Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort

[mainedvr]

Anyone give me some info on this resort and travel to it. Looks great have some flight ideas but would like to find out some from those that have been there. Is it all they advertise, is it worth the time to travel (From East Coast Maine USA), is it safe (no major rebellions or anything going on ). You know the things that would make it a great dive location. We do not care about luxury or pomp and circiumstance...we just want some awsome diving.

Thanks..

 

[Luko]

is it safe (no major rebellions or anything going on )...

The nudibranchs are getting bored of being pointed out so they're now cursing in lingo to all the divers, there are some rumors one of the pygmy seahorse is trying to setup an UW photographer kidnapping but it may take some time...

Seriously, this question has been overanswered with same conclusion NO -I repeat NO- safety issues on Sipadan, just look for a similarly titled thread on the same forum page.
Otherwise the diving will just blow your mind out, I've written 2 or 3 reports on diving Sipadan at various periods last year. Just check my posts and photos, you'll see by yourself. YES -I repeat YES- it is worth going (NYC-Kuala Lumpur-Tawau or NYC-HKG-Kota Kinabalu-Tawau).

 

[mainedvr]

Appreciate the input, but if your tired of answering just don't answer. My wife used my account to ask the question and she is not familiar with the board structure. I don't come here to be scolded and neither would she. maybe a person just did not have the time to look through the other post...or as I said was not familiar with the board....so I repeat if your answering the same questions, by us that are too lazy (not really) to read through the other post then just dont answer.

Thank You

 

[Quero]

Are you both divers? The Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort is a dedicated dive facility. There's nothing else to do but dive and snorkel. There's not even a beach to laze on or a village to visit since the entire resort is built on a sand bar. This particular resort is one of the more upscale ones, with over-water bungalows. The diving is going to be mostly at dive sites other than Sipadan since that island is protected and allows only limited numbers of divers to visit each day. The result is that you will do a good proportion of your dives at sites around the Kapalai Resort and around Mabul Island. These are very good sites with lots of weird critters, but also quite different from Sipadan sites which are famous for turtles and pelagics. Still you will get some dives at Sipadan, just not every dive, nor even every day.

Travel can be cumbersome. You need to get to Tawau airport on Borneo island and from there go overland to the town of Semporna, and from there get a boat transfer to the resort. Getting to Tawau can take some time as well and often requires an overnight at Kota Kinabalu. However, this depends on what hub city in SE Asia you transit through. Plan on a rather long journey from the US each way.

 

[mainedvr]

Quero,

Thanks, yep we are both divers and are kicking around a liveaboard and doing research we saw Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort and thought it looked awsome. We do not mind the long travel so long as there the diving is worth it. We have wanted to get to asia, I suppose another question is, is there a time of year best suited for this local, when the weather (which we do understand is never a guarantee or predictable) is more stable things like that. Also, how hard is it to leave the resort to go visit some land sites? Thanks for the response.

 

[Quero]

Quero,

Thanks, yep we are both divers and are kicking around a liveaboard and doing research we saw Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort and thought it looked awsome. We do not mind the long travel so long as there the diving is worth it. We have wanted to get to asia, I suppose another question is, is there a time of year best suited for this local, when the weather (which we do understand is never a guarantee or predictable) is more stable things like that. Also, how hard is it to leave the resort to go visit some land sites? Thanks for the response.

It's quite difficult to leave the resort to wander around. The only way would be if you took a transfer boat back to Semporna on the morning run (assuming there's space among the departing guests) and then back to the resort in the afternoon (assuming again that there's space among the arriving guests). Semporna is not a nice place to visit though, and you'd miss diving you will have paid for as well (this is an all-inclusive place). Having said that, Kapalai has a sister resort on Borneo at Sepilok where the orang utan sanctuary is, so it's logistically easy to split your stay between these two. This is one option I offer my customers who want to do both diving and land-based tours.

As for time of year, you can dive year round at the Sipadan area, but for best weather and water clarity, you will want to go in summer. However, since there are never enough permits during the summer months for all guests to dive at Sipadan as much as they might like, lots of my customers are happy to go in the winter in order to trade off a little warm rain and a little less vis for fewer guests at the resort to split the available daily permits with (Kapalai Dive Resort is allowed to send 14 divers a day to Sipadan).

There are other over-water bungalow options for diving Sipadan, and there is one liveaboard in the area. There are tons of liveaboards plying the waters of Thailand and Indonesia as well, so that's another thing to consider if you want to come to Asia. Once you've dived here, you'll want to plan every future dive vacation someplace in Asia. Be forewarned!

 

[jake11]

We went to Sipadan in May and LOVED it! Great weather and amazing diving! We went on the Celebes Explorer and LOVED that! No frills boat but superb dive masters and crew! Consider that boat as they have permits to dive Sipadan for everyone. We loved every dive there! We saw both big and macro stuff! Saw a blue ring octopus here as well!
It is well worth the hassle to get there. At the end of the trip there are a lot of land based things to do.
( Orangutans, probiscus monkeys, climbing Mt. Kinabalu) Do know that it was EXTREMEMLY hot and humid while we were there on the land! We will go back for sure one day!

 

[mainedvr]

Well that cuts it...guess that is going to the top of our list for where to go next....Quero and Jake thanks for the info on the liveaboard think that may be the way to go....

regards

 

[under water]

Going all the way to Asia to spend the whole time in a luxury resort on a sandbar? Are you planning to take in the wonders of Borneo while you are there (nature, culture, etc). Have you traveled much before? If not there might be better diving only destinations that will be a good first trip to west Pacific diving.
The diving is really great at Sipadan and Mabul (see my review of SeaVentures @ Sipadan ) however be prepared for a ~40 hour return trip to get from Borneo to Boston. If you really have less than 24 dives, I suggest getting more dives under your belt before you go as you will probably enjoy it more with more experience. The currents can be strong and you will not always get the DM attention that you may be used to.
If you do go, I'm sure you will enjoy it though.
Oh yes, the Malaysian Navy is everywhere around Sipadan, so safety there is not an issue.

 

[Luko]

but if your tired of answering just don't answer.

hmmh... look who's had a bad night sleep... Humor's not your forte right? (neither is grammar : FYI "You're" not "Your").

I don't come here to be scolded and neither would she.

Neither do I, so rather than grouching, thank me for answering the question, giving you some hints on flights and orientating you towards written reports with photos.

You're welcome.