Sipadan Liveaboard Week

Sabah Parks restricts access to protect the reef. Operators receive a fixed daily allocation. Large resorts spread their allocation across 80 or 90 guests. The liveaboard holds sixteen guaranteed Sipadan permits daily. The capacity is capped at 16 guests. You bypass the waitlists completely. Every full day on the boat includes a day's diving at Sipadan.

Sabah Parks issues 254 Sipadan permits a day. Large land-based resorts spread their permit allocations across more guests. This often requires four-to-six-night minimum stays for a single Sipadan visit if you stay on land.

A Sipadan permit day gives you 3 dives aboard the Celebes Explorer or from Mabul and Kapalai and two from Mataking or Pom Pom. The boat can add a dusk dive around Mabul or Kapalai after your Sipadan dives. Advanced Open Water certification is strictly enforced. The boat checks your certification cards before issuing the permit.

The original wooden vessel was retired. The current vessel is a 35 m steel motor yacht commissioned in October 2019. The boat operates year-round. The only exception is the mandatory November closure. Sipadan closes every November. Sixteen guests stay in eight air-conditioned cabins. Two double cabins sit on the main deck. These feature large sea-view windows. Six twin cabins occupy the lower deck. These feature standard marine portholes. Every cabin has an en-suite bathroom. Solo divers pay a solo supplement or opt for cabin sharing. The twin beds sit side-by-side. They are not triple bunk beds. They provide ample floor space and storage.

The upper deck functions as a dedicated relaxation zone. It features a spacious sun deck equipped with wooden chairs. Beach mattresses and loungers offer space for thermal recovery between deep wall dives.

The main deck serves as the central hub for passenger life. It houses a brightly lit saloon. This space serves as the dining room. An audio-visual room sits adjacent. You review your footage here. The sofa lounge offers a self-service mini-bar. You find complimentary water, coffee, tea and light snacks available 24 hours a day. The dive deck at the stern holds a Bauer Mariner filling station. You find twin hot-water platform showers here. The crew loads your gear into two 6.25 m moulded plastic speedboats. These tenders run you to the dive sites. They are powered by twin 40hp Yamaha outboard engines.

Be sure to charge your cameras in the saloon. Bring a soft bag for your camera housing between dives; rinse space on the deck is shared. Photographers often manage complex housing rigs on the saloon tables.

Trips begin and end in Semporna. The boat stays moored in the harbour on the first night. You meet at the office on the Semporna waterfront directly opposite the town's Starbucks at 15:00. After your documents are checked you board the speedboats at 15:30.

Four-night outline You board the boat in Semporna on a Friday. The first night is spent in port. Saturday gives you your first full day of diving. The tenders take you to Sipadan for the morning. You can add a dusk dive around Mabul after Sipadan. Sunday and Monday follow the same pattern. You disembark in Semporna early on Tuesday morning. Disembarkation typically occurs between 06:00 and 08:30 depending on where the boat sleeps.

Seven-night outline A full week starts on a Tuesday. You spend the first night in Semporna. Wednesday through Monday deliver six consecutive days of diving. You dive Sipadan every morning. Mabul and Kapalai offer dusk dives after Sipadan. The trip ends in Semporna the following Tuesday.

You dive Sipadan from early morning until the afternoon. The sites offer steep walls dropping into the deep. You also dive Mabul and Kapalai on arrival and departure days. You follow a divemaster on each dive.

Barracuda Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m This is the dive most people come to Sipadan for. The resident school of chevron barracuda (Sphyraena qenie) often tightens into a column above the wall. The current runs strong. Down-currents demand excellent gas management. Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) herds are most reliably seen across the reef at dawn. Grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) often patrol the blue water. You must anchor exclusively to dead rock if using reef hooks.

South Point

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 20 m | Max depth: 40 m The ledge here ends in a vertical drop. The current sweeps you along the wall. Grey reef sharks patrol the blue water. South Point is the main site to look for scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini). They are occasional visitors to the deep water in the early light. The shallow reef top is highly productive for macro sweeps.

The Drop-Off

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m The wall drops a sheer 600 m into the open ocean just off the beach. Turtles use the wall heavily. Whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus) often rest on the ledges. The navigation is straightforward. You keep the wall on one shoulder. Massive schools of batfish congregate in the shallows under the jetty structure.

Hanging Gardens

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 40 m This sheer vertical drop features ledges and deep undercut crevices. The wall holds dense curtains of pastel soft corals. You see massive purple gorgonian sea fans. Resident green turtles (Chelonia mydas) often pass along the wall. Standard wall-diving safety applies here. Divers must maintain excellent spatial awareness to ensure they do not accidentally touch the fragile soft corals.

West Ridge

Skill level: Confident AOW | Ave depth: 18 m | Max depth: 40 m This deep wall covers the western face of the island. The wall holds black coral bushes. Large resident groupers and Napoleon wrasse occupy the reef structure. The afternoon sun illuminates the wall beautifully.

Coral Gardens

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 15 m | Max depth: 23 m The wall crests into a shallow plateau. The current feels gentle. Turtles rest on the hard coral structures. The sunlight lights up the shallow reef. Dense clouds of anthias fill the water column. You must perfect your buoyancy during 5-metre safety stops to avoid crushing the coral structures.

Turtle Patch

Skill level: Newly Qualified AOW | Ave depth: 5 m | Max depth: 12 m This shallow reef plateau holds overlapping table corals. Resident green and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) often rest here in large numbers. Whitetip sharks sleep on the sand patches. The shallow depth allows long bottom times.

Arrival and departure days involve diving around Mabul and Kapalai. Mabul offers excellent muck diving. This provides a stark contrast to Sipadan's pelagic action. You look for flamboyant cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) and ghost pipefish (Solenostomus spp.) in the shallows. You might find rare frogfish (Antennarius spp.) hiding in the structure.

Packages include shared land transfers from Tawau Airport. Semporna jetty fees are covered. Sipadan permits are included. The boat provides standard gear excluding computers and torches. You eat full board from an Asian buffet. The menu leans heavily toward authentic Asian and local Malaysian cuisine. It features a mix of meats and vegetables. The kitchen is strictly pork-free.

Nitrox is available aboard the liveaboard. You dive on standard 12-litre aluminium tanks. Night boat trips do not run. The boat schedules dusk dives rather than night dives. You typically enter the water between 16:30 and 17:00. These sunset dives give you a chance to observe the mating rituals of mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) at Kapalai.

Read the travel information for details on flights and what to pack.

Deciding between a resort or liveaboard comes down to your priorities. The liveaboard is a functional dive base. It suits divers wanting the maximum Sipadan time. You spend embarkation night in a working harbour. Choose a resort if you want a beach. Choose a resort if you want unlimited house-reef diving. Resort diving offers comfortable over-water bungalows and high-end dining. The liveaboard is a working dive boat: simple cabins, an Asian buffet and every full day at Sipadan.

You can dive 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. Sipadan is closed every November. Water temperatures sit at 26 to 30 °C year-round.

Book early to secure your spot. Peak periods like July and August fill up many months ahead. Chinese New Year requires early planning.

• MV Celebes Explorer: The only licensed liveaboard
• Sipadan Classic: Resort packages for Sipadan
• Resort or liveaboard: How to choose your base
• Groups & Charters: Private boats and bespoke trips
• Sipadan: Malaysia's only oceanic island

Send the team your travel dates. Let them know how many people are coming. Include your current certification levels. The team comes back with what can be arranged.