Which to Choose Sipadan Island, Borneo or the GBR Australia

[Island Hopper]

Hello

i am trying to book a trip to either sipadan island or the ribbon reefs and cod hole on the great barrier. just curious as to which everyone prefers. i enjoy seeing as much wildlife as possible, preferably big critters. my time frame is june/july and looking at liveaboards, the m/v celebes or pro dive in cairns.

i live in guam and dive micronesia all the time (palau and surrounding islands) so im trying to go somewhere else for my holiday. somewhere located near my home of Guam. thanks all for the info.

 

[Hank49]

Haven't done the GBR. I was on Sipadan in 98. It was really nice then. Vis wasn't that great....40-60 feet most days....but very rich in marine life. (I've not dived all over the world. Mostly in the Philippines, Malaysia and here in Belize) I'd say it's as good as any dives I've done. But it's small and you can dive pretty much all the sites in a couple days.
I've since read that you can't stay ON Sipadan anymore.

 

[altaskier]

If you do go to Cairns, go with the boats that take the 4-7 day trips to the northern reefs: Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom, or Taka.

 

[Allison Finch]

Sipidan is overdived and so permit controlled, you have trouble getting to dive there. You are often shunted to poorer diving areas.

GBR, well, there are simply better places.

I would consider PNG or West Papua.

 

[scubacool]

Spirit of freedom is excellent in GBR...very professionally run. Their outer reefs trip the best of them....The diving is good but not really amazing....For a more adventurous experience and better diving I would also head to PNG or West Papua (Irian Jaya) There are quite a few liveaboards operating and as for most destinations you'll get a better dive experience from a liveaboard....there are some interesting land based resorts in the Raja Ampat Islands...the Sorido Bay resort is really really basic and there's a better standard Eco resort next door run by the same guys.....some great diving off here...

 

[HBO MD]

The outer reefs are the way to go !
Sipadan is a crap shoot, especially with the beaurocracy running rampant. GBR is breathtaking, and reliably so. Bigger fish also much more reliable. You'll have a blast.
Good luck !

 

[melg]

Hello

i am trying to book a trip to either sipadan island or the ribbon reefs and cod hole on the great barrier. just curious as to which everyone prefers. i enjoy seeing as much wildlife as possible, preferably big critters. my time frame is june/july and looking at liveaboards, the m/v celebes or pro dive in cairns.

i live in guam and dive micronesia all the time (palau and surrounding islands) so im trying to go somewhere else for my holiday. somewhere located near my home of Guam. thanks all for the info.

Hello,

I don't know if you have decided yet but I thought I'd share my experience as well. Sipadan and the surrounding islands are indeed great for diving. As mentioned by others, you have to go through a dive operator since you need a permit to dive and they can get a hold of them. Not sure what your budget is but if you can afford it I would highly recommend you stay in Mabul. It is right next to Sipadan and there is good diving in Mabul itself. Overall our experience was amasing in terms of diving keeping in mind that infrastructure is minimal, safety precautions poor and you have to rely on your skills and knowledge. Towards the end of our trip, we did not even bother to pick up our cameras and take pictures of the sharks and turtles. First 10 minutes of our first dive: We saw a feeding frenzy!!

I have not been to the GBR but I have extensively researched it - I was supposed to go this summer but it did not work out at the end. It is convenient to stay either in Cairns or Port Douglas (quieter) and go on day trips for diving. It is definately worth doing the 4 day or 7 day liveaboard to the cod hole and coral sea. Make sure you do you go on the trip which includes the coral sea / osprey reef, apparently it is amasing.

Hope it helps!!