Borneo, Semporna vs Thailand, Koh Lanta in September

[mjc_ma]

Going to be heading to China for work with my GF the second week of September and I was looking for advice on either place. We are intermediate divers and are looking to take advantage of budget diving the other side of the world. We are open to other countries to dive as long as they not too cost prohibitive.
Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[Tippytoes12]

In September it will probably still be raining on Ko Lanta. The diving there is reasonable , but in HinMuang...a few hours away it's wonderful. Best keep it for anther trip.

Semporna is a port for Sipadan trips and the accommodation on Mabul. It is not a nice place so if you can stay on Mabul. Ask your accommodation owners about a permit for Sipadan, which has mind blowing diving. Mabul is also very good.

September in Indonesia should also be very good , as well as peninsular Malaysia...the Perhenthian Islands.

Have a great trip

 

[Thailand Divers]

Thailand everytime. September can be very nice and you can have wet days. The diving there is all year round. Diving Koh Lanta is not so good this time of year but Phuket is great diving all year and this also means you can dive Phi Phi. Also from Phuket you can get 2 day 1 night or 3 day live abooards to Hin Daeng, Koh Haa and Hin Muang which are great diving too. The day trips are excellent as they are cheap and include breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea too. Then if a storm is around at night you are on land. Do a couple of day trips when there is a chance of rain at night then do a couple of nights live aboard. Phuket this time of year is quieter as most people think its bad weather. The weather here is messed up as everywhere else. No July and August tend to not so dry but come sept its normally nice again.

 

[lord khram]

There are only a handful of dive sites in Thailand that come close to Sipadan, they are within the national marine parks and are closed to divers in September.

 

[Bubble Junky]

The west coast of Thailand will probably be very wet in September, and as Lord Khram said, the marine parks (Lanta Marine Park - home to Hin Daeng & Hin Muang, and The Similans Marine Park) will still be closed. With that information in mind, Sipadan will give you much better diving.

I'd reiterate the advice about staying on Mabul and booking Sipadan permits in advance...

Koh Lanta is best from December through March...

 

[pughio83]

Borneo over Thailand everytime. Thailand diving is ok but not great (certainly not what I have seen or heard anyways), Borneo diving however is fantastic especially Sipidan, and mabul offers great macro. Easy to get around Borneo but research well re the permits.