How's the visibility in Sipadan/Kapalai/Mabul in August?

[CWK]

Barracuda are there but may not be around Barracuda Point. If you don't see them it's because they are in the blue.

 

[Pearlman]

Four days diving Sipidan. One day diving Mabul / kapalai. We got lucky I think. I think it also helps to be competent divers, although the standard here is pretty high.

So out of 5 days you dived 4 days at Sipadan? What was the promise before you signed up? Last year I stayed 3N/4D I only got one day at Sipadan. This year I enquired it was same - they refused more than 1 day. I dropped the diving plan as I only want to go back there to dive sipadan exclusively and I dont like whatever I read about the LOB or the other operator that promises 3 days ... when I looked up the reviews on tripadvisor.

P

 

[Dan]

I will dive there in August and some of my friends who dove there said the visibility was poor in August.
They also said that there was no more schools of barracudas in Sipadan.
I also wonder that if it's possible to dive 2 days in Sipadan if I buy the Kapalai 5D/4N diver package.

If you want to see the school of barracudas, you need to go a few hundred miles south of Sipadan to Maratua Atoll in Indonesian side of eastern Borneo, the place called Nabucco. Check out this cool video:

 

[Griffo]

So out of 5 days you dived 4 days at Sipadan? What was the promise before you signed up? Last year I stayed 3N/4D I only got one day at Sipadan. This year I enquired it was same - they refused more than 1 day. I dropped the diving plan as I only want to go back there to dive sipadan exclusively and I dont like whatever I read about the LOB or the other operator that promises 3 days ... when I looked up the reviews on tripadvisor.

P

Yes, we got Sipidan 4 days out of 5. We did 6 nights - they promised 2, but we got 4. I'll post a video of the Barra storms we saw. We saw one every day.

Barracuda are there but may not be around Barracuda Point. If you don't see them it's because they are in the blue.

Correct, plenty of Barra around but you need to keep an eye out for them. On one dive, they appeared below us as we were surfacing.

Some quick vids, i have over 1000 to sort and edit, so these are literally just thrown up for friends and family till I get time.

Barra below us

Another Barra video with some sharks

Shark

Turtle likes my wife

Some Jackfish

 

[Griffo]

 

[Ankush Mittal]

I just finished Day 4 of my 6-day dive trip out of which 2 Days of Sipadan done and 1 more on Day 6. Loving every single dive. Visibility is good periodically but other than that water temperature is perfect between 29 - 30 deg C.

Companies which guarantee you Sipadan from what I see will give you what they guarantee, if they promise you 1 day, then you will get 1 if 3 then 3 and so on. OzGriffo probably got lucky as the dive boats heading to Sipadan had space and they wouldn't have had to operate another dive boat. Either way, good luck to everyone. I personally found other sites like Boyeh Dulang and Mataking quite amazing as well.