Sipadan

[gil]

I was here in '93 and it was the best. I was thinking of going back and wanted to ask if anyone has been there recently.

Does Borneo divers take you to the other islands to dive?

Are they enforcing the 80 diver rule?

How are the reefs?

What is the best route from LA now?

Any wholesalers doing this property, or best to deal with Borneo Divers?

All comments will be appreciated.

Gil

 

[Rickg]

gil,

Go to search on the home page and if you do a search on Sipadan you will find a wealth of information concerning recent trips to Sipadan.

We were there in '00 and '01. It was still good but not as good as our first trip in '94. And yes, Borneo Divers (and I imagine the other resorts on the island) will go to Mabual and Kapolai if there are enough divers interested or if not if you pay for the gas to get there.

Rickg

 

[Shanhai]

Sipadan is not quite what it used to be....the last time I went was in March 2002 (4th visit). The vis was terrible, around 10m or so. When we finally saw the barracudas, my video camera had a hard time focusing on the large mass of fish behind the backscatter. I think the vis is seasonal. Regardless, I still had a wonderful time. There's so much animal life, but there's really no more coral reef to speak of. I blame it on humans, turtles, and bumphead parrotfish.

I believe the most direct route to Sipadan from LAX would be to fly MAS to Taipei and transfer from TPE to Kota Kinabalu, and then to Tawau. You should be able to do this on one ticket since it's all on MAS. The good news is that Tawau airport is now about 20 minutes closer to Semporna than the old airport, so it cuts down on the travel time by a little bit. From Taipei, you leave around 8am and arrive Sipadan around 4-5pm, making it quite a journey (plane, plane, bus, boat).

 

[borneodivers]

Well, have to agree with Shan Hai comments. Best way to travel there is by MAS flight.
I just went to Sipadan last month, and even though the season wasn't at its best, it was the most memorable dive I ever went for. I've also just finished my updated article, and have gotten Borneo Divers to publish it for me on their website since they really liked it.
If you're interested to read, drop by to http://www.borneodiverskl.com - My article is on top under "Recent Trip to Sipadan".

Regards,
Joe