dive, and it was spectacular. I highly recommend staying on Mataking if you can. The island is small, peaceful and the resort is wonderful. It definitely was the highlight of our trip! I wished we had stayed there longer (and stayed for less time on Gaya Island).

 

[Tippytoes12]

Thanks everyone for your assistance! In case you are wondering - we ended up staying on Gaya Island at Gaya Island resort and then stayed on Mataking Island. I did a couple of dives with the dive shop that operates out of Gaya Island (Borneo Dream) and while the diving was pretty crap (i think there was a red tide at the time), the equipment they provided was good and the boat was fine. It was a good way for me to refresh myself and get comfortable with diving again after several years away from it.

Diving at Mataking was amazing!! When we arrived at the island I was immediately met by staff from the dive shop and informed that I would be doing a dive that afternoon (a check dive that is mandatory for all guests who are diving) and would be diving Sipadan the next day. The house reef at Mataking is spectacular and frankly on par or in some respects better than Sipadan. I even saw Charlie, their super old barracuda who has been there longer than the resort has. The next day I went to Sipadan with 6 other people. I was the only diver though (the others were snorkelling) so it was basically a private dive trip for me. Sipadan was quite lovely but busy with other divers. The only drawback of staying at Mataking is the long boat ride to Sipadan but in nice weather its really not a big deal. I did a few more dives off Mataking during our stay, including a wreck dive, and it was spectacular. I highly recommend staying on Mataking if you can. The island is small, peaceful and the resort is wonderful. It definitely was the highlight of our trip! I wished we had stayed there longer (and stayed for less time on Gaya Island).

Many thanks for the update.

Great you had such a good time...how was the weather and the vis on the Sipadan side of Borneo. at that time of year ?

Many thanks