sipadan island

Sipadan Island
Semporna

“I have seen other places like Sipadan 45 years ago. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art”. - Jacques-Yves Cousteau

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah’s mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.

The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more than 20 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that became disoriented and then drowned.

The residential schooling barracuda and big-eye trevally, which often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations, are one of the highlights of every diver’s wish-list. With the possibility of seeing pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event.

It is not only the big fish that amaze divers coming to Sipadan, the macro life is equally mesmerizing. Garden eels, leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, fire gobies, and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. The diversity and abundance of marine found at Sipadan gives it its reputation of being one of the ten best dive locations in the world.

sipadan island

The late Jacques Cousteau, the world-renowned oceanographer, described Sipadan Island as ‘an untouched piece of art’, while divers around the world voted it as one of the top five dive sites in the world. Malaysia’s only oceanic island, it is very small – only 12ha. in size. A 25-minute walk is all that is required to circle the island on foot. As an oceanic island, it rises about 700 metres from the sea floor, attracting diverse marine life from the blackness of the open sea. Surrounded by crystal clear waters, this crown jewel is a treasure trove of some of the most amazing marine animals. Declared a bird sanctuary in 1933 by the Colonial Government of North Borneo and re-gazetted in 1963 by the Malaysian Government, the dense vegetation on Sipadan Island supports a large variety of tropical birds which include sea eagles, kingfishers, sunbirds, starlings and wood pigeons. Exotic crustaceans including the amazing coconut crab roam the beaches and scurry among the undergrowth. When diving here, encounters with turtles, resident schools of jacks, bumphead parrotfish and barracudas are almost assured around the tiny coral island.

Key Tips

Try to be part of an early-morning dive to Sipadan at the famous Barracuda Point. In the early hours of the morning, you are most likely to swim amongst big schools of swirling barracuda...

How to get there

By Air The jump off point to Sipadan Island is Kota Kinabalu or Tawau. By Car Continue the journey by a 1-hour drive to Semporna town. By Sea A 30-minute speedboat will take you to Mabul, which is the jump off point for Sipadan Island explorations.

Who to contact

For more information, please contact Sabah Tourism Office Tel: +6088-248 698 / 211 732

Accommodation Overview

Since last year, Sipadan has been turned into a sanctuary so accommodation is now only available on nearby islands like Mabul.

Diving Season

The Pulau Sipadan diving season is year round and most normally expressed as having the best conditions between April and December, especially July and August. The rainy season tends to be between January and March where unsettled weather may result in a decrease in visibility, however in recent years however the timing of the rainy season has been less than certain.

sipadan island info

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah's mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.
The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more then 70 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of tribes that became disoriented and then drowned.
The residential schooling barracuda and big- eye trevally are one of the highlights on every divers wish-list which often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations. With the possibility of seeing pelagics such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event. Its not only the frogfish that amaze divers coming to Sipadan, the macro life is equally mesmerizing. Garden eels, leaf scorpionfish. mantis shrimps, fire graces and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. The diversity and abundance of marine life found at Sipadan gives it its reputation of being one of the ten best dive locations in the world.

Announcement: Presently, the island is in the care of Wildlife Department, which has stationed several park rangers to oversee the state of nature of the island. To protect the world unique flora & fauna on the island as well as the underwater world the Malaysian Government has decided that from 2005 no more overnight facilities shall be on Sipadan itself. This means that all dive operators on Sipadan have to move; diving Sipadan will be conducted from other destinations, such as Mabul and Kapalai. It is likely that Sipadan will be designated a marine reserve under Sabah Parks, and there are plans for a World Heritage Site listing.
Picture Source - Book of "Top Nature & Dive Resorts of Borneo" by Andrea and Anthonella Ferrari available for sale on TravelMart.

