ORDER.FLIGHTS

DESCRIPTION:

Sipadan Island, a marine paradise, is renowned among divers for its rich underwater biodiversity, pristine reefs, and sudden drop offs into the deep blue. Regularly ranked as one of the top ten diving destinations in the world Sipadan can be found in the Celebes Sea just off of Borneo Malaysia. The wonders of Sipadan are easily accessed from the town Semporna, which is just 35 kilometers north of the island or about an hour’s boat ride away. For divers who tire of seeing big turtles and bigger sharks all day, nearby Mabul Island and Kapalai Island are just a 20-minute speedboat ride away offering hidden treasures such as small nudibranchs and pipefish.

There are few places on Earth where a diver can see schools of whirling barracuda, a dozen sea turtles of varying species, a handful of sharks, and a teeming reef of angelfish, triggerfish, morays and gobies all on one dive. At Sipadan such sights are common, with lucky divers bringing home stories of whale sharks, manta rays, and schools of hammerheads. Sipadan is well known as a hotspot for biodiversity with over 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species calling the waters off this island home.

Sipadan Island’s unique geography makes it home to a number of excellent dive sites. It is Malaysia’s only oceanic island, meaning it rises straight from the seabed rather than the continental shelf. Its lush forests and white sand beaches rest on top of a prehistoric volcano rising 600 meters from the seafloor and the pristine waters surrounding the island allow for a visibility of at least 20 meters year round. However, visibility can reach up to 50 meters during the dry season.

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Best Times to Visit:

• Best times: March - October

• Temperature: 26°C - 34°C (78°F - 93°F)

Scuba diving occurs all year round at Sipadan Island with decent visibility to be had throughout the year. However, for the most breathtaking experiences, with dive visibility reaching up to 50 meters, you will have to visit during the dry season which occurs between March and October. Divers are sure to enjoy their surface intervals as temperatures throughout the year range between 26°C to 34°C (78°F to 93°F).

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DON'T FOEGET:

Visiting Sipadan Island requires a permit issued by Sabah Parks, a Sabah Government agency. There are a limited number of 120 permits available each day. This is a good move by the Malaysian Government in order to minimize the stress on the reefs and marine life around Sipadan. Unfortunately, this also means that not everyone will get to visit Sipadan Island every day.

The permit application will be done on your behalf by the resort you choose to stay at.

If a resort as unallocated permits for a given day, it will be returned to Sabah Parks so that it can be redistributed to other resorts that require additional permits. So, if the resort you are staying at has run out of permit allocation for the day, but another resort has available permits, you may be able to obtain these permits. Additional costs may apply.

Most resorts use the round-robin allocation method to maximize the chances of everyone visiting Sipadan Island. However, a number of these resorts will also give preferences to visitors with a longer duration of stay. Please check out the resorts below for more information on turn-around times and recommended duration of stay for diving at Sipadan Island.

You don’t need a permit to visit the other islands in the area.