Sipadan permits - no guarantees?

[scottfiji]

I've been researching places to dive next month since I'll be in singapore.

I wanted to try somewhere new, narrowed it down to sipadan, bunaken/lembeh and phillipines.

I'm emailed several places on diving sipadan and haven't heard back. it also seems like there is no guarentee you will be able to dive sipadan. no operator applies for a permit until after you book. s

sounds like booking less than a month in advance is risky business, read this story: (it even happened in low season!) - the girl was promised a permit, went to sipidan, paid for a trip, and couldn't dive sipadan

diving borneo ... - Thorn Tree Travel Forum - Lonely Planet

has anyone else heard of people going to sipadan and not being able to dive sipadan?

well I guess this unique situation about permits helps me narrow my choices down a little

 

[pakman]

so far, I haven't heard of anyone not getting their 2 dives in per on Sipidan. As long as you got your reservation in place, I would think the resorts would take care of that.

 

[TJ_Diver]

I haven't heard of anyone not getting a permit either. However, there is a strict limit that is enforced, so there is always the chance. If you are open to the other choices, Lembeh is one of my favorite places to dive in the world. You don't have great coral reefs or large pelagics, but the variety of bizarre creatures that you do see more than makes up for it.

 

[MatD4D]

I know that most resorts ask guests to pay for the permits on arrival and don't guarantee that they will get them. However Kapalai resort includes the permit in the package price that you pay when you book which seems like a pretty good indication that they are sure that they can get the permits.

When you book you have to give some personal information to the resorts, ie full name, DOB, gender, address, nationality. The resorts have to pass this on to the relevent authorities to apply for the permit on your behalf. I expect that the people who don't get the permits don't provide this info, or don't provide it in time. They just book and pay and think that it'll all be alright when they show up. (These are the same people who turn up having not dived since they did their OWC three years ago and expect to dive straight into a deep wall dive at Sipadan without doing a refresher).

As long as you book in advance and provide all the information I'm sure you'll get your two dives per day at Sipadan.

That said, if you don't want to risk it, I agree with TJ_Diver about Lembeh - awesome diving.

 

[scorpenesub]

Since the Sabah state government banned resort operators from operating on Sipadan three years ago, there has been an additional restriction on diving in Sipadan, which is now open to diving from 6am to 6pm. However, as sunset comes early, about 6pm, most dive boats leave the area by 4.30pm.

The problem with diving in Sipadan is that there is an official quota of 120 permits to be issued per day. And there are 10 approved dive centres which can apply for those permits, which means each centre gets a maximum of 12 permits per day. It would help to confirm any diving trip to Sipadan at least three to six months in advance, to secure the permit. If you are booking just one month before arriving, well then, the permits becomes somewhat of a lottery, available only on cancellation by others.

Most Japanese, Korean and Chinese divers book up to four months ahead to dive in Sipadan.

I am making three dive trips to Sipadan this year: In mid-March, mid-May and end-August. For these dives, I have already confirmed my bookings and diving permits applications submitted since December 2007. Yes, you also need to furnish all details required by the authorities to facilitate processing of the diving permits, much like foreigners applying for visa to enter the US. If you dont follow the rules, NO PERMIT will be issued.

Then one only has to blame onself.

 

[scottfiji]

yes, it seems like scorpenesub is right... if you wait just one month before, no one will guarentee you a permit. even the resort itself told me that.

next time I'll have to book sipidan far in advance.. well, instead I'll be going to bunaken and lembeh, I'm sure i'll have a good time.

thanks for everyone's comments!

scott