Malaysia – Sipadan & Semporna

Sipadan is Malaysia's only oceanic island, rising from about 600 m of water off Sabah's east coast; its walls are known for turtles, barracuda and reef sharks, with hammerheads and mantas offshore. Sabah Parks limits the number of visitors per day, so permits are booked through licensed dive operators and resorts, and divers need at least Advanced Open Water. Nobody can stay on the island, so most divers sleep on Mabul or Kapalai, whose sandy reefs and a converted oil rig are world-class macro and muck sites, or at the Mataking and Pom Pom island resorts. Si Amil, further north-east, adds pinnacles and devil rays. Boats leave from Semporna.

Facts

• Sipadan permit: Mandatory Sabah Parks permit for every day on Sipadan, limited per day and booked by licensed operators (not by individual divers). 176 per day since 2019 per Wikipedia and Scuba Junkie; some 2026 operator notices cite about 252. Operators can book up to six months ahead, and the permit is issued at Sabah Parks' discretion. Multi-night packages improve your odds
• Sipadan rules: Minimum Advanced Open Water. 2023 rules: up to two dives per day, one hour and 40 m maximum, one dive per day at Barracuda Point; a 2026 guide says three dives per day since May 2026 – confirm. No night diving, no staying on the island, and divers are accompanied by a guide
• Park fees: Sabah Parks lists Sipadan scuba diving at RM 350 for foreigners (RM 250 Malaysians) plus a conservation fee of RM 100 (RM 50). Usually collected through your operator – check current fees
• Annual closure: Sipadan was closed to all diving and snorkelling for the whole of November 2023 (Sabah Parks) for ecosystem recovery; some operators and 2026 guides state the November closure is repeated every year – confirm dates before booking. Mabul, Kapalai and Tun Sakaran dive sites stay open
• Best season: Diving is possible year-round (water 27–30 °C). Sources give roughly March/April to October as best, with the clearest water and calmest seas in the spring months; January–February is wetter with lower visibility. No monsoon shutdown, but weather can cancel boats
• Getting there: Boats leave from Semporna jetty, after flying to Tawau or Kota Kinabalu. Mabul is about 15 km from Sipadan; Mataking about 40 minutes from Semporna; Si Amil roughly an hour by speedboat

Season

• Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
• Acceptable: Mar, Nov, Dec
• Poor: Jan, Feb
• Water temperature: 27–30 °C

Diving runs year-round, but sources recommend spring to autumn (about March/April to October); January–February is wetter with lower visibility. Sipadan may be closed in November (it was closed for all of November 2023 and several operators say this is repeated each year) and reopens in December.

Dive sites (35)

Sipadan Island

• Barracuda Point – 10–40 m, advanced
• Coral Garden – 5–22 m, intermediate
• Drop Off – 5–40 m, intermediate
• Hanging Gardens – 5–40 m, intermediate
• Lobster Lair – 25–40 m, advanced
• Midreef – 6–40 m, intermediate
• North Point – 25–40 m, advanced
• South Point – 20–40 m, advanced
• Staghorn Crest – 15–40 m, intermediate
• Turtle Cavern (Turtle Tomb) – cavern, qualification needed – 18–30 m, advanced
• Turtle Patch – 5–12 m, intermediate
• West Ridge – 18–40 m, advanced
• Whitetip Avenue – 16–40 m, intermediate

Mabul & Kapalai (muck, macro)

• Cleaning Station (Kapalai) – 5–16 m, beginner
• Coral Hills – 5–15 m, beginner
• Crocodile Avenue – 5–20 m, beginner
• Eel Garden (Mabul) – 15–25 m, intermediate
• Froggy Lair – 3–12 m, beginner
• Lobster Wall – 25–40 m, intermediate
• Mandarin Valley – 15–20 m, beginner
• Paradise I & II – 5–18 m, beginner
• Ribbon Valley I–III – 12–30 m, intermediate
• Seaventures Dive Rig (artificial rig reef) – 5–18 m, intermediate
• Stingray City (Kapalai–Mabul) – 5–20 m, beginner

Mataking, Pom Pom & Timba Timba

• D'Wall (Mataking Kecil) – 5–25 m, intermediate
• Deep Wall (Mataking) – 18–40 m, advanced
• Garden of Eden – 20–25 m, beginner
• Mandarin Heaven (Pom Pom) – 5–40 m, beginner
• Mataking House Reef – 5–25 m, beginner
• Northern Valley (Pom Pom) – 20–40 m, advanced
• Pit Rock (Pom Pom) – 15–20 m, beginner
• Postbox Wreck & Sipadan Mermaid Wreck (artificial reef) – 20–22 m, intermediate
• Sting Ray City (Timba Timba) – 10–30 m, intermediate

Si Amil

• Si Amil Pinnacles – 30–50 m, advanced
• Si Amil South Wall – 5–30 m, advanced

Operators (7)

• Scuba Junkie (Mabul Beach Resort) – resort, Semporna and Mabul Island
• Seaventures Dive Rig – resort, Seaventures Rig, off Mabul
• Borneo Divers (Mabul Resort) – resort, Mabul Island and Kota Kinabalu
• Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART) – resort, Mabul Island
• The Reef Dive Resort (Mataking) – resort, Mataking Island
• Pom Pom Island Resort – resort, Pom Pom Island
• Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort – resort, Kapalai (sandbar island off Mabul)

Routes (3)

• Sipadan package from 3 days / 2 nights (Scuba Junkie)
• Mataking resort dive packages 3–5 days
• Seaventures Dive Rig stay (house reef and Mabul)

Site positions are approximate and for orientation only, never for navigation: no exact GPS list is published for Sipadan, so sites are placed beside the island and sites marked unverified have an unknown side. Sipadan's daily permit quota, dives per day, fees and November closure change over time – confirm them with your operator or Sabah Parks. Sites on Mantabuan, Sibuan and other Tun Sakaran islands are not included because no verifiable position was found.