Destination:
Sipadan

Accommodation:
No 

Transport:
Coach & 4WD, boat

Tour Operators:
Yes

Guided Tour:
Day diving only

Best Time to Visit:
All year round

Length of Visit:
Day dives

Clothing:
Out Door Gear

Tour Type:
Nature & Wildlife

Other Areas to Visit:
Tawau Hills Park

Madai Caves

Kapalai Island

Mabul Island

Photo Credits:
STB 

Pulau Sipadan Resort

Sipadan Island travel tips

 

Sipadan Island (Pulau Sipadan in Malay) lies off the east coast of Malaysian Borneo. The island is known above all for some of the best scuba diving anywhere in the world.

Get in

Getting in requires some effort. Most visitors fly to Tawau from either Kuala Lumpur (3 hours) or Kota Kinabalu (50 minutes), continue by minivan or taxi to the port town of Semporna (1-2 hours) and from there to Sipadan itself (1 hour by fast boat).

Get around

Walking along the beautiful sandy beaches, snorkeling sites on all sides of the island can be reached. Scuba divers usually will take a boat a few minutes from the beach to their dive site.

See

The beautiful sandy beaches and the coral reef with its rich marine life. On the island there are large monitor lizards (more than 1m in length) which sometimes come out onto the beach or even into the water.

Erfahrung auf der Insel Sipadan

hier ist eine Geschichte aus dem Besucher, der Insel Sipadan vor kurzem Besuch
Dieser Eintrag markiert den offiziellen Beginn des "Water Sports" Teil meiner Reise, wo ich eine Woche Tauchen (oder so dachte ich) bei Sipadan Mabul und Inseln vor der südöstlichen Küste der malaysischen Borneo zu verbringen, und einmal in Maui, Hawaii unter Kite-Surf-Stunden, Schnorcheln, und vielleicht sogar drückte in einigen Surfen und Wandern. Also, nur um Erwartungen zu entsprechen richtig hier, obwohl es durchaus einige Elemente der "kulturellen" Interesse an den letzten paar Beiträge an, gehen aber meist auf der sportlichen stuff, Sonnenuntergänge, und Strandaufenthalten bestehen. Unnötig zu sagen, ich war gespannt auf diesen Teil der Reise, für eine ganze Weile.
Um sich auf die Tauch-Resort in der Nähe der Insel Sipadan, flog ich von Bangkok nach Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, dann von Kuala Lumpur nach Kota Kinabalu (Betonung auf der letzten "a" in Kinabalu), im Bundesstaat Sabah, Malaysia auf der Insel Borneo. Kota Kinabalu liegt als KK von fast allen genannten. Dann eine kurze Flucht aus der KK nach Tawau, an der Südostküste von Sabah, Malaysia. Dann eine Stunde plus van Fahrt zum Bootsrampe in Semporna, Malaysia, und eine Stunde Bootsfahrt nach Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort.
Kapalai ist absolut erstaunlich - es ist ein Tauch-Resort auf Stelzen über eine Sandbank gebaut / Riff mit kein Land in der Nähe. Ein wenig irritierend, wenn der nächtliche Sturm Hits mit Monsun-Regenfälle und wie super Wellen, schwankte der Bungalow ... eine schöne Erinnerung daran, dass im gesamten System der Dinge, wir sind ziemlich unbedeutend Kreaturen. Der Grund, warum Menschen zu Kapalai ist auf der Insel Sipadan, die nur fünfzehn Minuten Bootsfahrt von Kapalai ist zu tauchen, und ist einer der weltweit renommierten Tauchplatz, sowohl für Makro-stuff (wie kleine Riff-Fische, Korallen, Schnecken und viele andere kleine, bunte Tierchen), und für die größeren Raubfische wie graue Riffhaie, Schulen von Barrakudas, Schildkröten in Hülle und Fülle und sogar Walhaie.
Lots of prep ging in diesem Teil der Reise, einschließlich herauszufinden, wo ich meine Tauchausrüstung zu speichern würde während der Fahrt den Rest von Südostasien und liefert Pass-und Tauchschein Informationen, damit die Mittel könnten die täglichen Tauchgang Genehmigung für meine Tauchgänge bei Sipadan zu verschaffen, Beschaffung der richtigen Versicherungsschutz für den Fall, dass etwas wirklich schief ging in der Mitte des Ozeans, und natürlich dorthin zu gelangen. Andere als Prahlerei phänomenalen Tauchen und epische Sicht bei den Sternen ausgerichtet sind, Sipadan Island hat eine interessante Geschichte. 1991 übernahm philippinischen Rebellen ein Dutzend Sipadan Taucher als Geisel und bringt sie zurück auf die Philippinen und halten Sie sie mehrere Monate. Die Geiseln wurden schließlich freigegeben. Dieser Vorfall, mit nicht nachhaltigen Tourismus Praktiken, die ihren Tribut wurden auf dem Riff verbunden, führte die malaysische Regierung auf, das Land Teil der Insel Sipadan zu schließen, aber alle militärischen Personals. Taucher können ihre Stunden verbringen lange Intervalle zwischen Oberfläche Sipadan TG umher auf einem abgesperrten Teil des Strandes, wo wir konnten einen Blick auf die Art und Weise der militärischen Leute lebten auf der Insel zu erhalten. Sie sahen alle ziemlich langweilig, aber durchgeführt großen Maschinengewehre, so dass ich denke, dass sie werde für sie ...

