plc
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I was with SMART and I had to carry just fins and mask to the boat
I believe thats the standard procedure for all the resorts in Mabul
Borneo Divers vs. SMART vs.SWV
- Thread starter Bunnyhon
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I dived with Borneo Diver last year.
They have small speedboats and usually only load about 4-7 divers and one DM each.
The boats are quite spacious, the gears are located in the front and passengers sit behind. Backroll is the kind of entry they use.
They have one gear center near the pier and every morning you can take your gear to the boat or they will take it and gear up for you. Morning dives are around eight, Sipadan dive sites, then you can have your surface interval at Sipadan Island, continue with second dive around 11, then head to the Mabul resort for lunch.
Around 3 or 4 o'clock is afternoon dives at Mabul or Kapalai nearby, night dives can be arranged.
Their service is excellent and the food is great. The rooms are ok, they have super single beds, sofa bed and private decks. They are not particular about your stay, if the resort is not full, they'll let you have one room although you pay as twin sharing.
Their service is excellent and the food is great. Love them.
They have small speedboats and usually only load about 4-7 divers and one DM each.
The boats are quite spacious, the gears are located in the front and passengers sit behind. Backroll is the kind of entry they use.
They have one gear center near the pier and every morning you can take your gear to the boat or they will take it and gear up for you. Morning dives are around eight, Sipadan dive sites, then you can have your surface interval at Sipadan Island, continue with second dive around 11, then head to the Mabul resort for lunch.
Around 3 or 4 o'clock is afternoon dives at Mabul or Kapalai nearby, night dives can be arranged.
Their service is excellent and the food is great. The rooms are ok, they have super single beds, sofa bed and private decks. They are not particular about your stay, if the resort is not full, they'll let you have one room although you pay as twin sharing.
Their service is excellent and the food is great. Love them.
Bunnyhon,
Please advise where you ended up on your trip to Mabul. I am planning a trip in November/December and I am still undecided between Borneo Divers and SMART.
Does anyone know if you can really get a better deal by booking your resort in Kota Kinabalu or even just walking up to the jetty in Semporna? I am just worried about waiting to the last minute only to find out that there are no more rooms or (even worse) that there are no more permits for Sipidan divers.
Thoughts anyone?
Please advise where you ended up on your trip to Mabul. I am planning a trip in November/December and I am still undecided between Borneo Divers and SMART.
Does anyone know if you can really get a better deal by booking your resort in Kota Kinabalu or even just walking up to the jetty in Semporna? I am just worried about waiting to the last minute only to find out that there are no more rooms or (even worse) that there are no more permits for Sipidan divers.
Thoughts anyone?
Hi mstanley
We picked SMART's Water Bungalow at the end. Just got back last week and had the most amazing time there! The over-water bungalows are very comfortable and clean, almost luxurious! The service in general was good as well, friendly staff. The food was OK, there were 2 meat dishes, 1 seafood, and 2 veggie dishes to choose from each day. It got kind of boring after a while as there's so much chinese/malay food you can eat.
Now, the diving. Everything you read on this site about the friendly dive masters/deck hand is true. I felt so spoiled as they moved my gear (even mask and fins) to the boat for us each day. The deck hand was my best friend for sure as after each dive I would take my BC off BEFORE I even got on the boat. The deck hand would appear from the top and yanked the whole thing out of the water for me. Talk about good service eh!
On each dive there were 6 to 8 of us. The boat captain came with us on all dives as well as the dive master, and they are pretty good at pointing stuff out (especially the hard-to-see stuff about Mabul).
We went to the SMART resort on the island and had a look around. It's not as luxurious as the Water Bungalows but the plot is bigger and it has a swimming pool, beach, jacuzzi etc. The atmosphere is more like a holiday camp, like the long tables in the restaurant whereas the Water Bungalows is more romantic and quieter.
