Over-water resort off Mabul
Sipadan Water Village
A sprawling village of timber chalets on ironwood stilts built over the Celebes Sea. Couples and serious divers choose it for the traditional architecture and the house reef located directly under the dive centre.
Highlights
- Over-water resort built on ironwood stilts on the sheltered eastern side of Mabul
- Traditional Bajau-style timber chalets featuring private sun decks
- Unlimited unguided house-reef diving from the dive centre between 06:00 and 18:00
- Boat trips to Sipadan take 20 to 25 minutes
- Dusk and night diving available straight from the resort's own structure
- A guaranteed Sipadan permit is possible on longer dive packages
About Sipadan Water Village
Sipadan Water Village is true to its name. It is a sprawling property of timber chalets raised on ironwood stilts over the sea off Mabul. The resort is built in the traditional style of the Bajau communities on the sheltered side of the island away from the main village. The house reef is directly under the boardwalks. The dive centre is a short walk along them and Sipadan is 20 to 25 minutes away by boat.
There are two things to know up front to decide if this is the right place for you. The chalets have large private sun decks over the water but they do not have private steps into the sea. You enter the water from the central dive centre. The rooms are cooled by ceiling fans and the sea breeze rather than air conditioning to keep the traditional island feel alive.
Why Sipadan Water Village
The resort offers a completely different atmosphere from the modern concrete hotels on the mainland. The entire property is suspended over the Celebes Sea on dense Bornean ironwood pilings. It sits on the eastern side of Mabul. This puts a physical buffer between the guest chalets and the busy main settlement on the island. You get peace on the sheltered side.
The primary reason divers stay here is the immediate access to the reef. The resort structure acts as a massive artificial reef. Juvenile batfish and cephalopods hunt among the wooden stilts. You can stand on the floral boardwalks and look straight down into clear water.
The chalets
The accommodation ranges from Standard cottages to the massive Grand Deluxe units. Recent renovations have reduced the working capacity to allow for upgrades. Every chalet features a private sun deck over the sea. The architecture relies on traditional pitched roofs and wooden louvres to manage the tropical heat. The structures are constructed entirely from Belian wood. Belian is an extremely dense Bornean ironwood.
The Standard chalets offer about 66 m² of space. The Deluxe chalets offer more space with ceiling fans and sea breezes for cooling. The Grand Deluxe cottage offers about 121 m² of living space complete with dual vanities, a walk-in wardrobe and a balcony hot tub.
The resort restricts Wi-Fi to the main public lobby. There are no in-room televisions. The rooms give you a quiet break from screens. Electric buggies run up and down the wooden walkways all day. Be sure to ask for a buggy ride to transport your heavy dive gear to the centre.
You need to pack earplugs if you are a light sleeper. The sound of the tide slapping against the stilts at high water is loud. The resort is built low over a living tropical environment so occasional wildlife like sea snakes or rodents do appear on the walkways at night.
Dining and the Bajau seafood market
The resort operates on a strict full-board basis. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served buffet style in a large open-air dining hall. The rotating menu covers traditional Malaysian, other Asian and standard continental dishes. The kitchen adheres strictly to Halal standards so no pork is served on the premises. The food provides sustaining fuel for active divers.
Carbonated sodas, fresh juices and alcoholic beverages carry an extra charge. The resort charges corkage if you bring your own alcohol or sodas from the mainland.
The defining culinary feature happens outside the dining room. Local stateless Bajau fishermen row small wooden canoes directly beneath the water bungalow balconies to sell fresh seafood. Guests buy fresh crab, shrimp and abalone straight from the boats. The resort kitchen will process and cook this seafood for a separate fee.
The house reef and the dive centre
A PADI dive centre forms the heart of the resort. It houses five Bauer compressors and an inventory of over 300 aluminium tanks fitted with standard K-valves. Underwater photographers have access to dedicated lockable camera rooms equipped with charging stations. You can service your housing right at the pier.
Diving on the local sites runs from custom-built fibreglass boats powered by Yamaha engines designed for the choppy surface conditions of the Celebes Sea. The boats carry up to 12 divers on these local Mabul trips. With a full boat on a drift dive you must be comfortable managing your own buoyancy in the current. Nitrox is available at a surcharge.
Unlimited unguided house-reef diving is included in your package between 6am and 6pm. You stride straight off the dive centre steps to access the reef. Night diving happens from the resort's own structure. Read more about night diving in Semporna. You can buddy up for a shore night dive or book a guided dusk dive to look for the mandarinfish Synchiropus splendidus.
