Sipadan Island is located 35 km south of the city of Semporna on the southeast coast of the state of Sabah (the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo), 5 degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea. Sipadan is located in the Indian Pacific region, one of the richest areas of marine life in the world. Over 3,000 fish species and hundreds of coral species are classified in this rich ecosystem. Manta rays, hammerhead sharks, whale and reef sharks, schools of barracudas adorn his underwater kingdom. The marine flora and fauna here is incredibly diverse. The island is regularly ranked among the top 10 dive sites in the world.

Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, that is, it is not connected to any continental shelf. At a height of 600 m (measured from the bottom of the sea), it was formed by living corals that have grown over the top of an extinct volcano cone over many thousands of years.

When to go
Diving in the Sipadan area is practiced throughout the year. The best time for diving is from April to December, but especially in July and August. This is peak tourist season and you should book permits and resort accommodation well in advance (some resorts are fully booked months in advance). From January to March, there can be heavy rains, with them the visibility under water decreases, but diving does not stop and the resorts on the nearby islands are not empty even during this period of the year. Peaks of the tourist season:

- July and August;
- Golden Week (several holidays combined with weekends in early October);
- Golden Week (several holidays combined with weekends in early May);
- Christmas and New Year;
- Chinese New Year.

How to get there
Most tourists fly to Tawau either from Kuala Lumpur (3 hours) or Kota Kinabalu (50 minutes).
1. From Kuala Lumpur.
2. From Kota Kinabalu.
3. From Singapore
Upon arrival in the city of Tawau, continue to the port city of Semporna (Semporna, 1.5 hours) by taxi, bus or pre-booked transport of your resort.
From Semporna by speedboat to your resort on the islands of Mabul and Kapalai (45 minutes).
Book in advance at resorts on the Kapalai and Mabul Islands and arrange transportation with them. Then the resort administration will meet you at the Tawau airport, and then take you to the city of Semporna by private minibus, and from there by boat to your accommodation.

Diving permits
To minimize pressure on the island's coral and underwater world, on January 1, 2005, the Malaysian government introduced a system of restrictions. From now on, to visit the island of Sipadan, a permit issued by the Sabah Parks Authority (this is the government organization of the state of Sabah, which controls the issuance of entry permits) is required. The total number of divers or visitors allowed to visit Sipadan Island is limited to 120 per day. The stay is limited from 06:00 to 15:00. Therefore, all dive operators start and end their dives around the island during this time.

Permits to visit Sipadan Island will be obtained on your behalf by the resort where you are staying. Each resort is allocated a certain number of permit tickets each day (each resort has its own quota). If the diver does not fall into the quota, he does not dive in Sipadan that day. But you shouldn't get too upset. The nearby islands of Mabul and Kapalai also have a rich underwater world of coral and marine life.

How to get permission from your resort. Most resorts require a minimum stay and only then guarantee their guests a diving permit in Sipadan. Some of them work on the principle: whoever applied first gets it. Still others use lotteries. Visiting during the low tourist season, or staying for a longer period of time, increases the chances of obtaining a permit.

Popular dive sites
Barracuda point is considered one of the top 5 dive sites in the world and the most popular dive site in the Sipadan area. Huge schools of thousands of barracudas often form in this place something like a tornado. If you're lucky, you might be able to see schools of barracuda form a spiraling wall of fish circling in a continuous whirlwind. This is the most interesting moment for any diver. You can also see green bumphead parrotfish, dozens of turtles and reef sharks circling the area. Sometimes hammerhead sharks will suddenly appear. Barracuda point consists of a sheer wall, often with very strong currents. After moving slowly with the current, you will end your dive in a shallow coral garden. Enjoy this incredible dive site! Barracuda Point is a 3-minute boat ride to the right of the pier. Level: for advanced divers. Diving depth: 5-40 m.

