Advice for Kapalai or Mabul Dive Resorts

[AquaDiving1234]

Hi all,

I'm planning a dive trip to KK (sipadan, mabul, kapalai, etc) in March next year.
Any suggestions on which resorts will be good?
Especially resorts that have easier access to the "exclusive" Sipadan dive passes.
Am not picky with the standard, as long as its clean.
Will be planning to stay for 4-5 days.

Any other islands or places to stay besides those mentioned above?

Thanks for the recommendations.

Cheers..

 

[josh]

Hi all,

I'm planning a dive trip to KK (sipadan, mabul, kapalai, etc) in March next year.
Any suggestions on which resorts will be good?
Especially resorts that have easier access to the "exclusive" Sipadan dive passes.
Am not picky with the standard, as long as its clean.
Will be planning to stay for 4-5 days.

Any other islands or places to stay besides those mentioned above?

Thanks for the recommendations.

Cheers..

we stayed with these people:
http://www.borneodivers.info/

and dived sipidan, mabul and kapalai. Was happy with their service etc.

No recommendation on that particular web site, just picked it up on a search, so no idea if you can get better price etc, and I have no affiliation with the resort, just stayed and dived with them. they were pretty organized.

Only other piece of advice is, whoever you go with, make sure you book your sipidan passes early to avoid dissapointment.

 

[broadreach]

Am not picky with the standard

There is a wide variation in pricing.
If you are looking for the cheaper options you might want to consider
Uncle Chang on Mabul Island or
Scuba Junkies in Semporna
both cater more for the backpacker crowd and appear to be straight forward in regard to permits - basically if you book in advance you should be able to secure those.

Two comments about these operators:
1. both of these guys operate on a low budget and offer OK rental gear. Probably better if you have your own.
2. Personally I wasn't impressed with Scuba-Junkie's accommodations, but if you are going to stay in Semporna anyway you could stay at a different hotel and still dive with them.

If you need more pampering you might want to consider
Borneo Divers or
Sea Venture
or the super cool water bungalows at Sipadan Water Village

and then there is SMART which was bashed in previous threads about not being straight forward regarding permits.

I would think that by March most operators will adjust to the new system and make sure that their guests are informed of the situation.

Have a great trip!

 

[josh]

If you need more pampering you might want to consider
Borneo Divers or

oops. Just edited my post - it was Borne divers we dived with - and very happy we were with them. Sorry, old age.

 

[Bredman]

I haven't stayed anywhere else in the area, but I have to recommend against Kapalai. I was not impressed with their dive operation, as stated in my report further down in this forum. The accomodation was nice, but I'm sure you could find similar beauty somewhere else.

They also tend to have a lot of people there and therefore you compete with all of them for passes to dive the area's best site(sipadan). Not too sure what the new system is like, but I got 2/6 days at Sipadan when I was there in September. :depressed:

 

[Eskasi]

I have stayed at SWV 3 times and love it. I would certainly advise against large resorts that cater to many people as each resort has a quota for the number of divers that can go to Sipadan.

Also, don't pay up till the last minute in case the permit issue gets worse!

 

[xariatay]

There is a wide variation in pricing.
If you are looking for the cheaper options you might want to consider
Uncle Chang on Mabul Island or
Scuba Junkies in Semporna
both cater more for the backpacker crowd and appear to be straight forward in regard to permits - basically if you book in advance you should be able to secure those.

Hello broadreach, did u stay with Uncle Chang? How are the rooms?

 

[broadreach]

Hello broadreach, did u stay with Uncle Chang? How are the rooms?

I actually came back from a low-budget Sipadan trip today.
I have never stayed with Uncle Chang. I did stay with the Scuba-Junkies longhouse on Mabul last year and found it really basic and not very clean. I also hated their rooms in Semporna. Apparently they are building new accommodations on Mabul now.

As far as I'm concerned the best way to dive Sipadan/Mabul on a tight budget is to stay in Semporna either at the City Inn or at the nicer Lee's Resthouse (50 MYR/night) and go diving with Scuba Junkies. Their shop is chaotic at times but they keep good DM/divers ratio and manage the actual dive trips well. This way, by staying in grimy Semporna I also get to appreciate the beauty of the islands every diving day.

 

[AquaDiving1234]

Hi All,

Thanks for the recommendations and suggestions thus far.

Broadbeach,
How far are the City Inn and Lee's Resthouse from Scuba-Junkies?

 

[broadreach]

How far are the City Inn and Lee's Resthouse from Scuba-Junkies?

Roughly 15 minutes walking at a slow pace. If you use Google Earth you can find Scuba Junkies shop at 4°28'43.95"N 118°36'49.13"E, Lee's at 4°28'43.98"N 118°36'35.19"E and City Inn at 4°28'44.71"N 118°36'32.75"E

Scuba Junkies have lockers where you can hang/store your gear so you don't have to carry it back and forth from your room everyday.