Borneo Diving? (Other than Sipadan/Mabul)

[hedonist222]

I know Sipadan and Mabul are popular.

Why aren't the other locations as popular? Its a mammoth island. There should be (relatively accessible) spots other than Sipadan and Mabul.
I found dive ops in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching - but didn't get this sense of comfort that they're not tourist/resort dive ops.

Plan is to fly into either Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, or Singapore, then transit to Borneo.

 

[Centrals]

Diving Kota Kinabalu | PADI

Learn key information about diving Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia - when to go, what to see, who to dive with, top marine life, recommended training & more.

www.padi.com

There is wreck diving in Brunei which is not very far from BKI.
Kuching is very limited in diving.
There is also diving out from Miri.
Lyang Lyang is off shore.
Sangalaki(Derawan etc) is very good but it is in East Kalimantan(Indonesia).

Dive Kota Kinabalu | Scuba Junkie KK

Dive Kota Kinabalu with Scuba Junkie! We provide daily dive and snorkel trips, and we offer all PADI dive courses from discover scuba diving to instructor!

www.scubajunkiekk.com

They can offer you BKI + Sipadan.

Dive Sangalaki | Scuba Junkie Sangalaki

Dive Sangalaki with Scuba Junkie! We provide daily dive trips and PADI courses in the Sangalaki Marine Park - Sangalaki, Derawan, Kakaban, and Maratua.

www.scubajunkiesangalaki.com

Another option is Sipadan + Sangalaki

 

[Manuel Sam]

In the Malaysia Forum, CWK has video reports from dive trips he made to Semporna (years ago, the launching point for Sipadan/Mabul - don't know now). The variety of nudibranchs was impressive.

Twenty-some years ago when I was doing Sipadan and Layang Layang, I looked into but never went to Lankayan Island (on the North coast off of Sandakan) as a possible dive spot to do in conjunction with doing the Sepilok Reserve to see the Orangutans.

When I did Sangalaki back then, I had the opportunity to do Maratua as well as a day trip, but did not. That's one I'd like to do in this lifetime.

 

[diveUAE]

We did Lankayan and Sipadan back in 2008, both were stunning. Recent reports/reviews about Lankayan are not that great.

We’re going to Perhentians and Malaysia Borneo in July and will be diving a bit from Kota Kinabalu (and a lot at Perhentian), I’m not expecting the diving from KK to be impressive, but will wait and see…. Read a report on TripAdvisor from someone who dived from both KK and further north - according to him the diving around KK was better than more north (since there’s a marine protected area outside KK).

I ruled out Sipadan/Mabul/Lankayan due to travel warnings- I do consider the areas quite safe, but our insurance won’t cover, if we travel there, so if you go make sure to check your insurance.

 

[Dan]

How about Indonesian side of Borneo, East Kalimantan, just few hundreds miles south of Sipadan?

 

[sipadan.com]

I know Sipadan and Mabul are popular.

Why aren't the other locations as popular? Its a mammoth island. There should be (relatively accessible) spots other than Sipadan and Mabul.
I found dive ops in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching - but didn't get this sense of comfort that they're not tourist/resort dive ops.

Plan is to fly into either Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, or Singapore, then transit to Borneo.

If you go to Sipadan in the best diving season (high visibility from march till september), you need to plan in advance for your Sipadan permit guarantee as it's limited and in high demand. You need AOW minimum level.
You can find more info about Sipadan permits and also resort accommodation (from budget operators to luxury resorts) who have permits invluded in their packages: Sipadan resorts with guaranteed Sipadan dive permits
Also the diving is 2 dives per day at Sipadan and 1 dive per day at Mabul or other islands nearby such as Kapalai.