sipadan with a NON diver

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LekicINC

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Location
New York
# of dives
25 - 49
I am going to Malaysia with my girlfriend who does not dive. She may do a couple dives, but doesnt want to do 3 a day for sure. Since diving at Sipadan means signing up for diving or no diving during your stay, what do you recommend we do so she is not bored out of her mind during the day. I think SMART and Mabul water bungalows are out for financial reasons. I would be willing to stay at Semporna so she could leave the "resort" but it doesnt sound like theres much to do there. Any suggestions?
 
Hi,

you can try negotiating with them on the number of dives, play with the total numbers, you can opt to takeover her day dives? Or, go for what maybe more practical for yourself.

Or, go for it and forget about the money. Afterall, you are there to enjoy. Or, try SMART any other resorts that can offer you the flexibility.

What can be worse?

Hey, just thought of another place, check mataking out, they are having some promo not sure if it is still valid. Mail their resort marketting director think her name is Linda. Maybe she can help you. They do Sipadan as well but more limited to number of diving due to the distance. Am sure your GF will love that SPA. I have personally not tried mataking but through reviews, not bad and hey not bad.

If you stay on the mainland, you can definitely make some cost savings out of your day dives. But remember, no night dives at Mabul or the Rig or Kapalai cos usualy they do not do it. As for resort, mainland hotel is not bad but the beach is a definite no no for your girlfriend. Hope you can resolve this.. and really enjoy the trip.

Happy Diving !
 
Thanks for the responses. Its less about the price and more about what my GF is getting for the price. She is not really into Spas or fine dining. She would prefer a town to explore or a cultural experience. She would happily sit on the beach for 3 days, but she can do that for much cheaper. My main question is if we stay on any resort on the islands, will my girlfriend have something to do outside of the resort??? I dont want to pay high resort prices for her to be boredd, but I am not going to Malaysia and missing Sipadan.
 
LekicINC:
My main question is if we stay on any resort on the islands, will my girlfriend have something to do outside of the resort??? I dont want to pay high resort prices for her to be boredd, but I am not going to Malaysia and missing Sipadan.

Don't think there is much to do than lounge around the beach or DIVE :eyebrow:... 1 option to consider is cut your Sipidan trip short (I know, it hurts me to say that as a hardcore diver!) and maybe spend time around Kota Kinabalu for the gf. Lots of things to do around KK. Or maybe dive over on Lankayan Island and add an extra leg to go check out the Sepilak Forest Reserve/ Orangutan sanctuary over near Sandakan. Diving is nice over in Lankayan but not as nice as Sipidan.
 
I may do 3 days, 2 nights at seaventures. Thing is, it will still be about 650 bucks for 2 nights, 7 dives (only 2 at sipadan!!) and her sitting on an oil rig all day. I really dont want to stay in Semporna, but perhaps in my situation its the best thing to do? This way its just 20 bucks for her to do nothing all day rather than 150. I still get to go to sipadan..but it just worse off. I think the next step will be to look into 3 days 2 nights at SMART so at least she cant sit on a beach instead of a rig!
 
LekicINC:
I may do 3 days, 2 nights at seaventures. Thing is, it will still be about 650 bucks for 2 nights, 7 dives (only 2 at sipadan!!) and her sitting on an oil rig all day. I really dont want to stay in Semporna, but perhaps in my situation its the best thing to do? This way its just 20 bucks for her to do nothing all day rather than 150. I still get to go to sipadan..but it just worse off. I think the next step will be to look into 3 days 2 nights at SMART so at least she cant sit on a beach instead of a rig!

I noticed in an earlier post that you said it was less about money. If this is the case, at least stay on Mabul, so that she can get some land under her feet while you dive. I can think of nothing worse than being stuck on some old platform with no beach or land available to me for a couple of days. I'd be kicking you to the curb if you did that to me and you were my boyfriend.
 
haha, yeh I think I am looking into Mabul. But money is still an Issue!
 
TravelSimone:
I'd be kicking you to the curb if you did that to me and you were my boyfriend.

I'd say the same applies to staying in Semporna if she's not a diver. Really not a great place to hang around unless it's really improved over the past yrs.
 

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