Diving & Snorkelling

Following the closure of Sipadan to all divers and visitors, Mabul has fast become the next best thing to stay in the area and divers can now enjoy both, diving at Sipadan as well as at Mabul Island.

As of January 2005, all resorts have vacated Sipadan Island and it has become a fully protected conservation zone. Work is in progress to list Sipadan as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Borneo Divers is proud to support this conservation effort and is working with the Malaysian government to secure Sipadan's future protection.

Sipadan is famous for its wall diving. Walls surround 90% of the island, and most are sheer drops that extend out of sight into the blue depths. Many of the walls have ledges that the turtles use as resting places. Some of the walls are so steep that they are actually undercut and slope inward toward the island creating overhangs encrusted with soft corals. On an average day of diving at Sipadan you would expect to see at least 50 Green Turtles, a dozen sharks, large schools of Barracudas, Jacks, Fusiliers and Batfish. A mere 15m from the beach, a vertical wall starting at a depth of 3 meters and plunges straight down 600 meters.

The underwater topography of Mabul is vastly different than the sheer walls of nearby Sipadan. Several different eco-zones exist at Mabul so you can explore for a huge variety of creatures that you've previously only seen in books and films. Mabul has sloping fringe reefs, sandy bottoms, rubble fields, grass beds and even the pilings of the jetty are home to countless macro subjects. Located close to the shore of mainland Borneo and on the "Continental Shelf", the waters are rich with nutrients and crowded with life. Generally the current is mild allowing you to enjoy easy drift dives.

Mabul offers excellent snorkelling opportunities just off the beach and space permitting you are also welcome to join one of the dive boats to get to some of the further offshore sites.