Dive Review of Sipadan Kapalai in
Malaysia/Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai

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Sipadan Kapalai: "Sipadan did not disappoint", Mar, 2017, by Jana Johnson, NC, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 9543 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We spend 6 days at Sipadan-Kapalai resort and went to Sipadan island twice during that time. The other days we went to dive sites around Mabul island, and once dove the Kapalai house reef. Sipadan was all that I had expected and more. Spectacular schooling jacks, schools of bumphead parrotfish, longfin bannerfish, many whitetip reef sharks. The visibility in this area is anywhere from 30-60ft, worse round the bumphead as they poop out sand, but the creatures are amazing. It was odd to have an armed soldier on the dive boat to Sipadan but I always felt safe at all locations. The sites around Mabul include natural and artificial reefs and though not teeming with life like Sipadan, have plenty of life including many many fish, nudibranchs, cuttlefish, pipefish, ribbon eels, blue spotted rays, etc. The Kapalai house reef was surprisingly wonderful - eels, many-spotted sweetlips, rays, giant grouper. The dive operation is well run. The mostly Chinese clientele seem to come mostly to snorkel so in general the dive boats were not crowded. As per previous reviews, there was an odd rush to the dinner buffet by the Asian crowd the moment dinner was made available, even though there was always plenty of food for everyone. Kapalai itself is quite beautiful with crystal clear water below the huts where one can easily see large needlefish, parrotfish, blue spotted rays and many other critters. Neither resort nor boats are set up to accommodate photographers.
Websites	Sipadan Kapalai
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, Philippines, Caribbean
Closest Airport	Lahad Datu	Getting There	New York to Hong Kong to Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	I hired a private guide so I could photograph. Groups were only 4-5 divers, usually. No depth limits.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
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	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Neither the resort nor the boats are set up to accommodate photographers. There is no clean room or anywhere to keep gear. I hauled mine back and forth from my room to the boat everyday. Dive boats have no fresh water tank for anything. There is a fresh water tank on "shore" for cameras/gear.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Sipadan Kapalai in Malaysia/Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai

Sipadan Kapalai: "Sipadan did not disappoint", Mar, 2017,

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 Sipadan Kapalai in
Malaysia/Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai