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Sipadan Island

One of top dive sites in the world, known for hammerhead sharks and the barracuda tornado.

All Sipadan Island Experiences

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What other guests say

4.2

46 reviews

My visit to Kapalai was arranged by the resort management. Prior to my visit, I have visited Semporna several occasions, but this visit totally change my perception towards it. After 45 minutes travelling from it's own jetty in city, I was greeted with it's breathtaking surroundings . The quality of its facilities, food and services is top notch. The package of offered by the resort, makes travelling to kapalai an enjoyable one. Pickup from the airport directly to the island. Also the staffs make us feel safe throughout the journey. Not to mentioned all meals are being take care of. Drinking water, water heater and 24 hours electricity available throughout the stay. Definitely will visit Kapalai in times to come. Kudos to the management team

Low Chai Meng

If you are a diver, this has to be on your short list of places to go. Sipadan is one of the best spots in the world to dive and Mabul has unbelievable macro. The dive guides are the best and you can do a sunset or night dive on your own at the house reef. It's easy to navigate and is full of marine life (Mandarin fish come out during the sunset dive). At the time we visited, there was almost no one at the resort due to the virus situation. We had a private guide for all but two days and those two days only one other couple joined our boat. Usually the resort is full and most guests are Chinese. The room was spacious and comfortable. You have a lot of privacy from other bungalows. Great view from the balcony and we saw turtles and stingrays just beneath us. There is no TV but we didn't mind at all. If you need entertainment, make sure you bring a laptop with some movies. Staff was friendly and accommodating, everyone was friendly. Food was served mostly buffet style and was good but nothing spectacular. Dinner is cooked Malay style so beware of bones and food is often not much warmer than room temperature. Even so, we enjoyed the meals and always had more than enough food. We spent six nights at the resort and it was just about right. We dived Sipadan twice which was great but were equally impressed with the macro in Mabul. Definitely worth the price, especially if you get the entire resort to yourself like we did. If you come in the next few weeks, you are likely to have the same good fortune :)

Michael M, Kihei, Hawaii

First and foremost, this location is unparalleled. You are literally in the middle of the ocean (the only "land" is a sandbar at one end of the resort that is only visible at low tide). It's a diver's paradise - stay extra nights just for the opportunity to dive Sipadan more than one day. A few things to note - there is a very bizarre "Instagram" element here. People literally come over for a day or two for full on social media photo shoots. It's weird. Also, the food is good, but not great. As long as you don't expect fine dining, you'll be just fine. The restaurant never actually closes, so we would grab a bottle of wine and watch the sunset every day (and corner our favorite outdoor table in the process). There is a CRAZY vulture-like component to the dinner buffet. The dive team is awesome. We ended up doing our Advanced Open Water course here and had a blast. We stayed 7 nights, which gave us 3 days at Sipadan (worth every penny). Sipadan has a strict cap on divers / snorkelers - 120/day, and only in the mornings (you get three dives in, and the resort has breakfast for you between dives). The wildlife and coral is insane. Green sea turtles, bumphead parrotfish, MASSIVE schools of jack fish, reef sharks, lobsters...it's incredible.

Alexis D, Boston, Massachusetts

This is the third time I have been back SKDR and it was been interesting to see how it has grown and develop over the last decade or so. I love this place and if you are a diver this place is amazing. The diving is amongst the best. The dive centre is excellently run and the guides there (special shout out to Glenn) are super patient. They really put in extra effort to make sure you have a great time diving. There is no AC but there are ceiling fans and you can open the windows and doors for through-draught and it was more than sufficient for us. No TV - again no issue there as you can look over the balcony and watch the fish swim by - the best stress buster!! The only negative thing are the non-divers who go there for an instagram holiday for a couple of days and only at dinner time when there is an (unnecessary) bun-fight for food every evening from 7pm to 7:30pm. Just sit by, grab a drink and the staff are always willing to help you out re food if you wish / need. The chalets are spacious and very comfortable and every member of staff we came across was friendly and helpful. I will be back again and again.

dragonphoe18, London, United Kingdom

We stay in Kapalai for 6 days from 22~27Sep19 and having 18 amazing dive :) I would like to say Thank you with all these people: ~ Rooney quickly responded thousands of my questions :p ~ Alex guiding us during our testing dive ~ Gleen diving with us for 4 days and showed a lots of stuff for us; always checking the current and make sure our safely; showed the Mandarinfish dating moment to us at the house reef which is fantastic *\(^o^)/* ~ Dive Centre boys, they support us on all the diving equipments preparation ~ 3 funny diving teamas and their lovely wife (*^ω^*) We are so lucky as we can diving in Sipadan islands for 3 days especially the dive site at Barracuda Point. Kapalai is diver's paradise, we definitely will back again (*๓´╰╯`๓)♡