South Point is a special diving site in the Sipadan area. South Point consists of a wall, followed by a ledge about 20 meters underwater, and then a sudden drop down. Sheer walls completely covered with beautiful corals. There are many pelagic fish, schools of barracudas, cavals and many turtles. You can often see manta rays. An experienced diver can descend to deeper depths in the early morning and, with a bit of luck, spot dozens of hammerhead sharks swimming together. Rare sharks such as the hammerhead shark and the thresher shark can be spotted at depths of around 40 meters. If you do not dive to great depths, you can see a lot of turtles and whitenose sharks. Please note that this dive is only for those with technical diving skills with special equipment. South Point often has strong currents and is about a 15-minute boat ride from the pier. Visibility: more than 30m. Level: for advanced divers. Diving depths: 20-40 m.

Mid-Reef is a 10 minute boat ride from the pier. The emphasis here is on corals and small fish. As well as diving around the island of Kapalai, here you can see fish from the clown family, stone fish (also called warty fish), octopuses, mandarin fish, mantis shrimp, lobsters, nudibranch mollusks. Mid-Reef is famous for its small seahorses hiding in the corals. This area sometimes has a strong current. Recommended for night diving. Видимость: более 20 м. Level: for advanced divers. Diving depth: 10 -25m.

Turtle Cavern is a special diving site unlike any other in the Sipadan area. Cave diving enthusiasts should definitely try their hand at this labyrinth of underwater tunnels. The entrance to the cave is located approximately at a depth of 18 m. After the entrance to the cave there is another tunnel, from which side tunnels with dead ends endings. You can walk up to 200m from the cave entrance. During the dive, be careful not to raise a thick layer of dust at the bottom of the cave and reduce visibility to zero. During the dive, you will find the skeletons of turtles, dolphins, marlin. Legends say that turtles come to this cave to die. In fact, lost in the labyrinth of passages, they died. Please note that the Turtle Cavern is for advanced divers only, with special equipment and an experienced guide who knows the caves well. Level: for advanced divers. Diving depth: 17-23 m.

Hanging Gardens. Named after the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Hanging Gardens topography consists of a 2-meter reef that terraces down to a depth of about 70 meters and subsequently plunges into the abyss. The wall is covered with a wide variety of colorful hard and soft corals, sponges and gorgon corals. Along the wall you can find a number of damselfly fish, sweetlip fish, clown fish, lobsters hiding in the cracks. Sometimes it is possible to observe dozens of turtles in one dive! Good place to watch reef sharks. Quite strong currents are often observed. Diving depth: 5 - 40 m.

Coral Gardens. Located on the south side of Sipadan Island, Coral Gardens is a very shallow diving site with many coral reefs next to a beautiful beach. An ideal place for snorkelling to see the rich underwater world of corals and fish. Level: for beginner divers. Diving depth: 10 - 23m.

Turtle Patch similar to Coral Gardens, good place to swim with turtles, reef sharks, schools of scarfish. An easy dive on a shallow reef ideal for beginner divers. Diving depth: 5-12 m.

Whitetip Avenue literally means "Reef Shark Boulevard" in English. As the name suggests, this is a famous diving site due to the abundance of sharks, rays and turtles are common. The walls are covered with black and gorgon corals. More experienced divers dive below 30m and can spot many gray and whitenose sharks. Level: advanced divers, depth dives: 17 - 40 m.

West Ridge is famous for turtles and groupers, there are many black corals. Reef sharks are often spotted. A good place for snorkelling and freediving (water diving without scuba gear and other breathing equipment). West Ridge is ideal for divers of all levels. Level: for divers of different levels, diving depth: 18-40 m.

Drop Off is a sheer cliff that goes down to a depth of 600 m. A great place to see many turtles, reef and gray sharks, parrot fish, as well as hundreds of barracudas, sometimes forming a giant tornado. Before the closure of all resorts on the island, Drop Off was considered the best place for scuba diving in the world. Diving depth: 5-40 m.

Underwater
Sipadan is also called Turtle Island, because it became famous precisely because of the turtles, about which Cousteau shot one of his masterpieces. When shooting underwater, two, three, or even more turtles get into the frame. These ancient creatures live here in countless numbers, of every age and of several species. Not far from the island is the