I am not sure if booking last minute would be cheaper. With the permit issue perhaps it's best to book ahead, especially during high season. The time we went was considered low season and yet some places were full.
We picked SMART's Water Bungalow at the end. Just got back last week and had the most amazing time there! The over-water bungalows are very comfortable and clean, almost luxurious! The service in general was good as well, friendly staff. The food was OK, there were 2 meat dishes, 1 seafood, and 2 veggie dishes to choose from each day. It got kind of boring after a while as there's so much chinese/malay food you can eat.
Now, the diving. Everything you read on this site about the friendly dive masters/deck hand is true. I felt so spoiled as they moved my gear (even mask and fins) to the boat for us each day. The deck hand was my best friend for sure as after each dive I would take my BC off BEFORE I even got on the boat. The deck hand would appear from the top and yanked the whole thing out of the water for me. Talk about good service eh!
On each dive there were 6 to 8 of us. The boat captain came with us on all dives as well as the dive master, and they are pretty good at pointing stuff out (especially the hard-to-see stuff about Mabul).
We went to the SMART resort on the island and had a look around. It's not as luxurious as the Water Bungalows but the plot is bigger and it has a swimming pool, beach, jacuzzi etc. The atmosphere is more like a holiday camp, like the long tables in the restaurant whereas the Water Bungalows is more romantic and quieter.
I am not sure if booking last minute would be cheaper. With the permit issue perhaps it's best to book ahead, especially during high season. The time we went was considered low season and yet some places were full.
DontLieToMe
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SMART Overwater Bungalows are great. Sam, the resident manager, is a fine fellow and helps in any way possible. My only issue - and this is true - I believe of all of the operations - is they limit dive times at Sipadan to 50-55 minutes. Also, due to the quota on divers at Sipadan some of the trips to Sipadan go at 12:30-ish for two dives vice in the morning. This means an early lunch and then a dash to Sipadan.
OnTheSpot
Contributor
The Borneo Divers resort has been improving over the last couple of years. The rooms are nicer now, and they have some brand new deluxe rooms (have not released the prices yet), a pool and internet. A few years ago Borneo Divers was pretty much a backpacker place. This has changed. Still SMART has more facilities, smaller dive groups, and the Mabul Water Bungalows (run by the same people, but is a separate place) are certainly the nicest accommodation on Mabul Island. Also note that SMART and the Water Bungalows allow unlimited shore/jetty dives, whereas Borneo Divers charge extra, I believe US$ 25 per tank. Overall, I think SMART is the best value for money.
The resorts:
Mabul Water Bungalows
SMART
Borneo Divers
Happy Diving!
Jamie
The resorts:
Mabul Water Bungalows
SMART
Borneo Divers
Happy Diving!
Jamie
Dear mstanley
If Borneo Divers is charging extra for shore dives and you are planning on maxing out your dives then go with SMART's Mabul Water Bungalows for sure. Before our trip we thought we would do at least one extra shore dive per day on top of the 3 boat dives. The reality is we were soooo tired after the boat dives we'd just sleep in the afternoon.
It's going sound really stupid but we couldn't figure out how to get out of the resort to have a look around on the island. We took bikes and roam the SMART grounds/beach but the resort is kind of wall in by barb wire and staff's quarter and we were too lazy to find our way to the other side.
If Borneo Divers is charging extra for shore dives and you are planning on maxing out your dives then go with SMART's Mabul Water Bungalows for sure. Before our trip we thought we would do at least one extra shore dive per day on top of the 3 boat dives. The reality is we were soooo tired after the boat dives we'd just sleep in the afternoon.
It's going sound really stupid but we couldn't figure out how to get out of the resort to have a look around on the island. We took bikes and roam the SMART grounds/beach but the resort is kind of wall in by barb wire and staff's quarter and we were too lazy to find our way to the other side.
xsynie
Registered
Just wonder if you are interested in Budget Accommodation, if yes try www.bahrmansipadan.com
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