Sahoo^o^, Thailand

My girlfriend and I had originally planned to spend 2 nights, 3 days here, but we added an extra night. The transfer process was good and well organised, the hotel bus collected us from the airport in tawau and the boat across from Semporna takes just under an hour. As a a diver, it’s an exciting place to come to. The resort has a “house reef” which you dive on the day you arrive. They allow you to dive there without a guide if you’re experienced. You can see lots of fish just looking over the boardwalk near your room which is great. We dived in sipadan for one day. It is a good dive site but not sure it stands out as best in world, would say it is comparable to the gili islands in Bali. We also dived at mabul and Kapalai, they are good sites you can see plenty of turtles and reef sharks, but some great smaller creatures- frog fish, stonefish and scorpionfish. Lots of eels too. All equipment carried a separate charge for hire per day. They sort out your BCD and regulator before each dive but would recommend checking it yourself as my BCD had issues at the sipadan dive site- the connection leaked and I had to dive with a disconnected BCD for the whole of one of the dives. The divemasters were great at spotting the sea life but seem to be less bothered about safety. There are a lot of comments about it being a bit of a scrum for food. The resort mainly caters for Chinese tourists who come and mainly do snorkelling. At mealtimes it can be a bit cutthroat but in our experience the staff would make sure you didn’t miss out on the main parts of the meal - fish, shellfish etc. I thought the variety of food was great - but we aren’t really fussy eaters. The staff were very helpful and smily generally.

Jimmy K, Manchester, United Kingdom

Had a great experience staying in Kapalai. Room was spacious, very comfortable and had a great view. There’s no air conditioning in all rooms but you wouldn’t need one. Leave the windows open and the ocean breeze is so cooling. If security is a concern, don’t be. There’s Military personnel on guard on all corners of the resort. Food was above expectation. Not 5 star but as good as you can expect on a resort in the middle of the ocean. Buggy service available to send you to your rooms was a joy I never knew I needed. Best part: the diving was excellent. We may have been super lucky but at Sipadan we saw the famous schools of barracuda, jack fish, bumpheads; grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks and so many green turtles. All in one day. And we were allowed to dive in Sipadan for 2 days in 3 days diving. For an extra charge ofcourse. Slight negatives: Lots of mainland Chinese tourists. I’m sure was a huge culture shock to other western foreigners. Even we Malaysians got frustrated. Got soaked on the boat crossing from semporna. Going to Kapalai wasn’t a problem. Was worried of encountering the same on our way back. Thankfully the sea was calmer then.

Wai

Sipadan Island FAQs

Where are the best things to do in Sipadan Island?

Sipadan Island is one of the best dive spots in the world. To visit, you need a permit, which is limited to protect the reef, so trips are usually booked through dive operators in Mabul or Semporna.

The main activity is scuba diving: drift along the coral walls and spot turtles, reef sharks, barracuda, and schools of colourful fish. Snorkelling is also incredible over the shallower reefs. All trips are run by community-led operators who follow sustainable practices, so your visit helps protect the island while giving you an unforgettable underwater experience.

Where are the must-dos in Semporna?

Semporna is the gateway to some of the world’s best diving and island experiences. The must-dos are:

Island Hopping – Visit nearby islands like Mabul, Kapalai, and Mataking to snorkel over vibrant reefs, meet local fishing communities, and see stunning sandbanks.

Dive Trips – Explore Sipadan (with a permit) and nearby reefs to see turtles, reef sharks, and incredible coral diversity.

Snorkelling – Many islands have shallow reefs perfect for snorkelling and spotting colourful fish without diving.

Cultural Visits – Meet the Bajau Laut, the “sea nomads,” who have lived on boats and stilt houses for generations, learning about their way of life and supporting local communities.

Where are the must-dos in Malaysia?

We love anything outdoors and wildlife. For us, the top places for these experiences in Malaysia are:

Kinabatangan River - one of the best places in Borneo to spot wildlife - you can spot pygmy elephants and orangutans here in the wild (if you're lucky!)
Mabul Island - here you can dive at one of the best dive sites in the world - Sipadan!
Kuching - here you can see the last longhouses of the Bidayhuh and Iban tribes
Semmengoh Wildlife Centre - here you can do see semi-wild orangutans at one of the top ethical orangutan reserves
Mount Kinabalu - the most iconic hike in Malaysia, and one of the most beautiful climbs in Malaysia.

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