Local dive sites
Paradise 1
Skill level: All levels | Depth range: 5–15 m
This site sits roughly 300 m from the resort jetty. The Paradise 1 and 2 reefs lie near the resort house reef. It features a sandy bottom covered in small coral blocks. You look for frogfish Antennarius spp. and blue-ringed octopus Hapalochlaena spp. hiding in the rubble. It is a gentle dive perfect for a self-guided afternoon session.
Paradise 2
Skill level: All levels | Depth range: 5–21 m
This site is located right next to the resort footprint. It is the prime spot for dusk dives. You hover above the sand at sunset to look for resident mandarinfish emerging from the branching corals to mate. Crocodilefish Cymbacephalus beauforti rest on the sand nearby.
Diving Sipadan from the Water Village
Sipadan is Malaysia's only oceanic island. It rises roughly 600 m from the seabed on an extinct volcanic seamount. The boat ride from the resort takes 20 to 25 minutes.
Sabah Parks issues 254 Sipadan permits a day. Every diver needs a permit issued in their name to step on the boat. You also need an Advanced Open Water certification or equivalent to dive the island. The park is closed to all visitors every November to allow the reefs to rest.
The resort arranges Sipadan permits and sells Sipadan-inclusive packages. A guaranteed Sipadan permit is possible when you book the right luxury over-water dive package with a minimum number of nights. Which dates can be guaranteed depends entirely on the resort allocation. If you book a shorter stay you go onto a waitlist. The team steers you toward the best package to secure your days. The resort posts the next day's dive lists on a whiteboard at 7pm.
You dive famous sites looking for resident green turtles Chelonia mydas and hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata. The resident chevron barracuda Sphyraena qenie school often forms a tornado above the wall. Herds of bumphead parrotfish Bolbometopon muricatum feed in the shallows most mornings. You can also spot grey reef sharks Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos and whitetip reef sharks Triaenodon obesus patrolling the drop-offs.
A typical day
You wake up to the sound of the sea flowing under your floorboards. Breakfast is an open-air buffet in the main dining hall. You take a short walk or a buggy ride down the boardwalk to the dive centre.
The morning involves 2 boat dives. You might head to Kapalai to look for macro life or explore the sloping reefs around Mabul. The boats return to the resort for lunch. The buffet serves a rotating mix of Malaysian and Asian dishes.
You head out for a third boat dive in the early afternoon. When you return you can grab a fresh tank for a late-afternoon shore dive on the house reef. After a hot shower you head to the dive centre to check the 7pm whiteboard for tomorrow's boat roster. Dinner follows in the main hall.
What guests say
Chinese-speaking guests praise the traditional architecture and the sheer volume of marine life seen directly from the sun decks. The buggy service receives excellent marks for being highly responsive. The open-air buffet focuses heavily on sustaining active divers with filling meals. The kitchen adheres strictly to Halal standards. Guests love buying fresh seafood from local Bajau fishermen who paddle their wooden canoes right beneath the balconies. The resort kitchen processes this seafood for a standardised fee.
Guests expecting a modern finish often find the timber construction quite rustic. The larger rooms are cooled by ceiling fans and the sea breeze; in the hottest months the deck is the place to be in the afternoon. With the right package and minimum stay the resort guarantees a Sipadan permit; ask about your dates when you enquire.
Who it suits and who should look elsewhere
Couples wanting traditional over-water living choose this resort. It suits serious divers needing a large dive centre and immediate access to Mabul's muck diving. Photographers appreciate the dedicated camera rooms.
If you want a sandy beach, Mataking is the one. Mataking Island Resort offers expansive beaches and a sea-turtle hatchery. If you want modern air-conditioned luxury you should look at Mabul Water Bungalows. Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort is another premium over-water alternative built entirely on a sandbank.
Getting there
Tawau (TWU) is the arrival point. The road transfer from Tawau to Semporna takes 70 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. The speedboat ride from Semporna to the resort takes 30 to 45 minutes depending on the tide. See the full guide on getting there.
Island boats do not run after dark. If you arrive late you need to overnight in Tawau or Semporna. You must leave a 24-hour no-fly interval after your last dive before flying out of Tawau.
Nearby stays
Mabul Water Bungalows
Dive Sipadan and Mabul's muck sites from a premium over-water resort.
More details →
Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort
Stay in a stilted water chalet on the Kapalai sandbank.
More details →
Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART)
A diver-focused beach resort on Mabul Island.
More details →
Mataking Island Resort
A private island resort forty minutes from Semporna featuring a turtle hatchery, a spa, gentle house reefs and Sipadan access.
More details →
Mabul
Mabul is the main island base for Sipadan.
More details →Send your dates along with the names of everyone coming and your certification levels. The team comes back with the options that can be arranged for your trip.