Semporna vs Sipadan vs Other Islands - Where to Stay?

[Bazal]

Heya,

I hope this is the right place to post this... if not I apologize. I should start by saying - been diving for about 2 years - at the end of this year I should have close

I'm planning a 2 week vacation in the last week of May and first week of June 2018 to Malaysia. I plan on spending 2-3 days in the capital then moving to Sabah for the rest of my vacation. I plan on doing several things in Sabah - WW Rafting, Jungle Trek, National parks, Hiking Mt. Kinabalu and ending my vacation on a beautiful beach and doing diving trips (the rest of the family will snorkel - I'm the only one that dives). I mention this because I LOVE diving (and can sometimes be addicted to it too) - but on vacations I like to do a bit of everything. I assume a good number of people go to Sabah/Semporna just to dive. Sites of interest are: Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai, Pom Pom, Mataking

My questions:

1- In light of recent kidnappings of tourists... has this issue been overblown? Should I be concerned. I know there's an advisory issued against going there and my insurance will be invalid (does that work with DAN too oO?). But I'm not one to cower in fear and I think I'll still go there next year (unless my plan changes to Seychelles).

2- Where do you normally stay? I assume Semporna is cheaper.. but it seems unreasonable to keep travelling to dive sites.. would you stay on a specific island and take the dive boat from there. A lot of people seem to recommend staying in Mataking - but that seems awfully far away from Sipadan per google maps (which I believe is considered to be possibly the best diving site from the ones listed).

3- I hate asking this... because I know it's a matter or personal opinion and I guess the more the merrier - especially since you can repeat the same dive site and see different things. But I still have to ask - opinions help! But what would you say is the minimum days or #of dives to get the feel for the location? I read there's a curfew so no night dives Do you think I should just pick one location/island and focus on it?

4- Finally any recommends on where to stay? Again I'm looking for a location on a beautiful swimmable beach and a location that's snorkel friendly.

Thanks!!

PS. Feel free to privately message me!

 

[Centrals]

I don't think I would let any member of my family to snorkel around Semporna!

 

[Bazal]

Yeah I didn't think there was any from Semporna- thought we'd take a boat trip to a location... but sounds like there's more to this than I'm aware of. Would you be able to give me further advice?

Perhaps we should pick an island - stay on a hotel/resort on a nice beach and snorkel/dive from there. Thoughts/advice on this? Thanks

 

[Centrals]

1. You can contact those resorts on Kapalai or Mabul for advice. They will accept non-divers.
However do not expect to dive Sipadan everyday because of the permit issue.
2. Forget diving completely and do something else together with the whole family. Sepilok for Orang-utan and the Turtle Island for turtles (Green and Hawkbill) nesting. You really have to check the best time for the latter.
3. If you really want to dive but would like to spend more time with the family then Lankayan is another option. Mataking(never been) is really far to dive Sipadan
4. Finally, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park just outside Kota Kinabalu has diving.

 

[helarno]

Heya,
1- In light of recent kidnappings of tourists... has this issue been overblown? Should I be concerned. I know there's an advisory issued against going there and my insurance will be invalid (does that work with DAN too oO?). But I'm not one to cower in fear and I think I'll still go there next year (unless my plan changes to Seychelles).

There haven't been any kidnappings of tourists around Sipadan for a while. They have successfully kidnapped crew on commercial boats in the last couple of years, but tourists are better protected. You'll be mostly safe on land and the risk is usually that the kidnappers attack at the resorts at night. This is relatively unlikely these days as there is a decent police presence around the major resort areas.

If you're particularly worried, places like Seaventures are really hard to board (they just pull up the ladder) and supposedly there's a police officer there every night.

Diving around Sipadan island itself is also relatively safe. There's a naval base right on the island with a squad of soldiers 24/7.

All that said, kidnappings do happen so there is still a risk.

2- Where do you normally stay? I assume Semporna is cheaper.. but it seems unreasonable to keep travelling to dive sites.. would you stay on a specific island and take the dive boat from there. A lot of people seem to recommend staying in Mataking - but that seems awfully far away from Sipadan per google maps (which I believe is considered to be possibly the best diving site from the ones listed).

Semporna is cheaper but also a dump. I wouldn't stay there. The long boat rides would also get really monotonous so stay there only if you really want to save money.

I stayed with Scuba Junkies in Mabul. Was pretty pleasant, had a great experience and did some good diving. However, if you are a hard core Sipadan only fan, you might not want to stay with them. They are really popular and due to the rationing of the permits, they don't have many extra permits. Some more luxurious but less diving focused locations (e.g. those water top bungalows) have the same number of permits but less guests that dive, so it's sometimes possible to buy extra permits/Sipadan dive days from them.

While in Mabul, we did one day diving at Sipadan and all other dives were at Mabul/Kapalai. These two islands are close enough to have short boat rides back and forth.

