Sipadan

Sipadan is Malaysia's only oceanic island. It rises about 600 m from the Celebes Sea floor on an extinct volcano. The sheer drop means open-ocean species swim right up to the shallow reef flat. Jacques Cousteau called the island "an untouched piece of art" in his 1989 film "Borneo: The Ghost of the Sea Turtle". The location became famous very quickly.

The island has a long history of protection. It was a bird sanctuary as early as 1933 under the colonial government of North Borneo. The modern era of scuba diving began in the 1980s. Following a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Malaysia the government ordered all dive resorts off the island by 31 December 2004 to protect the reef.

Nobody stays on the island today. A Sabah Parks ranger station is the only facility on the island. The surrounding waters were gazetted as Sipadan Island Park in 2009 under the Sabah Parks Enactment 1984. The protected area expanded in 2015 to 16,860 ha. You arrive by boat from your resort in the morning and return in the afternoon. All diving is by boat. There are no shore entries.

The rules for diving at Sipadan Island are strict. They exist to protect the environment and keep divers safe. Be sure to read travel information for the wider region before planning your logistics.

The certificate rule: You must hold an Advanced Open Water certificate or equivalent to dive Sipadan. Sabah Parks introduced this rule in October 2022. Sipadan is not the place to learn.

The permit system: Sabah Parks issues 254 Sipadan permits a day. These are shared unequally among 42 registered operators. The permits are issued in your name and tied to your passport number. Rangers check your passport against the manifest at the jetty. You cannot transfer or resell a permit. The guide to Sipadan permits explains how to secure your dates.

Diving hours: Diving takes place from early morning until the afternoon. Operators run to their own schedules depending on the tide and sea conditions. There is no night diving on Sipadan.

Dives per day: A Sipadan permit day gives you 3 dives if you stay on Mabul or Kapalai or aboard the Celebes Explorer. You typically do two in the morning and one after lunch. From Mataking or Pom Pom the longer boat run means 2 dives. The timing depends on your operator's schedule as well as the tide and the sea. For a few years the limit was 2 dives a day.

The November closure: Sipadan is closed to all visitors every November. It reopens on 1 December. Resorts on Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking and Pom Pom stay open during this month.

You can go diving all year. The best visibility runs from March to October. Mid-February to mid-November is good diving with softer visibility at the ends. Mid-November to mid-February is a mix of cloud, rain and sun. The water temperature sits between 26 and 30 °C year-round. Remember that Sipadan itself is closed all November. See the full guide on when to dive Sabah for regional details.

The island supports a large population of resident green turtles and hawksbill turtles. You often see them feeding in the shallows or resting on the ledges. The resident chevron barracuda school is a major draw. The fish often form a tight column when the currents pick up. You often see herds of bumphead parrotfish in the shallows most reliably at dawn.

Patrols of grey reef sharks and whitetip reef sharks cruise the walls. Bigeye trevally schools hang in the blue water. There are occasional deep reports of scalloped hammerhead schools. You might also see thresher sharks or occasional mantas at South Point.

Sipadan has 13 named dive sites. The boats circle the island to find the best conditions on the day.

Barracuda Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m Barracuda Point is the dive most people come to Sipadan for. It sits on the northeast corner of the island. The site begins as a sheer wall before it levels out into a sloping plateau. The resident school of chevron barracuda tolerates divers and tightens into a column when the current runs. You hang in the current to watch it turn. Bumphead parrotfish herds are highly active here on the first dive of the morning. The currents can be severe and down-currents are a known factor. You need instinctual buoyancy control to manage the drift.

The Drop-Off

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m The Drop-Off sits straight off the northern beach next to the old jetty structure. The wall drops a sheer 600 m straight down into the ocean. You swim along the vertical face in a gentle drift. Resident green and hawksbill turtles use the wall like a vertical highway. Whitetip reef sharks rest on the ledges. The navigation is straightforward because you keep the wall on one shoulder. Be sure to watch your depth gauge closely. The vertical nature of the wall makes it easy to descend further than you intend.

Turtle Cavern

Skill level: Overhead Trained Only | Ave depth: 18 m | Max depth: 23 m This large cavern opens directly off the vertical wall east of the jetty. The entrance is a large bell-shaped tunnel at about 18 to 20 m. It leads downward into a massive outer chamber. The cavern is famous for the skeletal remains of turtles. They became disoriented in the dark and drowned. You must hold overhead-environment certification and enter with a trained local guide. Good buoyancy control is essential to avoid kicking up silt from the floor.

Turtle Tomb

Skill level: Technical/Overhead Trained Only | Ave depth: 17 m | Max depth: 23 m Turtle Tomb connects via a tunnel from the back of the outer Turtle Cavern. This is a true complex cave system with branching side tunnels. The floor is covered in a thick layer of white sand. This site is exclusively for fully certified cave divers operating with specialised equipment. Standard recreational divers are strictly prohibited from entering the Tomb.

South Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 20 m | Max depth: 40 m South Point anchors the southernmost tip of the island. A notable ledge at 20 m abruptly ends in a vertical wall dropping into the open ocean. The currents are often strong. This site is the primary location for spotting deep-water pelagics. Scalloped hammerheads are occasional visitors to the deep thermoclines at dawn. Manta rays and large aggregations of grey reef sharks also appear here. You need the discipline to manage blue-water ascents and deep profiles.

