Sipadan Permit System...revisited!

[Pearldiver07]

Then the next time I go I'll post here. I actually prefer Kapalai and Mabul to Sipadan. One time per trip is enough for me. That'll open up several possibilities for others to go to Sipadan.

You know, now that I think of it, I never had a problem trading off of my boat when it was going to Sipadan last time I was there.

 

[OnTheSpot]

There's more to the story than that. Much more.

Join this cause on Facebook and help spread awareness - if this site is ruined, everybody loses.

 

[Scuba Susie]

Just thought I would show you all the details of inequality on Sipidan whilst we were there.
susie

 

[spoiled]

Looks pretty much the same as it did a few weeks ago when we stayed at the Smart Resort. Think they had 13 now and not 10 as this picture says.
Best chance (ratio) seems to be staying at the oilplatform (sea venture). However the rooms there are not very good I've been told from several sources. We were very happy with Mabul/Smart, its a beautiful place. So I guess it's a trade-off, live nice or dive Sipadan. Although Borneo Divers seem to have a lot of permits as well.
Another tip is to book well in advance, seems to help a whole lot too.

 

[Scuba Susie]

Sorry but we booked 8 mos out. But, SMART is a beautiful resort. Just a darn shame it tarnished my experience with the whole permit thing. Loved ya Sipidan and I was darn glad to dive ya 3 years ago. This last experience will never see me there again.
Best of luck to you all!
Susie

 

[SnappyTheDiver]

Not much has changed since my stay with SMART late last year. I have canceled my March visit and will not return until the problems are resolved. I usually spend most of my time at Mabul but I do like to get in a couple of trips to Sipadan. Sevens days of diving Paradise I/II, Lobster Wall, etc. are too many for what they have to offer. Sad but this is today's reality.

 

[adamtodd]

I didn't have any problems getting time on Sipadan. I think it depends on the resort. I was under the impression that the resorts get so many divers per day. I had to do the nationality-changing thing. I did see many people unable to dive Sipadan, but in every case they had failed to actually book days on Sipadan.

It's a confusing process, making it easy to have those problems. You really need to get an email confirming what days exactly you will be able to dive Sipadan. That way if the resort changes the plan, you have documentation to show them.
That's what I would advise somebody planning on going...

 

[Cabbie]

Part of the issue is that the resorts themselves don't know how many permits they're going to get until the day before - so booking a trip months in advance actually doesn't achieve anything as the permits will only be allocated to divers the evening before. There are 120 permits, and there are more than 120 divers, so the way the resorts try to get around this is to have their guests change names and nationalities (and gender!) in order to keep as many people as possible happy by having two or 3 trips out to the island each day each time hopefully the boat full of divers can get to do 2 dives on Sipadan.

What is wrong is any resort including *guaranteed* diving on Sipadan in their marketing.

 

[SnappyTheDiver]

Cabbie is absolutely correct. There is no such thing as making bookings in advance for permits. Look at the picture someone snapped of the board that sits on the beach designating the number of permits per resort, the name of the boat, and the names of the dive guides. Every bit of that is rigidly enforced at this time. On my last trip we went three times and were turned by twice when our "impersonation" failed.

 

[ScubaKay]

I, for one, am quite pleased to hear that Malaysia is cracking down and enforcing the permit system to protect the reef and sea life.