Dive sites of Sabah and Malaysia

Read the tables to see the topography and depth of each site at a glance. The tables list the required certification level and the marine life you are most likely to encounter. Follow the links to read dedicated guides for the major dive sites.

Sabah Parks issues 254 Sipadan permits a day. With the right resort, dive package and minimum stay your permit can be guaranteed; the dates depend on the resort you choose so read the permit guide to see how the system works. All diving happens from early morning until the afternoon with boat entries only. Advanced Open Water or equivalent is mandatory. Sipadan closes to all visitors every November to let the reef rest.

Barracuda Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m Located on the northeast corner of the island this site is the apex of Sipadan's high-energy drift diving. The resident chevron barracuda school often forms a vortex here. You can often see bigeye trevally and dawn herds of bumphead parrotfish. Currents run strong and down-currents are a factor where the wall meets the point.

The Drop-Off

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Max depth: 40 m Situated immediately off the northern beach this is a vertical wall dropping 600 m into the deep. Look for resident green and hawksbill turtles along the face. Whitetip reef sharks rest on ledges in the shallows. Buoyancy control is vital to avoid descending too deep.

Turtle Cavern

Skill level: Overhead-trained with a guide | Max depth: 23 m This is a large cavern opening directly off the vertical wall. The entrance is a bell-shaped tunnel leading to a massive outer chamber. The cavern holds the skeletal remains of turtles that became disoriented in the dark. Entry requires overhead training and a guide as well as excellent buoyancy control to avoid kicking up silt.

Turtle Tomb

Skill level: Technical / Cave | Max depth: 23 m Connecting to the back of the outer cavern this is a complex cave network with branching side tunnels and a thick white sand floor. Access is strictly for fully certified cave divers operating with specialised equipment. Standard recreational divers are entirely prohibited from entering the Tomb.

South Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m Anchoring the southernmost tip of Sipadan this site features a ledge at 20 m that drops into the open ocean. The deep thermoclines attract major apex predators. With luck you may encounter scalloped hammerheads at dawn. Divers must manage blue-water ascents and deep profiles.

Coral Gardens

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Max depth: 23 m Located near Barracuda Point this sheer wall crests into an expansive hard-coral plateau. The gentle currents make it a highly relaxing drift dive. You can explore near-continuous coral cover and look for turtles at the shallow cleaning stations.

Hanging Gardens

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Max depth: 40 m This steep wall on the southwestern side features deep undercut crevices heavily terraced with overhangs. It holds dense curtains of pastel soft corals and enormous purple gorgonian sea fans. Turtles traffic the wall heavily while nudibranchs hide in the soft coral branches.

West Ridge

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m Covering the western face of the island this deep wall offers excellent natural light in the afternoon. It holds black coral bushes and large resident groupers. Turtles actively feed on the reef structure alongside sweetlips and anemonefish.

Mid Reef

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Max depth: 40 m This reef on the eastern perimeter slopes gently into deeper water. It is a highly forgiving site with massive table corals and black corals. The slope teems with smaller reef fish and dense populations of green turtles.

Whitetip Avenue

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m This heavily terraced wall on the southeast side requires a disciplined deep profile. Whitetip reef sharks rest on ledges while grey reef sharks are highly active below 30 m. Heavy turtle traffic and occasional manta rays round out the pelagic encounters.

North Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m At the northernmost tip of the island oceanic currents sweep past this deep wall and draw in pelagic fish. You must manage aggressive drift conditions. Grey reef sharks and giant trevally often move through the current with occasional scalloped hammerheads deeper down.

Lobster Lair

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m Located on the western wall this site features deep vertical cracks and crevices cutting into the rock. Large spiny lobsters occupy the deep fractures. The site also yields macro opportunities to spot leaf scorpionfish and frogfish hiding in the structure.

Staghorn Crest

Skill level: Confident AOW | Max depth: 40 m Situated on the northwest side this site begins as an expansive coral garden that rolls down to a plateau at 15 m before terminating in a steep drop-off. You drift across vast thickets of branching staghorn coral sheltering dense populations of territorial damselfish and anthias. Reef sharks often patrol the edge of the drop-off.