Experience at Sipadan Island

here’s a story from visitor who visit sipadan island recently

This entry marks the official start of the "Water Sports" portion of my travels, where I will spend a week diving (or so I thought) at Sipadan and Mabul Islands off of the southeast coast of Malaysian Borneo, and once in Maui, Hawaii, taking kite surfing lessons, snorkeling, and maybe even squeezing in some surfing and hiking.  So just to set expectations properly here, although there may be some elements of "cultural" interest in these last couple posts, it's mostly going to consist of sporty stuff, sunsets, and beachgoing.  Needless to say, I've been looking forward to this part of the trip for a while now.

View from the Dining Hall

In order to get to the dive resort near Sipadan Island, I flew from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu (accent on the last "a" in Kinabalu), in the state of Sabah, Malaysia on the island of  Borneo.  Kota Kinabalu is conveniently referred to as KK by almost everyone.  Then a short flight from KK to Tawau, on the southeast coast of Sabah, Malaysia.  Then an hour-plus van ride to the boat ramp in Semporna, Malaysia, and an hour boat ride to Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort.

Dusk on the Sundeck

Kapalai is absolutely amazing - it's a dive resort built on stilts over a sand bar/reef area with no land nearby.  A bit unnerving when the nightly storm hits with monsoon-like rains and super swell, swaying the bungalow...a nice reminder that, in the whole scheme of things, we are pretty insignificant creatures.  The reason people go to Kapalai is to dive at Sipadan Island, which is a mere fifteen minute boat ride from Kapalai, and is a world-renowned dive spot, both for macro stuff (like little reef fish, coral, nudibranchs and lots of other small, colorful critters), and for the bigger pelagics like gray reef sharks, schools of barracuda, turtles galore and even whale sharks.

Lots of prep went into this part of the trip, including figuring out where I would store my dive gear while traveling the rest of southeast asia, supplying passport and dive certification information so the resort could procure the daily dive permit for my dives at Sipadan, obtaining the proper insurance coverage in the event that anything went really wrong out in the middle of the ocean, and of course getting there.  Other than boasting phenomenal diving and epic visibility when the stars are aligned, Sipadan Island has an interesting history.  In 1991, Philippine rebels took a dozen or so Sipadan divers hostage, bringing them back to the Philippines and holding them for several months.  The hostages were eventually released.  That incident, combined with unsustainable tourism practices that were taking their toll on the reef, led the Malaysian government to close the land portion of Sipadan Island to all but military personnel.  Divers are allowed to spend their hour-long surface intervals between Sipadan dives milling around on a cordoned-off portion of the beach, where we were able to get a peek at the way the military guys lived on the island.  They all looked pretty bored but carried big machine guns, so I guess they had that going for them...

