Dive Review of Sipadan Water Village Resort in
Malaysia/Borneo

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Sipadan Water Village Resort, Sep, 2008, by Bob & Pat Thompson, Pa, USA ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 4429.
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
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Village itself is located on the island of Mabul, and diving is done on Mabul, Sipadan, and, Kapalai. There is an extra daily charge for diving Sipadan for marine park preservation. Sipadan is a 30-40 minute boat ride, depending on sea conditions, and the best of the three islands for spotting large marine life. We saw sharks, lots of turtles, a school of baracuda, cuttlefish, bumphead parrots, and beautiful soft corals. Mabul and Kapalai are mostly muck diving, but also had large schools of fish, and there was a school of batfish right under the boat dock. The house reef provides many photo ops and shore dives are available all day, and for an extra charge in the evening. The entire resort is built on a boardwalk over water, and cabins are spacious and comfortable. If you have knee or back problems, try to arrange a cabin near the dining hall and dive area: the 5 minute walk to the cabins all the way at the end of the resort can become uncomfortable for those with such problems. There is no air conditioning, but a large ceiling fan keeps night temps comfortable for sleeping. The staff is extremely helpful and accommodating. The morning we left, it was raining heavily and we feared extra luggage charges for wet luggage, but the staff covered every bag with plastic to wheel it from the cabins to the boat launch. (It is a 20-30 minute boat ride back to the mainland for departing flights.) Be sure to walk onto the island and visit the little village. It makes you appreciate what you have. There are several small vendors selling shells, hand-made pearl necklaces and bracelets, and wall plaques. They expect you to bargain with them. The kids love having their picture taken and want to see it on your digital screen. We had taken bags of butterscotch and mint candy, and they enjoyed these treats. Overall, we enjoyed our stay very much and would recommend it to other divers.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Bonaire, Wakatobi, Cozumel, Bahamas, Curacau
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No decompression diving. 50-60 minutes max
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Divemasters were excellent in pointing out photo ops. Some dive boats had no camera tank. We held our cameras until the dive, handed them to the divemaster before backward-rolling, and then were handed them back by the divemaster or boat captain. Battery charging was done in our room, using a converter, but batteries never seemed to achieve a full charge. There were 2 dedicated camera rinse tanks on the dock.

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Dive Review of Sipadan Water Village Resort in Malaysia/Borneo

Sipadan Water Village Resort, Sep, 2008,

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 Water Village Resort in
Malaysia/Borneo