Dive Review of SMART Dive Center/Siapdan Mabul Resort in
Malaysia/Mabul island

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SMART Dive Center/Siapdan Mabul Resort: "Dive and stay at SMART Sipadan Mabul Resort", Jun, 2019, by David, paris, FR ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 11072 has 2 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	At Tawau Airport, you’ll be greeted by representatives for SMART (Sipadan Mabul Resort) who coordinate the one-hour bus transfer to the jetty in Semporna, with the next scheduled resort boat which takes a further forty-minutes, so about two hours in total. The biggest attraction for divers here is the world-renowned Sipadan Island. It is Malaysia’s only Oceanic Island, rising 2000m straight up from the ocean floor, the reef walls go 360 degrees around it and there are loads of amazing dive sites. it is set within a protected National Marine Park which bans commercial fishing, so it’s a truly unique experience seeing big Pelagics, Reefs, gorgeous Corals, and schools of over 3000 species of fish including the famous green turtles, of which you might see more of in one dive than in a lifetime elsewhere! We spent almost a week on Mabul island and did a total of fifteen dives, including six dives by Sipadan over two days. An exciting side trip to do in Borneo is to stay overnight at a homestay on the Kinabatangan River and do a jungle excursion with short morning and evening boat trips to spot wild proboscis and orang utan monkeys, tropical birds like hornbills and even crocodiles. Follow that with the 5-hour bus ride from Semporna town to Sandakan and visit the Orangutan Rescue Centre, then you can take a direct flight back to Kuala Lumpur from there. Visitors will see a stark contrast between the upmarket dive resorts and the impoverished Kampongs / villages on Mabul Island which has no roads or cars. The population is a mix of local Malaysians, and the friendly nomadic Sea-Gypsies’ or Bajau Laut who live in wooden stilted houses.
Websites	SMART Dive Center Siapdan Mabul Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Philippines Thailand Indonesia Red Sea
Closest Airport	Tawau airport	Getting There	To get here first fly to Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu Malaysia, then get a connecting flight to Tawau Airport. Hop into a public bus, minibus or taxi straight to the ferryboat jetty in the coastal town of Semporna. There are no resorts on Sipadan, but there’s a nice choice of budget and higher end accommodation on Mabul islands. Check the land and boat transfer schedule (no boat transfer after 4h30pm).
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	78-84°F / 26-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of SMART Dive Center/Siapdan Mabul Resort in Malaysia/Mabul island

SMART Dive Center/Siapdan Mabul Resort: "Dive and stay at SMART Sipadan Mabul Resort", Jun, 2019,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of SMART Dive Center/Siapdan Mabul Resort in
Malaysia/Mabul island