Sipadan questions

[leo]

Hi -
I've read a number of posts, but I'm still left with some very specific questions, maybe some with recent trips can help answer:

I'll be traveling with my non-diving wife, and she's wanting a white sand type beach experience. We both want over the water hotel experience, and a small away-from-it-all island. I'm currently considering Mabul or Kapalai.

1. Is there any hotel accommodations on Sipadan? I've heard there is, but I suspect there were shut down years ago?

2. Is either Mabul or Kapalai islands better for
- Over the water hotel options?
- House reef diving?
- House reef snorkeling?
- Distance to Sipadan or other boat diving destinations?
- Town or other activities (wife doesn't dive)?

3. If one takes a morning flight from HKG, can one arrive at the island resorts in the same day?

4. Which dive op would I prefer if I like small boats, experienced divers (avoiding beginners), and hope max on my luck/allocation of permits? If I'm staying at say S-Kapalai or Mabul Water Bungalows or Sipadan Water Village, must I or should I dive with the resort's op? (I certainly don't want to buy a package and then pay again to dive with another op).

5. Other than those three listed above, is there another over the water type hotel on an island I need to check out?

Thanks!!

 

[Big fish63]

mabul kapalai are around 45 minutes from semporna port where you will leave from. sipadan is another 15minutes in the same direction.
if you want to be able to escape to land mabul is probably more suited to you. great macro in mabul. truely stunning.
the other option is sea ventures oil rig, situated inbetween mabul and kapalai. i stayed there in may and it was really good, price was as good as the guides which were brilliant.

i got 5 permits in a row at sipadan... . sipadan was quality.

the only issue i had was diving with beginners and group size for a few of the sipadan trips... but after they realised a few of us were more than capable we split from the group with a guide..

with seaventures they only go out to the rig once a day unless you want to pay for the speedboat. it leaves at 9am if i remember correctly.

 

[Quero]

In order of your numbered questions:

1. Is there any hotel accommodations on Sipadan? I've heard there is, but I suspect there were shut down years ago?

There are no longer any resorts on Sipadan. All former resorts were relocated to nearby Mabul island.

2. Is either Mabul or Kapalai islands better for
- Over the water hotel options?
- House reef diving?
- House reef snorkeling?
- Distance to Sipadan or other boat diving destinations?
- Town or other activities (wife doesn't dive)?

While there is sand both at Mabul and at Kapalai, these resorts are not what I would call stereotypical "white sand" type places. There are no long sweeping stretches of beach, but there are small beach patches with a few loungers on them, if that's sufficient.

• Kapalai tends to be more of a "couples" place since there are no other resorts on the island. Mabul is home to a number of resorts, ranging from backpacker longhouses to posh over-water bungalow places.
• Because Mabul is actually an island with rocks and reef, shore diving there is more varied than it is at Kapalai.
• The boat ride to Sipadan from either Kapalai or Mabul is just a few minutes--not enough difference to make a difference.
• There's no town for tourist activities at either place. Your n/d wife will just have to be content with resort activities like massages and reading.

3. If one takes a morning flight from HKG, can one arrive at the island resorts in the same day?

Probably not. The Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai area is not exactly easy to reach. It usually takes several airplane hops. Even for those of us who live relatively nearby, travel there can involve an overnight somewhere along the route. It will all depend on your flight times. If you have to go HKG - SIN (or KUL) - BKI - TWU, it is very likely that the flight arrivals + departures won't coincide to allow you to arrive on the same day. You'd be lucky if they did! Once you arrive at Tawau, you still need to journey for a couple of hours overland to Semporna for a boat ride out to the islands, and the speedboats that do the transfers are on specific schedules that match up with arrivals at Tawau. They won't travel after dark, so it could very well be that you will need an overnight somewhere. I'd suggest Kota Kinabalu.

4. Which dive op would I prefer if I like small boats, experienced divers (avoiding beginners), and hope max on my luck/allocation of permits? If I'm staying at say S-Kapalai or Mabul Water Bungalows or Sipadan Water Village, must I or should I dive with the resort's op? (I certainly don't want to buy a package and then pay again to dive with another op).

These are all-inclusive resorts. You will not switch to the boat of a different resort. Each resort applies for permits for its guests. There is no absolute guarantee of how many dives you will be able to do at Sipadan proper. You should be aware, though that the diving at Mabul is excellent as well, so although you will most likely not do huge numbers of dives at Sipadan, you will still have some remarkable dives between the Sipadan ones.