Turtle Patch

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Max depth: 12 m Located on the southeast corner this sunlit shallow reef plateau is decorated with massive overlapping table corals. You can look for resident green and hawksbill turtles resting and grazing here. Whitetip sharks sleep openly on the sand patches while noisy parrotfish shoals move continuously through the corals.

Be sure to monitor your depth closely at Sipadan. The bottomless walls make it easy to drop deeper than intended while watching a shark pass by.

Mabul is the global centre of muck diving. Operators here run slow and deliberate hunts over sandy patches and coral rubble to find microscopic and highly camouflaged macro life. It is the perfect contrast to Sipadan's sweeping currents. Read the Mabul guide for resort details.

Mabul dive sites

Skill level: All levels Mabul's nearshore sites let you search for flamboyant cuttlefish and blue-ringed octopus. Paradise 1 sits roughly 300 m from the Sipadan Water Village jetty. The Seaventures Platform house reef sits directly under the platform legs and holds giant groupers in the sunken structures. You can reach Sipadan from Mabul in a 15–25-minute boat ride.

Kapalai is a sandbank on the Ligitan reefs with no land above water at high tide. The resort stands on stilts directly over the reef flat. Discover Kapalai diving to see how the house reef works.

Kapalai dive sites

Skill level: All levels The Kapalai House Reef drops from 5 m down to 18 m straight off the dive centre pier. Visibility around Mandarin Valley often reaches 15 to 30 m. The sand sites offer excellent opportunities to photograph ghost pipefish and frogfish.

Mataking, Pom Pom and Timba Timba have a rich variety of reefs outside the Tun Sakaran Marine Park. They offer a superb middle ground of colourful coral slope diving. You can enjoy colourful coral slopes with gentle currents. Explore Mataking or view Pom Pom for resort details.

The Shipwreck (Mataking 1)

Skill level: Intermediate | Max depth: 30 m This site features a 40-foot wooden cargo ship sunk in 2006 to serve as an artificial reef. A working mailbox sits on the wheelhouse. Divers can post special vacuum-sealed postcards underwater. The degrading hull attracts giant groupers and lionfish.

North Point (Alice Channel)

Skill level: Advanced | Max depth: 40 m Positioned at the northern tip of Mataking this reef shears off into the 100 m depths of the Alice Channel. It forces deep oceanic currents upward. Grey reef sharks and eagle rays ride the upwellings.

Garden of Eden

Skill level: All levels | Max depth: 30 m Situated on the eastern flanks of Mataking this site offers one of the most beautiful soft-coral slopes in the Celebes Sea. The gentle currents ensure a relaxed pace. You can look for sea turtles and moray eels with occasional eagle rays out in the blue water.

Lobster Lair (Mataking)

Skill level: Open Water | Max depth: 30 m Located on the southern side of the Mataking complex this textured reef features deep crevices and mature gorgonian sea fans. Spiny lobsters shelter in the shadowed micro-habitats. Below 20 m you can look for pygmy seahorses clinging to the gorgonians.

Pom Pom House Reef

Skill level: Beginner The waters in front of the Pom Pom Island Resort serve as a massive restoration zone managed by TRACC. You can explore the restoration work and look for nudibranchs and resident moray eels.

Lobster Wall (Pom Pom)

Skill level: Advanced | Max depth: 40 m This vertical drop-off is Pom Pom's premier drift dive. The wall is riddled with deep crevices and undercuts. Strong currents sweep you past spiny lobsters sheltering in the rock and pelagic fish schooling in the open water.

Mandarin Heaven

Skill level: All levels | Max depth: 15 m Situated on the gentler slopes near the Pom Pom resort areas this site features staghorn coral patches and rubble. Dusk diving is mandatory to witness the elaborate upward-spiralling mating rituals of the resident mandarinfish populations.

Timba Timba Reefs

Skill level: Beginner | Max depth: 10 m The gradual reef slopes extending outward from the Timba Timba sandbar offer a rich variety of corals. The eastern side provides excellent shallow-water habitats. You can observe green sea turtles grazing alongside regal angelfish and butterflyfish.

