JonnieB
Contributor
Sipadan Revisited November 2007
Introduction:
This is a report of my recent visit to Sipadan. This is my second time diving in this area. I stayed a week at the SMART Water Bungalows resort on the island of Mabul. It is generally considered one of the top 5 dive sites in the world. When speaking of Sipadan, one is also referring to the nearby islands of Mabul and Kapalai (actually a shallow reef). These 3 areas are collectively known as Sipadan. There is no accommodation on Sipadan island itself. One can stay at Mabul or Kapalai islands or the mainland town of Semporna - making day-trips to the dive sites at Sipadan.
Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world. It is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Malaysian portion (roughly half) is composed of the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Sipadan is just of the southern tip of Sabah. The gateway to Sipadan is the city of Tawau. Tawau is served by air from both Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. From Tawau, it is 1.5 hour drive to the port town of Semporna. Sipadan island is a 45 minute speed-boat ride from Semporna.
Accommodations:
Sipadan is a fairly remote diving location. There is a limited number of small boutique dive resorts and operations based at Sipadan and Semporna. The number of divers visiting the two-dozen or so dive sites in the area is therefore limited. This is a definite plus for it conserves the marine environment and makes for a less crowded dive experience. As mentioned, accommodation is limited to Semporna, Mabul, Kapalai, and Matangani island. I would estimate that all together the resorts accommodate 300-400 people. The dive sites never feel crowded and generally your group is the only one at a given site at a particular time.
The majority of the accommodation is on Mabul island. Mabul is more accurately described as a sandbar, which just breaks the ocean surface, and is surrounded by a shallow sloping reef. It is a tiny speck of an island and walking from one end to the other takes 15-20 minutes. There are 3 resorts on the island: (1) SMART resort, (2) Sipadan Water Village, and (3) Borneo Divers. I have stayed at two of these SMART and Sipadan Water Village. (There is also an oil drilling platform that has been converted into a dive resort moored just off the island called Seaventures. Most would consider it more of an eyesore and I will say nothing more about it.) Borneo Divers resort is entirely on the island itself. Sipadan Water Village is entirely build on stilts over the reef and connected to the island by walkway. SMART resort consists of two parts the chalets, which are on the island, and the water bungalows, which are also build on stilts over the reef and connected to the island by walkway.
Introduction:
This is a report of my recent visit to Sipadan. This is my second time diving in this area. I stayed a week at the SMART Water Bungalows resort on the island of Mabul. It is generally considered one of the top 5 dive sites in the world. When speaking of Sipadan, one is also referring to the nearby islands of Mabul and Kapalai (actually a shallow reef). These 3 areas are collectively known as Sipadan. There is no accommodation on Sipadan island itself. One can stay at Mabul or Kapalai islands or the mainland town of Semporna - making day-trips to the dive sites at Sipadan.
Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world. It is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Malaysian portion (roughly half) is composed of the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Sipadan is just of the southern tip of Sabah. The gateway to Sipadan is the city of Tawau. Tawau is served by air from both Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. From Tawau, it is 1.5 hour drive to the port town of Semporna. Sipadan island is a 45 minute speed-boat ride from Semporna.
Accommodations:
Sipadan is a fairly remote diving location. There is a limited number of small boutique dive resorts and operations based at Sipadan and Semporna. The number of divers visiting the two-dozen or so dive sites in the area is therefore limited. This is a definite plus for it conserves the marine environment and makes for a less crowded dive experience. As mentioned, accommodation is limited to Semporna, Mabul, Kapalai, and Matangani island. I would estimate that all together the resorts accommodate 300-400 people. The dive sites never feel crowded and generally your group is the only one at a given site at a particular time.
The majority of the accommodation is on Mabul island. Mabul is more accurately described as a sandbar, which just breaks the ocean surface, and is surrounded by a shallow sloping reef. It is a tiny speck of an island and walking from one end to the other takes 15-20 minutes. There are 3 resorts on the island: (1) SMART resort, (2) Sipadan Water Village, and (3) Borneo Divers. I have stayed at two of these SMART and Sipadan Water Village. (There is also an oil drilling platform that has been converted into a dive resort moored just off the island called Seaventures. Most would consider it more of an eyesore and I will say nothing more about it.) Borneo Divers resort is entirely on the island itself. Sipadan Water Village is entirely build on stilts over the reef and connected to the island by walkway. SMART resort consists of two parts the chalets, which are on the island, and the water bungalows, which are also build on stilts over the reef and connected to the island by walkway.