5. Other than those three listed above, is there another over the water type hotel on an island I need to check out?

No, that's all of them. The Kapalai resort is actually built over a sand bank (and isn't truly an island) whereas Mabul is an actual island with vegetation. SWV and MWB are both fine, though I tend to like MWB better. The resort has Nitrox and the sandiest beach is near there. OTOH, I like the shore dive from SWV called Paradise 2 because I've seen mating mandarin fish there several times.

 

[OnTheSpot]

Hi Leo,

Well, it looks like Quero has supplied great answers to all your questions.

I would lean towards Mabul Water Bungalows as you and your wife can enjoy the luxuries of Mabul Water Bungalows and make use of the available facilities at the nearby Sipadan Mabul Resort (under joint ownership) with Jacuzzi, massage, pool, sea kayaks and beach volleyball.

We have videos on our website which give you a great perspective of each resort.

Sit back and watch -

Mabul Water Bungalows

Sipadan Water Village

Sipadan Kapalai Resort

 

[mcliffy2]

No, that's all of them. The Kapalai resort is actually built over a sand bank (and isn't truly an island) whereas Mabul is an actual island with vegetation. SWV and MWB are both fine, though I tend to like MWB better. The resort has Nitrox and the sandiest beach is near there. OTOH, I like the shore dive from SWV called Paradise 2 because I've seen mating mandarin fish there several times.

Chiming in with a question since I'm also planning a Sipidan trip. Not sure if you mean by this that Kapalai does not have Nitrox, or do both places have Nitrox? Thanks.

 

[mcliffy2]

One other question -- I was favoring Sipadan Kapalai because I heard they get you out to Sipadan earlier, so their days there give you 4 dives, whereas the resorts in Mabul only get in 3 dives per day in Sipadan. Is this the case?

 

[Quero]

Chiming in with a question since I'm also planning a Sipidan trip. Not sure if you mean by this that Kapalai does not have Nitrox, or do both places have Nitrox? Thanks.

At this time Kapalai does not pump Nitrox. Of the three resorts we are discussing in this thread, only Mabul Water Bungalows offers Nitrox.

 

[Quero]

One other question -- I was favoring Sipadan Kapalai because I heard they get you out to Sipadan earlier, so their days there give you 4 dives, whereas the resorts in Mabul only get in 3 dives per day in Sipadan. Is this the case?

Permits to dive Sipadan allow for four dives (this is a Sabah Parks regulation), but it's not just Kapalai that do this. Some resorts will do a two-tank trip in the morning and another two-tank trip in the afternoon while others will just stay out for all four dives. At times, resorts may allocate the morning and afternoon trips to different guest groups so that any one guest might get at most two dives at Sipadan--either on the morning trip or the afternoon trip. Some resorts may take guests for only three boat dives a day, so that those three could be at Sipadan. Yet other resorts will take you for four boat dives to Sipadan one day and then reduce your boat dives to two the next day to average out to three boat dives (which is what is generally included in the price for most resorts). All three of the resorts we are discussing in this thread are given 14 permits a day to dive Sipadan.

Each resort is given a different number of permits, and naturally, the busier the resort, the less likely any guest will be to get multiple days of diving at Sipadan. Also different resorts have different policies for assigning the permits.... some use a first-come-first-served system (so that late-comers are shut out), whereas other resorts try to spread the permits among all paying guests (given that all guests at the resort are paying the same all-inclusive price regardless of their booking date).

If you are anxious about getting four dives a day to Pulau Sipadan and want to know how likely you are to be assigned permits, you should request specific, updated policies directly from the dive center. Anything else is just second-hand information.

 

[Big fish63]

seaventures offers nitrox and 5 dives per day at sipadan.

 

[Quero]

seaventures offers nitrox and 5 dives per day at sipadan.

Are you sure they offer 5 dives to Sipadan? SeaVentures' website lists only three dives on days they go to Sipadan with the possibility of an additional dive--note the use of the singular in their text--at an additional fee. I suppose the afternoon boat could offer two dives, but it was my understanding that Sabah Parks issued permits allowing a diver four dives at the island on a single day.

DAILY BOAT DIVES: Sipadan
On days that guests have permits there will be three boat dives in Sipadan. The boat will depart from the rig at 6am ....

The surface intervals are on Sipadan Island where you will have breakfast and snacks and arrive just in time for lunch back at the rig. The afternoon is then free for you to dive the house reef as much or as little as possible.

EXTRA DIVES: SIPADAN
If permits have been issued to you you can request an extra boat dive to take you back to Sipadan in the afternoon. Please request with either the rig office or the Kota Kinabalu office for this dive.

Beyond that, IMO SeaVentures is fine if you're a gung-ho diver who doesn't care much about atmosphere, but I would certainly not recommend it as a resort for a diver who is traveling with a non-diving wife. SeaVentures would be an absolutely dismal place to be stranded at for a non-diver.