Stingray City

Skill level: Open Water | Max depth: 30 m Off Timba Timba's eastern reef this deeper sandy shelf attracts stingrays and cuttlefish. You can observe a resident school of stingrays gliding over the sand alongside enormous cuttlefish and coral trout.

Frog Fish Farm

Skill level: Beginner | Max depth: 15 m Located off the coast of Pandanan Island this site transitions from a shallow reef into a sandy bottom. The gentle currents make it an easy reef to explore. You can hunt for frogfish blending well into the rubble alongside jawfish and crabs.

Bohayan Reef

Skill level: All levels | Max depth: 25 m The fringing reefs of Bohayan drop into a sloping wall. It offers highly specialised macro diving. The primary draw is the pygmy seahorse often found on red gorgonian sea fans at approximately 17 m. You must move slowly and avoid excessive strobe flashes on these sensitive creatures.

Be sure to maintain flawless buoyancy around Pom Pom's house reef. The newly planted coral fragments are highly fragile and snap easily under careless fin strokes.

The Tun Sakaran Marine Park covers 8 islands. Operators run day trips here for island hopping and diving. Read about Tun Sakaran Marine Park for details on the viewpoint trail.

Tun Sakaran diving

Skill level: Beginner The reefs around Mantabuan and Sibuan are actively recovering from historic blast fishing. Active coral-frame restoration led by TRACC supports new growth. The shallow slopes provide excellent conditions for new divers and snorkellers to observe reef fish.

Lankayan is a private island resort sitting inside a marine conservation area in the Sulu Sea. It is reached via Sandakan and offers a quiet eco-resort atmosphere. Check the Lankayan guide for help planning your journey. The resort closes annually in January and February.

Lankayan dive sites

Skill level: Open Water The island features named wreck sites including the Lankayan Wrecks and the Mosquito Wreck. Two artificial-reef wrecks were sunk in November 2019 and August 2020. Whale sharks pass through between March and September and are seen occasionally.

Labuan offers four historic wrecks with verified identities. If you love wreck diving it makes a rewarding addition to your trip. Read the Labuan guide for the wreck history.

Labuan dive sites

Skill level: Advanced The 4 wrecks include the American Wreck (USS Salute), the Australian Wreck (SS De Klerk), the Cement Wreck (MV Tung Hwang) and the Blue Water Wreck (MV Mabini Padre).

Darvel Bay is an emerging diving destination near Lahad Datu. Explore Darvel Bay for details on this quiet frontier.

Darvel Bay dive sites

Skill level: Intermediate | Max depth: 24 m The Blue Ring Hole is a sunken coral depression dropping to 24 m. The Japanese Timber Wreck sits with its bow deep and its stern shallow. This orientation makes it accessible to most divers.

The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park sits just off the city. It is a convenient place to learn to dive. Check the Kota Kinabalu guide for local details.

Kota Kinabalu dive sites

Skill level: Beginner The park offers easy reef diving. Visibility drops during the monsoon and your guide can advise on local box-jellyfish conditions.

The rest of Malaysia offers exceptional diving. The team covers these areas in detail on their own destination pages.

Knowing your limits ensures a safe trip. Newly certified divers find ideal conditions at Mabul, Kapalai, the Pom Pom house reef and the Mataking slopes. These sites offer gentle currents and shallow depths.

Sipadan requires experience. Sabah Parks requires Advanced Open Water or equivalent to dive Sipadan. The bottomless walls and strong currents at sites like North Point and South Point demand instinctual buoyancy control.

If you want a huge variety of sites without spending hours on a boat you should base yourself at Mataking, Kapalai or the Seaventures rig. These operators offer expansive house reefs directly beneath your room or platform.

For a three-day trip choose the diving you most want to do. The best strategy is to stay at a Mabul or Kapalai resort. You can spend part of your stay diving the premier muck sites on their local reefs. Plan a Sipadan day around the permit dates available with your resort, dive package and minimum stay. This gives you the widest variety of diving in the shortest time.

• Sipadan
• Mabul
• Kapalai
• When to dive Sabah

Send your preferred travel dates, the names of everyone coming and their current certification levels. The team comes back with what can be arranged for your group. The team handles the resort bookings, the boat transfers and the permit allocations so you can focus on the diving.