3- I hate asking this... because I know it's a matter or personal opinion and I guess the more the merrier - especially since you can repeat the same dive site and see different things. But I still have to ask - opinions help! But what would you say is the minimum days or #of dives to get the feel for the location? I read there's a curfew so no night dives Do you think I should just pick one location/island and focus on it?

I did 4 days of diving in Mabul/Kapalai and really enjoyed it. No repeated sites, all sites had their variety. I probably could have dived a few more days there and still not have gotten sick of it. Those two islands are close enough you can stay on one and dive the other no problem. Mataking is a bit further off and we never dived there.

Think the curfew only affects boat rides. Did a few night dives from the shore when I was there in 2016.

4- Finally any recommends on where to stay? Again I'm looking for a location on a beautiful swimmable beach and a location that's snorkel friendly.

I'm conflicted. I loved Scuba Junkies and would dive with them again, but I would not call their beach as a "beautiful swimmable beach" or overly snorkel friendly. Some of those water top bungalow resorts on Mabul or Kapalai may be better options for that.

 

[Joelage]

Pom Pom Island is quite small (less clients), and as very easy/accessible snorkeling. I traveled with "beginner snorkelers" and they had a great time! I can't compare with Mabul/Kapalai as I have not visited.

 

[BlahT]

We just came back from Sipadan a couple weeks ago, so I will put in my $0.02.

1- In light of recent kidnappings of tourists... has this issue been overblown? Should I be concerned. I know there's an advisory issued against going there and my insurance will be invalid (does that work with DAN too oO?). But I'm not one to cower in fear and I think I'll still go there next year (unless my plan changes to Seychelles).

I haven't heard about any tourists being kidnapped for a while, and I didn't feel like that was a particular concern while we were there. Malaysian navy patrols the area and at night, soldiers are stationed on some resorts for protection. We stayed with Seaventures, and there were a squad of soldiers staying on the rig overnight every night. I also saw them during the day at Kapalai resort. For a couple days there was a navy boat anchored around the Mabul island, and Sipadan has it's own permanent garrison.

2- Where do you normally stay? I assume Semporna is cheaper.. but it seems unreasonable to keep travelling to dive sites.. would you stay on a specific island and take the dive boat from there. A lot of people seem to recommend staying in Mataking - but that seems awfully far away from Sipadan per google maps (which I believe is considered to be possibly the best diving site from the ones listed).

If you want to dive, I would not stay in Semporna. The boat ride out to Sipadan gets old real fast, especially during rainy days or with wavy ocean. I also didn't really look into Mataking, so don't know anything about that. We stayed at Seaventures, which is a couple minutes away from Mabul, maybe 10 minutes away from Kalapai, and 15-20 min to Sipadan. For a group with non-divers, I would recommend a resort on Mabul or Kapalai. Some of the resorts have snorkeling area roped in and also run snorkeling trips out to shallow reefs. We stayed on Seaventures and almost everyone there were divers. I didn't see anyone snorkeling around Seaventures as there is nothing to see until you are on the bottom muck diving. I also didn't see any snorkeling trips being offered to other places, but then again, everyone there dived so I don't think there was any demand for snorkeling trips.

3- I hate asking this... because I know it's a matter or personal opinion and I guess the more the merrier - especially since you can repeat the same dive site and see different things. But I still have to ask - opinions help! But what would you say is the minimum days or #of dives to get the feel for the location? I read there's a curfew so no night dives Do you think I should just pick one location/island and focus on it?

I'm going to say the minimum is probably 4D/3N? There are so many different dive sites, I think you could be there for a couple weeks without getting bored. We stayed for 7D/6N and did 5 dives each day and still felt that we had barely scratched the surface at the end of the trip. I think night dives at house reefs are possible, just no boat traffic after 6 pm. We did a night dive and got out of water after 7 pm. I think if you were to stay on an island, majority of your dives will be nearby, with Sipadan trips thrown in based on permit availability. For Seaventures, on non-Sipadan days, they typically run a morning trip to Kapalai and spend next two dives in Mabul, which is closer.

4- Finally any recommends on where to stay? Again I'm looking for a location on a beautiful swimmable beach and a location that's snorkel friendly.

Probably one of the islands. Semporna would not qualify as swimmable or snorkel friendly. Seaventures do not have a beach and I didn't see anyone snorkel there. Some (all?) resorts on Mabul have designated snorkel areas. Not sure about Kapalai as we only went there to dive, but resort itself looks very nice from outside.

 

[CWK]

"... beautiful swimmable beach .." does not sound like Mabul to me. It sounds more like Mataking. Disclaimer: I have only stayed at Mabul (never Mataking) since I only look to dive and do not need a beautiful swimmable beach.

Wherever you finally decide to stay, negotiate the number of Sipadan permits during the booking process. Don't ask for Sipadan permits after you have booked.