Had 5 nights staying at the Mabul Water Bungalows (run by SMART) last July. Three dives per day were organised, roughly as follows: 0600, 0930, 1130. We had two dives each day at Sipadan, with the third dive either at Mabul or Kapalai.
We were luck to get on to Sipadan, as friends who have been since stayed at Mabul for 7 days and had only 2 dives at Sipadan. The DM's generally choose the dive sites once they receive authorised permits. The DM's are all pretty good, nice guys, knowledgeable and attentive to their groups. The staff at MWB were all very friendly, polite and seemed pleased to help. All equipment was washed off and prepared (tho of course do your own checks!). The resort really is beautiful, and an ideal romantic getaway. pretty similar to the Maldives, however the evenings were pretty dull, and we went over to the other SMART resort which was much more sociable.
The diving was really good, Barracuda Point and White Tip Avenue at Sipadan were superb, and teh other sites almost as good. BUT...its really not worth diving the early dive - at around 0600 - as there are soooo many divers all you can see are fins, air bubbles and groups or other divers. Its better to snorkel from the beach, as you see alot more. The MWB House Reef if surprisingly good considering its only a few years old, and the muck diving is excellent around Mabul.
I also had the opportunity to dive off Kota Kinabalu, which was also pretty good, though not a patch on Sipadan
We were luck to get on to Sipadan, as friends who have been since stayed at Mabul for 7 days and had only 2 dives at Sipadan. The DM's generally choose the dive sites once they receive authorised permits. The DM's are all pretty good, nice guys, knowledgeable and attentive to their groups. The staff at MWB were all very friendly, polite and seemed pleased to help. All equipment was washed off and prepared (tho of course do your own checks!). The resort really is beautiful, and an ideal romantic getaway. pretty similar to the Maldives, however the evenings were pretty dull, and we went over to the other SMART resort which was much more sociable.
The diving was really good, Barracuda Point and White Tip Avenue at Sipadan were superb, and teh other sites almost as good. BUT...its really not worth diving the early dive - at around 0600 - as there are soooo many divers all you can see are fins, air bubbles and groups or other divers. Its better to snorkel from the beach, as you see alot more. The MWB House Reef if surprisingly good considering its only a few years old, and the muck diving is excellent around Mabul.
I also had the opportunity to dive off Kota Kinabalu, which was also pretty good, though not a patch on Sipadan