The Dining Hall from the Sundeck

There was also a handful of military guys living and patrolling at Kapalai, so at any given time of day, you might be strolling the boardwalk past a serious looking guy dressed in cammo carrying a machine gun.  I really wanted to get a picture of me with one of those guys but chickened out.  I met some really cool people at the dive resort - lots of couples and honeymooners.  I had hoped to have some underwater pictures for you all, but unfortunately the visibility was pretty poor, most likely due to wind pattern disturbances created by the Myanmar cyclone.  The vis is supposed to be great this time of year.  I also blew out my eardrum on my third day of diving, so was unable to dive for the last four days of the trip.  The ear injury made my ear bleed for a few days, but I still wanted to know for sure if diving was REALLY out of the question, so took yet another trip to a southeast asian doctor - doc number three in six weeks!!  I came to the conclusion that Asia is definitely kicking my ass.

Dusk

Highlights of the trip to Semporna include: Eating at a chinese restaurant with a "NO SPITTING" sign on the wall, the owner of which was sitting there in the restaurant and I was told was one of the men taken hostage by the Philippine rebels; Walking through a town in which I was among the minority of women without the traditional muslim headscarf (including the doctor I saw); Having a chance to chat with the dive master who accompanied me to the doctor about all sorts of stuff, including questions like, "when we flush the toilet at Kapalai, where does it go?"; and buying the dive masters a couple of cases of beer as a thank-you for taking pity on me and inviting me to party with them each night back by their quarters since I had nothing better to do...

Fat Dog!

Having confirmed at the doctor's office that diving was out of the question for the rest of my trip and getting my third round of antibiotics in six weeks (to prevent middle ear infection), my next hope was that I'd be able in the water in Maui...fingers crossed!!    

History of Sipadan Island

In the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. The matter was brought for adjudication before the International Court of Justice and, at the end of 2002, the Court awarded the island along with the island of Ligitan to Malaysia, on the basis of the "effective occupation" displayed by the latter's predecessor (Malaysia's former colonial power, the United Kingdom) and the absence of any other superior title. The Philippines had applied to intervene in the proceedings on the basis of its claim to Northern Borneo, but its request was turned down by the Court early in 2001.

The Malaysian military protecting tourists against possible terrorist attacks.

On April 23, 2000, 21 people were kidnapped by the Filipino terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. The armed terrorists arrived by boat and forced 10 tourists and 11 resort workers at gun point to board the vessels and brought the victims to Mindanao. All victims were eventually released.

[edit] Diving at Sipadan

In year 2004, the Government of Malaysia ordered all on-site dive and resort operators of Sipadan to move their structures out of the island by 31 December 2004. This move is mainly to conserve a balanced ecosystem for Sipadan and its surrounding.^{[citation needed]}.

Diving will continue to be allowed in Sipadan for divers who are ferried in and out by dive and resort operators from the mainland and surrounding islands. However, tourists and keen divers should be warned that the number of permits available for Sipadan each day is limited to 120 spread between 12 resorts.

If you are lucky enough to get to dive at Sipadan, you'll experience world class diving, and maybe the most known diving spot is the Barracuda Point, where during the morning dive you'll often encounter a very large school of Barracuda or Big Eye Trevallies. This is only one of many rare experiences you'll have diving the reef off Sipadan island. There will be a lot of Green Turtle, Hawkbill Turtle and Whitetip reef shark and even the rare encounter of Hammerhead sharks.

About sipadan island

here's some info about sipadan island

Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea east of the major town of Tawau and off the coast of East Malaysia on the Island of Borneo. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem.

Normally rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: schools of green and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda and big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that have become lost and drown before finding the surface