The Best Resorts

Because the island is a wildlife and marine life sanctuary now, for anyone interested in diving in Sipadan, the best choices for a resort would be on the neighboring islands of Kapalai or Mabul. These two beautiful places are both less than 30 minutes away by boat and are ideal not only for divers, but for anyone who would want to simply relax on the sand or suntan.

The Kapalai resort offers perhaps the best options. It is considered as the best, not only because it is 15 minutes away from the main sites of the island but also because it has a few beautiful sites as well, offering the divers a very pleasant experience without having to make a boat trip.

The island of Mabul is also a good choice but it is slightly further away. This can be a drawback for those who would like to be diving in Sipadan; it can become more difficult for them to be the first ones applying for one of the 120 diving permits available every day. Mabul itself, however, is a very good choice for divers because of its abundance in rare marine life. This makes it an excellent choice for photographers as well.

Resources and Courses

On the island of Mabul there are some very good options for taking diving courses. Teams of professional instructors can teach either simple or advanced classes. They can even modify the course based on the requirements of the diver, making it much easier to learn. For those who are already technical divers, there are guides to show them the less often visited areas when diving in Sipadan or Mabul, providing truly memorable experiences.

All types of necessary resources and safety equipment for divers can be found at the Instructor Development Center in the city of Semporna. Here, divers can not only buy equipment like wetsuits, fins, masks or snorkels. They can also rent boats and cameras or apply for dive packages that can include guides as well as diving instructors.

Safety Conditions

Diving problems or accidents can always happen; it is never good to toy with safety no matter how much fun we have. Safety equipment, guides and courses are provided for those who choose to go diving in Sipadan. There are also divemasters in each boat and there is a recompression chamber in Semporna in case any kind of problems might appear. The use of the chamber can be expensive however, so it is always best to be careful.

Prices

The price of a vacation to one or more of the Sipadan resorts or sites can be quite expensive. The price of airplane tickets varies of course, based on where people travel from; however the boat trip from Semporna to Sipadan might not cost very much. The price of staying for a week, at the Mabul resort for example, can reach a price of over 1400 USD. There are discounts of 20-30% in the case of those who are not divers.

Some might say that the prices are too high, but the truth is that many divers who have been diving in Sipadan or one of the other islands agree that it is well worth it because the experiences are truly unforgettable.