Sipadan Diving Review

Scuba Diving in Sipadan is just outstanding. The fish life is teeming and you have the possibility to encounter everything you've ever dreamed of under the sea. Turtles and Reef Sharks are very common around the island. It is also possible to spot Leopard sharks, Grey sharks and even Hammerhead sharks if you are lucky! Manta rays are also flying around, however they are not as common. The waters around Sipadan reach as far down as 600 meters deeps and attract all the pelagic species. Check out this video to see how it looks like underwater!

For macro fans, there is also great varieties of nudibranchs, frog fishes, leaf fishes, pygmy seahorses, just name it!

The coral is pristine. The coral gardens are shallow and very colourful and will make your safety stop a special moment to enjoy. Deeper, you will find great sea gorgonians fans and barrel sponges along the steep walls. Sipadan is also a world major destination for underwater photography with great shot opportunities on every dive sites.

The island was first explored by Jacques-Yves Cousteau who described it: “I have seen other places like Sipadan… 45 years ago. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art.” You can watch its film! Crazy!

In this page you will find more detailed information about scuba diving in Sipadan.

Dive Summary

All dive sites are excellent so it is hard to choose! Let’s say the best spots are:

• Barracuda Point also in the Top 10 Dive Sites
• Coral Garden
• Hanging Gardens
• Sipidan Midreef
• South Point
• Staghorn Crest
• Turtle Cavern
• Turtle Patch
• Turtle Tomb
• Whitetip Avenue

How to dive Sipadan?

Diving rules are strict:

• Only 120 divers per day
• Obligatory diving permit
• No gloves policy
• No diving below 40 meters

On a typical diving week on Mabul or Kapalai, you will dive not more than four times in Sipadan. The rest of the dives will be on other dive sites.

They are many dive operators and the competition among them is strong. However prices are still high. Many diving resorts propose all inclusive packages that can be interesting.

When not diving around Sipadan you will still found excellent dive sites such as around the Island of Mabul and Kapalai especially for muck and wreck diving.

Best time to Dive in Sipadan

The Diving is excellent all year round.

• The best time runs from April to December with excellent sea conditions. April until early of June being the perfect time but this is also the High season and you should book your permit and your resort well in advance!
• From January to March, there can be heavy rainfall and therefore, the visibility can be reduced.

However the weather nowadays keep changing every year and it is really hard to predict the seasons in advance!

Credit

Scuba Diving conditions

The visibility ranges from 15 meters to 40 meters depending on the season and where you dive. Diving around Sipadan is mostly easy and current is not really an issue. However, on certain dives sites like the very popular Barracuda Point the current can be very strong. On this dive site you can spot the famous huge tornado of thousands of barracudas!

Scuba diving there is suitable for all divers but many sites are reserved to advanced divers. There are even dive sites reserved specifically to divemasters such as as the turtle cavern and turtle tomb dive sites. The caverns are located below the Island where you can see skeletons of turtles that couldn’t find their way out and drowned. Cave diving should be undertaken only by very experimented divers with special material.

Snorkelling in Sipadan

The snorkelling is excellent around the Island. The coral gardens are magnificent and very colourful. You can join a dive boat that will take you to the island for snorkelling. However as the number of seat is limited it is not always possible.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/azmanjumat/3343066735/

Fishes and Coral

Fishes

Amazing opportunities to spot all those fish you've every dreamed of: many species of Sharks including grey reef shark, leopards, and hammerheads, numerous turtles and pelagic fishes like dogtooth tuna, barracudas and giant trevallies. Whitetip reef sharks are very common and you can see dozens of them in a single dive!

You can also spot the humongous Bumphead parrotfishes and the giant gentle Manta ray!

Macro lovers won’t be disappointed either with many critters like frog fishes, leaf fishes and pygmy seahorses living in the small cracks along the steep walls.

Coral

Coral is also world class! You can find many varieties such as sea gorgonian fans, barrel sponges and very colourful soft coral. There is no sign of bleaching and coral is very healthy.

However on some very popular dive sites like Barracuda point, there is unfortunately lots of broken coral.

Travel Guide

Now that you know all about the underwater world, you might want to start planning your scuba holiday! Check out our Sipadan Travel Review for information about how to get there, activities and excursions, where to stay, and more.

Dive spots in Sipadan