Two Coasts: Sipadan and Lankayan

This package suits couples and photographers who want variety without changing hotels every 3 days. It gives you enough time to settle into a rhythm at two excellent resorts. You need at least 12 days to make the logistics work without rushing. You will find Lankayan a completely different proposition if you have already dived Sipadan on a previous trip. It is much quieter underwater and focuses on tiny details rather than schooling sharks.

The Celebes Sea provides the big encounters. You base yourself at a premium resort off Mabul or Kapalai. You can also choose the luxury over-water villas at Mabul Water Bungalows. These properties sit over the water and put you 15 minutes by boat from Sipadan. Sabah Parks issues 254 Sipadan permits a day. You can secure a guaranteed Sipadan permit on this trip. The mechanism is straightforward: a guaranteed Sipadan permit comes with the right combination of resort and dive package along with a minimum number of nights. Which dates can be guaranteed depends on the resort you choose. The team steers you to the right option.

A typical Sipadan day involves an early start. You head out from early morning until the afternoon to drift along the walls. Sipadan rises 600 metres from the seabed on an extinct volcanic seamount. The marine park enforces an Advanced Open Water minimum for all divers. The resident chevron barracuda school often forms a column at Barracuda Point. You see green and hawksbill turtles on almost every dive.

Your non-permit days are spent around Mabul and Kapalai. This is dedicated muck diving on sandy slopes and artificial reefs. You look for blue-ringed octopus and flamboyant cuttlefish. The resorts run dusk dives to watch mandarinfish mate over the shallow coral. Night dives happen directly off the resort jetties.

Barracuda Point

Skill level: Advanced Open Water This is the dive most people come to Sipadan for. The resident school of chevron barracuda tightens into a column above the wall when the current runs. You drift along the steep limestone drop-off looking for grey reef sharks and bigeye trevally before turning into the channel. Be sure to stay level with the guide so you do not drop below the permitted depth limits.

You leave Semporna and head 90 minutes offshore from Sandakan into the Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (SIMCA). Lankayan Island Dive Resort is the only property here. It has 25 chalets split between the beach and the water. It operates as a peaceful eco-resort rather than a busy diving hub.

The marine area surrounding Lankayan underwent a radical transformation when SIMCA was officially gazetted as a 46,317-hectare marine protected area. The non-profit organisation Reef Guardian manages the sanctuary and enforces a strict no-take policy. High-speed sea patrols staffed by Honorary Wildlife Wardens enforce the rules. This private-public conservation model is funded by a daily conservation fee levied on all resort guests. In May 2022 SIMCA became the first marine site in Malaysia to achieve IUCN Green List status.

The diving here is shallow and heavily focused on macro subjects. There is no wall and there are no deep currents. You dive on patch reefs and a series of artificial wrecks resting between 15 and 25 metres. The benthic topography of the Sulu Sea continental shelf provides limited natural verticality so Reef Guardian sank vessels to foster biodiversity.

The Lankayan Wreck and the Mosquito Wreck attract massive schools of jacks and yellow sea perch. Look closely around the wrecks for painted frogfish and ornate ghost pipefish. Turtles nest on the beach all year. The resort works with Reef Guardian to protect the eggs in hatcheries. The ecological dividends of this funding are staggering. Sea turtle nesting on Lankayan has surged from roughly one hundred nests in 2004 to over eight hundred nests in 2021. The Sulu Sea also acts as a migratory corridor. Whale sharks pass through between March and September and are seen occasionally.

Lankayan Wreck

Skill level: Advanced Beginner | Depth range: 15–24m This confiscated fishing vessel was scuttled to create an artificial reef. It sits upright and hosts giant groupers deep within the deteriorating hull. The wooden hull attracts yellow sea perch and bamboo sharks. Seasonal whale sharks are occasionally seen in the blue water above the wreck between March and September. Be sure to practise careful buoyancy to avoid stirring up the silty bottom.

Jawfish Lair

Skill level: Open Water | Depth range: 15–28m An intact hard coral garden tapering down to a flat sandy floor. The signature species here is the yellow jawfish which builds intricate burrows in the sand. Photographers often find mimic octopus and leopard sharks resting on the deeper flats. Be sure to approach the sand slowly so the jawfish do not retreat into their holes.

The Semporna islands use Tawau airport. Lankayan uses Sandakan airport. You can fly between the two towns via Kota Kinabalu. You fly from Tawau up to Kota Kinabalu and catch a connecting flight across to Sandakan.

The boat to Lankayan leaves Sandakan at 10:00. This strict departure makes a mainland transit night the practical choice. You need to overnight on the mainland. Most guests spend that transit night in Sepilok to see the orangutans before heading to the jetty the next morning.

You can run this itinerary in either direction. Starting with the deeper dives at Sipadan and ending with the relaxing shallow reefs at Lankayan is popular.

• Days 1 to 5: Arrive in Tawau and transfer 70 to 90 minutes by road to Semporna. Take the boat to Mabul or Kapalai. Spend the next 4 days diving Sipadan and the local macro sites. From Mabul and Kapalai a Sipadan permit day gives 3 dives.
• Day 6: Your final diving day in Semporna. You must finish your last dive 24 hours before your flight.
• Day 7: Take the boat back to Semporna and transfer to Tawau. Fly to Sandakan. Spend the night at a nature lodge in Sepilok.
• Days 8 to 12: Transfer to the Sandakan jetty for the 10:00 boat to Lankayan. Settle into the resort's daily boat-diving rhythm. Explore the wrecks and the house reef.
• Day 13: A morning dive on the house reef timed to leave a full 24 hours before your flight on day 14. You spend the afternoon off-gassing and watching for turtles on the beach.
• Day 14: The boat leaves Lankayan at 07:00. You reach Sandakan in time for flights departing after 11:00.

This package provides the practical skeleton for the entire trip.

The 24-hour no-fly rule applies to both ends of the trip. You finish your diving there on day six at least 24 hours before your flight if you start at Lankayan. You then take the 07:00 boat to Sandakan on day seven and fly to Tawau. The timing usually allows you to reach Semporna in time for the afternoon boat to Mabul. This order can save you a transit night on the mainland if the flights fit the resort's boat schedule.

You face the strict 10:00 Lankayan boat departure when you arrive in Sandakan if you start in Semporna. Your flight needs to reach Sandakan before 09:00 to connect with the boat. You have to spend a night on the mainland. Many people prefer this order anyway so they can rest and see the Sepilok wildlife before the second week of diving.

You can combine both coasts from March to December because Lankayan closes annually in January and February. The best visibility on the east coast 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 stays between 26 °C and 30 °C.

Sipadan Island is closed to all visitors every November to allow the reefs to recover. Mabul, Kapalai and Lankayan remain open. You can still book this two-coast trip in November by replacing Sipadan with extra days exploring the Semporna macro sites.

You should aim for March to September for Lankayan's whale-shark season. Green turtles nest on the island throughout the year. The peak hatching months fall between June and September.

Sipadan Classic · Lankayan · Combine with Borneo · Sabah Grand Dive Tour · When to dive Sabah

Send the team your preferred dates along with the names of everyone coming and their certification levels. The team comes back with an itinerary showing what can be arranged for the Semporna and Lankayan legs. You can then review the flight connections and ask for any adjustments.