So, you have decided to dive in Sipadan but you don’t know where to start?
Yes, hop on board. I’ve been there. When I made up my mind to explore Sipadan, I, like any other normal person, typed in “Sipadan” in google and for some reason, the tour operators for Sipadan are all very highly internet savvy!!
They own all sorts of Sipadan related domain names and blogs and use content as a front to sell their packages.
While I am not saying that it’s not good, it’s just very confusing for the end reader – you and me. So, I decided to break it down into simple blocks here.
1) You want to dive at Sipadan, you have 3 accommodation choices:
a) Stay at Kapalai Island (10 mins boat ride from Sipadan)
b) Stay at Mabul Island (10 mins boat ride from Sipadan)
c) Stay at Semporna (1 hour boat ride from Sipadan)
2) There are no mid-range accommodations. Just low or high.
Low-range accommodations are found in Mabul and Semporna. High-range ones are found on Mabul and Kapalai.
3) There are many dive operators…
- Billabong Scuba
- Scuba Junkie
- Seaventures Dive Rig
- Singamata
- Sipadan Scuba
- Sipadan.com
- Uncle Chang
4) Check out reviews on wikipedia, check out the dive operator’s facebook fanpages/accounts, see what others say.
5) To get to Sipadan from Singapore, here’s what we’re going to do:
SG – KUL (transit 3 hours) – Tawau – Semporna – Mabul
6) Your dive operator can easily arrange taxi and boat transport for the Tawau – Semporna and the Semporna – Mabul leg of your journey.
It took us 12 hours of transit time from SG to Mabul Island. Long, tiring but definitely worth it! :) Turns out, we decided to go with Uncle Chang’s at Mabul Island. We had like more than 16 dives with them and enjoyed all their instructors and dive masters. The food & lodging was nothing to shout about but the company, and the dives were everything we were there for. :) Thank you Uncle Chang! Read this post of mine for more info on pricing! :)
