Sipadan Island, a Diver’s Paradise in Malaysia

Sipadan Island which is also known as the Pulau Sipadan in the Malay language is located in the east coast of Malaysian Borneo in Sabah
. Practically, the island is placed in the Celebes Sea, close to Borneo Malaysia. The island is globally renowned for some of the finest scuba diving sites in the world and the rich marine biodiversity.

This popular island among the divers can be easily reached from the town Semporna, which is situated at a distance of about 35 km towards north of the island and takes around an hour by boat. The divers who have grown fed up with the regular sights of the big turtles and bigger sharks throughout the day at the close by Mabul Island and Kapali Island, can reach the Sipadan Island, which is just a 20 minute speedboat ride from the other two islands.   

The Sipadan Island is very much popular among the regular divers because of its mystical images hammerhead sharks, uncountable species of reef fish along with dozens of sea turtles swimming around.

The Prominent Dive Sites of the Island

The island of Sipadan includes twelve dive sites in total. The sites found in this island are Turtle Patch, White-Tip Avenue, Coral Gardens, Staghorn Crest, Lobster Lair, West Ridge and North Point and the most notable ones are the Sipadan Jetty, Barracuda Point, Turtle Cavern, South and Mid-Reef.

Sipadan Jetty:Your dive excursion initiates as soon as you land at Sipadan Jetty. As you swim along the water of this jetty, it can be a very adventurous venture with the view of hard and soft corals on one hand, while on the other hand you can even see schools of barracuda, mackerel and batfish.

Barracuda Point: As the name suggests, the site involves a large school of barracuda. Hundreds of barracuda assemble at this place and if you are lucky enough, you will be able to watch the fascinating sight of the barracuda tornado, which is formed with a rapid spiral movement of the schools. Other species of marine life that you will see at this place are triggerfish, eagle rays, reef sharks and bump-head parrotfish. 

Turtle Cavern:One of the most popular sites in the island is Turtle Cavern, which is also known as the Turtle Tomb. A short swim of about 20 m to the right of the Jetty will take you to a widespread cave system.  The locals of this region believe that the turtles come to die at this place and you would certainly believe them once you find several turtle skeletons over here. But you do not have to feel sad, as there are plenty of live turtles swimming around these caves.

South Point: One can reach this site by a 15 minute boat ride from the jetty. One can watch marine species like hammerheads and thresher shark, white-tip reef sharks, banner fish, moray eels along with a variety of hard corals.

Mid-Reef: It is one of the most vibrant dive sites in the Sipadan Island. Besides the marine corals, the main highlight of this site is the corals. The water surrounding the site includes colorful sea fans, Moorish idols and anemone fish. Green turtles can also be sighted at this site.

Best Times to Visit

Scuba diving, the main highlight of the island can be enjoyed throughout the year with decent degree of visibility.  Still, the best time to visit the island is from March to October, as during this time of the year, you can enjoy visibility reaching up to 50 m.

How to Reach

By Air: The best way to reach this island by flight is Kota Kinabalu or Tawau in Sabah.

By Road: It can be reached through road, as bus services are available from Tawau airport to Semporna, from where the Sipanad Island is just an hour’s drive.

By Boat: Sipanad Island is just a 40 minutes ride by speedboat from Semporna.