Hanging Gardens

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m Located on the southwestern wall Hanging Gardens is heavily terraced with overhangs and deep crevices. It earns its name from the dense curtains of pastel soft corals and massive barrel sponges. You often drift gently past heavy turtle traffic and whitetip reef sharks. The constant visual reference of the wall makes buoyancy control relatively straightforward. Be sure to maintain good fin control so you avoid touching the fragile protruding corals.

West Ridge

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 18 m | Max depth: 40 m This site covers the western face of the island with a deep dramatic wall structure. You often see deep-water black coral bushes alongside large resident groupers and Napoleon wrasse. Turtles actively feed on the reef structure here. The western exposure means the afternoon sun beautifully illuminates the wall. The site dictates a deeper average profile than the eastern sites so watch your gas consumption closely.

Lobster Lair

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 25 m | Max depth: 40 m Deep vertical cracks and severe structural crevices define this northwestern wall site. Large spiny lobsters occupy the deep fractures. The site also yields excellent macro opportunities. You can spot frogfish, pipefish and leaf scorpionfish. The moderate currents require active finning to investigate the crevices. Exercise extreme caution to avoid putting your hands into dark holes where moray eels might be resting.

Staghorn Crest

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 20 m | Max depth: 40 m This site begins as a shallow coral garden that rolls down to a flat plateau at 15 m. It then terminates in a steep drop-off. You drift across vast thickets of branching staghorn coral. Turtles rest heavily on the shelf. Reef sharks continuously patrol the edge of the drop-off. The branching corals are fragile so strict horizontal trim is critical above the plateau.

Mid Reef

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m Mid Reef sits on the eastern perimeter. It is a gradual sloping reef that lacks the immediate verticality of the western walls. You find exceptional hard coral formations including massive table corals. The slope is teeming with smaller reef fish and dense populations of green turtles. The gradual slope and relaxed pace make it a forgiving dive when the northern points have severe tides.

Whitetip Avenue

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 20 m | Max depth: 40 m This steep terraced wall on the southeast side is decorated with large sea fans. It is the island's premier shark boulevard. Whitetip reef sharks rest on ledges and cruise the wall in small packs. Grey reef sharks are highly active deeper down. You also often see heavy turtle traffic. You need a disciplined deep profile to view the sharks so monitor your decompression limits strictly.

Coral Gardens

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 23 m Coral Gardens is located just south of Barracuda Point. The sheer wall crests into an expansive shallow hard-coral plateau. It offers one of the gentlest drifts on the island. You glide over continuous hard coral cover and dense clouds of anthias. Dozens of turtles use the shallows as dedicated cleaning stations. The direct midday sunlight maximises the colours of the shallow reef.

Turtle Patch

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 10 m | Max depth: 12 m Turtle Patch is a sunlit shallow reef plateau on the southeast corner. It is highly decorated with overlapping table corals. You often see a plenty of resting and grazing turtles. Whitetip sharks sleep openly on the sand patches. The shallow depth and lack of severe current make this the most physically relaxed dive on the island.

North Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 25 m | Max depth: 40 m The northernmost tip of the island features a deep current-swept wall. It acts as a primary receiving station for oceanic water. You often encounter pelagics including massive grey reef sharks and schooling jacks. The site demands aggressive drift management and blue-water comfort. The risk of being swept off the reef is real so reef hooks are often necessary. Hook onto dead rock only.

You cannot sleep on Sipadan. You stay at resorts on nearby islands and take a boat across for the day's diving.

Mabul and Kapalai are the closest bases. The boat ride from Mabul takes 15 to 25 minutes. From Kapalai the journey is about 15 minutes. These islands are dedicated dive hubs. Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort is a premium option stilted completely over the reef flat on the Ligitan reefs. There is no beach. Mabul Water Bungalows sits on the east side of Mabul. The standard water bungalows here have railed balconies but no direct sea access. Borneo Divers Mabul Resort offers a mid-range garden beach setting. Seaventures Dive Rig is a converted oil platform stationed off Mabul. A hydraulic lift lowers divers directly to the water.

Mataking and Pom Pom sit further north. Mataking Island Resort is a premium private island resort offering 63 rooms in 6 categories. It runs a sea-turtle hatchery and an underwater post office on the Mataking 1 wreck. The boat ride from Mataking to Sipadan takes about 80 minutes across the Alice Channel depending on the sea. This is a long run. The operators here offer two Sipadan dives to account for the distance. Pom Pom Island Resort is a quiet coral island about 45 minutes from Semporna.

The MV Celebes Explorer is the only licensed liveaboard operating at Sipadan. It holds 16 Sipadan permits a day. This matches the exact passenger capacity of the steel motor yacht. The boat runs year-round except November. Advanced Open Water is enforced and there is no night diving.

Tawau is the airport for Semporna. The road transfer from Tawau to Semporna takes 70 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. The boat transfer from Semporna to the islands takes 30 to 45 minutes depending on the tide. Boats do not run after dark.

Sipadan suits confident divers. The walls and strong currents require good buoyancy control. You need to manage your own depth and gas consumption carefully. Many guests book Sipadan classic packages to combine the deep walls with muck diving.

It is not suitable for beginners. You cannot learn to dive here. If you want to take a course you should base yourself in Kota Kinabalu or spend your time diving the shallow reefs around Mabul. Non-divers can visit Sipadan on a snorkel permit but they draw from the same daily allocation as divers. Families with non-divers often prefer Mataking or Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

• Mabul
• Kapalai
• Mataking Island
• Pom Pom
• Tun Sakaran Marine Park
• Lankayan

Send your dates, the names of everyone coming and your certification levels. The team comes back with what can be arranged for your group.