Arrange a diving trip to Pulau Sipadan | Pulau Sipadan Supreme Diving | Operators & Resort for Sipadan diver | Mengenai Pulau Sipadan

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator  in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah's mainland, like many tropical island it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.

The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin.

Sipadan Clear Water - rated as the world's top dive sites.

Sipadan - rated as the world's top dive sites. For the true diving enthusiast, the Island needs no introduction. Praised by the internationally renowned oceanographer and film maker Jacques Cousteau as one of the best diving spot in the world, it is unique as the only oceanic island in Malaysia. It's geographic position puts Sipadan in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin.

Sipadan rises 600m. from the seabed to provide spectacular wall dives and underwater garden. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundred of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystem. Sipadan is also renowed for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtle, which gather there to mate and nest. It is not unusual to see more than 20 turtles on each dive.

Another unique feature to divers is the turtle tomb that contains many skeletal remains of turtle. The residential schooling Barracuda and big-eye trevally are one of the highlights    of every diver's Wish-list, which often gather in thousand forming spectacular tornado-like formations. Mantas, eagle-rays, scalloped hammerhead shark and whale sharks may also be seen, as well as an abundance of macro life.

For sustainable and conservation purpose, there will be no onsite dive resorts operating on Sipadan Island. The Government of Malaysia has decided that all existing onsite dive resort operators are to move their operations out of Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The move is mainly to conserve and maintain a balanced marine and land eco-systems on Sipadan and its environs. Diving activity will continue for divers to be ferried in by operators operating from the mainland or nearby islands other than the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan. 

Arrange a Diving Trip in Pulau Sipadan

Pulau Sipadan is the only deep water oceanic island in Malaysia, standing 2,000 feet (600m) above the seabed. The coral island lies off the east coast of Malaysia on the island of Borneo, renowned for being one of the best scuba diving sites in the world. Sipadan boasts the richest marine habitat with more than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species. Its geographic location puts the island within the Indo-Pacific basin where some experts believe that the Indo-Pacific basin was earth's marine incubator.

To protect the environment and ecosystem from tourism, all resorts in Sipadan were closed since 2002. Sipadan island is only accessible during the day where divers must stay overnight on the nearby islands, such as Mabul or Semporna, and board a boat onto the island for diving. Sipadan is surrounded by both hard and soft coral as well as various reef fish. Encountering sea turtles and white tip reef sharks is common and hammerhead and leopard sharks can also be seen on occasions.

The rate for three dives at Pulau Sipadan is around RM260 including RM40 for equipment renting. Price is inclusive of boat transfers and packed lunch. Moreover, diver operators must obtain a permit from Sabah Parks to access the island, which costs RM40. You should verify that your diver operator is diving at Sipadan Island with permits.

Snorkelling is also a great alternative for non-divers. From the Sipadan sandy beach, the reef is easily reached and some parts of the reef further out are accessible by boat. The all-inclusive rate for a snorkelling trip is around RM170 which can be arranged by any dive operators.

SIPADAN ISLAND SUPREME DIVING

My Discoveries

With our holiday in Malaysia drawing to an end, we decided to conclude our fantastic holiday with a visit to East Malaysia to try out the diving there. Widely recognised as one of the world's top five dive sites, the designation of Sipadan Island as  Marine Park at the beginning of 2005 has meant that anyone wishing to dive here was forced to reconsider their accommodation possibilities. While surfing the net, we uncovered the unusual option of staying on a now converted oil-rig platform named Sea Venture, situated just off the Island of Mabul.

Our time in Tawau was also too brief but after a comfortable night in a hotel, we were met promptly  at 06.30 am the next morning for our transfer to the rig. Although the rig is only 1km from the Island of Mabul, it looms large on the horizon. If you have ever wondered how you actually board an oil rig, its simple, you hope on a platform that sits slightly under the surface of the water and ascend 'lift style'. What a fantastic way to board this stationary vessel and what an even better way in reverse to begin your dive on their 'in-house' reef!

As you might imagine for a home originally designed for oil-rig workers, things are a little on the basic and cramped side, but we found everything adequate for our needs; with the terrific plus side that the food was fantastic. But we were here to dive and with unlimited dives available, that is exactly what we did!.

This was a big contrast to the accessibility and straightforwardness of Perhentian. Sipadan is actually a mushroom shaped atoll rising seven hundreds metres from the deep sea floor. It is this contrast that create both the technicality of the dives and the environment for the plethora of marine life that you are likely to see.

Sipadan may not be the best arena for beginners to learn their craft: there are many more suited sites for that in Malaysia; but if you are comfortable with your skill levels, then this is definitely the place to test them. Currents can be quite strong and the amazing visibility demands careful checking of gauges and the speed of descents. As a dive experience, it is hard to imagine anything better.

Everything that we had ever  hoped to see in this part of the world seemed to be here - in abundance. Whether it was swirls of almost menacing Barracudas or the eerie silhouette of sharks gracefully passing overhead, there were so many moments that had you wanting to shout with exaltation. Only to realize the impossibility of any sort of shouting at forty metres plus! For Nudibranch (a brightly colored reef worm) freaks like me, this was a good as it gets. The only problem, keeping an eye on available camera memory as well as dive gauges! An underwater housing for your digital camera is highly recommended.

Far too quickly our two night/three day experience reach its end. But both Nicky and I knew that this, along with so many of our underwater experiences in Malaysia, had been memorable enough to guarantee our return. Soon!!

Operator: Pulau Sipadan Resort & Tours Sdn Bhd