South Point
South Point is the deep, current-swept southern tip of Sipadan. Divers drop to a ledge and look out into the blue; hammerheads and thresher sharks tend to stay at 40 m and deeper, so the dive is best done in the morning. Grey reef and whitetip sharks, turtles and big schools of bumphead parrotfish are common, and mantas, eagle rays and passing whale sharks are reported. Sipadan guides rate it as an advanced drift dive.
Facts
- Region: Malaysia – Sipadan & Semporna
- Area: Sipadan Island
- Depth: 20–40 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: strong
- Type: drift, pelagic
- Coordinates: 4.1111, 118.6296 (approximate)
- Highlights: hammerhead shark, thresher shark, grey reef shark, whitetip reef shark, manta ray, eagle ray, whale shark, bumphead parrotfish, turtle
- Permit: A Sabah Parks permit is required for every day on Sipadan. Independent diving is not allowed: permits are booked by licensed dive operators/resorts and issued at Sabah Parks' discretion; the daily quota is shared between operators (176 per day since 2019 per Wikipedia and Scuba Junkie; some 2026 operator notices cite about 252 – confirm). Divers need at least Advanced Open Water. Park fees on the Sabah Parks site: scuba diving RM 350 (foreigners) / RM 250 (Malaysians) plus a conservation fee of RM 100 / RM 50. Dive operators can book up to six months ahead. Sipadan was closed to divers for all of November 2023 and some operators state this is repeated every November – check before booking.
- Issuer / contact: Sabah Parks – Sipadan Island Park
- Phone: +60 88-523500
- Email: hello@sabahparks.org.my
- Website: https://www.sabahparks.org.my/contact-us
- Sabah Parks head office (Kota Kinabalu); Sipadan Island Park office in Semporna: +60 89-782039. Permits are booked by licensed dive operators, not by individual divers (https://www.sabahparks.org.my/services/diving-sipadan.
- Tips: Best dived in the morning. Sharks sit at 40 m+, so watch gas and narcosis; the current can be moderate to strong.