Sipadan Permits - Situation Unchanged?

[scubafanatic]

Cross it off your 'to-do' list then

...honestly, it was never even 'on' my 'to-do' list...the world is a big place and I'm sure I can find other alternatives...moreover, I'm a 'liveaboard' fan anyway.....not really into the resort/day boat scene.

 

[Zippsy]

Sipadan IS magical. I know of know other place with so many turtles that you have to push them out of the way to see everything else! Having said that, I am very glad that I have been there already because staying on Mabul or Kapali for a week and maybe getting to dive Sipadan one or two days is not my idea of a well-spent holiday either.

LOB's are not exempt from the licensing scheme though, are they?

 

[skipperharis]

Each resorts/dive centres approve by the authorithies have been given a quota of permits, no more the old days practice.

 

[mantajohn]

Devon Diver - thanks for this helpful explanation

Skipperharris - how does the 'new' system work? When will it start?

I'm visiting in April 2010 - so all info most welcome

 

[funscuba]

Am I the only one to have gotten the permit to dive in sipadan in extremis for 2 days in a row ? Yes, I did get them beginning of april right away, when coming back from "Uncle Chan's" resort in mabul I then asked the girl working behind the counter of "sipadan scuba" diving center in semporna if there was any place available for sipadan, she replied "yes, the day after tomorrow, 2 days available" I didn't think twice, didn't care about the price, and booked the 2 days in question right away, talk about a luck.
Yes, that can happen, all the other dive centers replied a "No" for any place available and it was the last one to tell me a "Yes" and for 2 days still, that was great I can tell you.

 

[Wiggsy]

I was there 2 weeks back and got to dive Sipadan 3 days straight (but that was an excepetion - I was with Malaysia Tourism). But a lady I spoke to at Borneo Divers had dived there 3 days out of 5 (which would appear to have been pretty damned lucky I guess. It is a tough situation and has me thinking about whether I would take a group there - mind you the other diving around Mabul and Kapalai is still very very good. But it isn't Sipadan, and the big schooling fish are what makes this place so special.

 

[Bronson]

To Scubafanatic....the diving at Sipadan is "that extraordinary" to put up with this process. Go there and you will see. As for me, i also enjoy mabul diving alot for the macro stuff.

regards

 

[rmarrash]

I have done enough research at this point that the conflicting answers on this board make sense now... some people saying you can book in advance, other saying you can't, etc etc...

What I have come up with is the following:

1. Yes, the dive outfits appear to get a "typical" allocation of permits daily.
2. Some of the Dive outfits book those permits "in advance", I guess assuming they will always get their "typical" allocation.
3. The larger "resorts" will NOT book you for Sipadan in advance because they simply have too many guests and too few permits to do so. So the only game they can play is the one they are playing now (book with us and we will "try" to get you to Sipadan at least once).

So here is the delimina I faced. I wanted to stay at one of the nice resorts but I also wanted some greater level of comfort in knowing I could Dive Sipadan a few days.

Solution:
Book my diving with someone who lets me book Sipadan in advance with them and book a non-diver rate at the resort. For this to work, you need to find someone that is willing to pick you up at Mabul Island daily.

Based on all the criteria, there is really only one dive center I found that met all the criteria above and there have been enough clues on this board to figure out who that is

So my trip is pretty much set now.

P.S. The only other way I found to give you a high confidence level is to book the only Liveaboard that dives the site. They seem to be another route to definite diving for at least 2 days per week.

Thanks
Russell

 

[funscuba]

I was lucky in the beginning of april when coming back from mabul, I got 2 days for sipadan, when I asked if they had any place available the next days, I got it the day after tomorrow. Talk about a luck !

 

[rogerp]

i wonder if the price of the package of the resort will determine how easy you will get the permit. But maybe it does not.