Swim in God's Aquarium. Its Actually Very Easy to Choose The Right Island for You to go Diving!

Semporna Island, on the east coast of Sabah, is the transition station of the surrounding diving resorts. If you want to visit Sipadan, Kapalai Island, and Mabul Island, you should set off from the dock of Semporna and then reach these attractions. The voyage to these attractions is within 1 hour. Originally, this was a fishing village; and it has become a small town because the diving is popular. Here, hotels, diving stores, and restaurants are everywhere. With more options for meals and accommodations than any outlying island, it is very suitable for taking a break from diving.

Sipadan Island, in the southeast corner of Sabah, with an area of only 0.03 square kilometers, is rated as one of the best diving sites in the world by all professional divers and is also a mecca for divers. Sipadan Island has a unique subsea topography, with a 5-meter shallow sea followed by 600 vertical cliffs. Moreover, the undersea landscape is stunning. Here, the coral gardens are endless, sharks, giant tortoises, and manta rays are regular visitors; if you are lucky, you can see the hammerhead sharks. Thus, it has the good name of "God's Aquarium". Diving in Sipadan Island requires a diving license. Six of the fifteen diving sites are suitable for open water (OW) divers; other diving sites require the divers to have the Advanced Open Water qualification(AOW) and above. Moreover, the underwater conditions are complex, so it is recommended that only divers who have dived for 50 bottles of air come here.

Kapalai Island is one of the closest islands to the diving mecca Sipadan Island. It is not actually an island, but a resort built on a coral reef, which floats in the sea on its own. Here, there is no large beach and no coconut forest. Here, there is only the endless sea, and the wonderful underwater world has allowed it to have the reputation of the Little Maldives. In fact, Kapalai Island is more beautiful than the Maldives. When the sea is calm, the undersea is like an aquarium without walls. There are so many corals and schools of fish; moreover, it is not unusual to see a sea turtle in the wild. If you visit here, experiencing the wonderful snorkeling is unmissable. If you want to go to Kapalai Island for diving, you can find a qualified diving store in Semporna Island for arrangement, and you can also book directly from Kapalai Water House; all diving equipment can be rented from the diving center on the island. You can obtain a diving license in Kapalai Island, but the examination fee is very expensive. It is not recommended.

Mabul Island, 15 minutes' voyage to Sipadan Island, is one of the most ideal accommodation places if you want to visit Sipadan Island. There are only two resorts on the island. You are not allowed to land without booking accommodation there or diving lessons. Moreover, the number of people allowed to visit the island is restricted daily, so the accommodation is very popular. If you don't book the accommodation two or three months in advance, it is hard to book. There are seven or eight diving schools on the island, including Uncle Chang, which is a popular diving school in Semporna; in addition, there is also a drilling platform Sea Venture on the island. If you obtain an elementary OW course certificate, the fees of meals and accommodation in the resort can be covered. The examination fees are about 2500 to 5000 RMB. Moreover, there are many diving sites around, and the underwater community is abundant and concentrated. You can view the sea turtles and barracuda here. If you want to obtain a diving license, you need to make an appointment with the diving store in advance, preferably in 1-3 months in advance in China. Otherwise, you can encounter the embarrassing scene of being without a proper coach. Each diving store has its own office in Semporna. After you pay for the order, the relevant staff will take you on a speedboat to Mabul Island and return you to Semporna after the course ends.

Pom Pom Island, next to Sipadan Island, is not only a leisure resort, but also a diving resort. The beautiful scenery here can rival the Maldives, but the costs are only a quarter of those in the Maldives. It is undeniably cost effective. Pom Pom Island is a sea turtle paradise. In many diving sites, you can view large turtles, and countless fish in the bottom of the sea. If you don't live in the island, you can participate in "3 dives a day" project in Pom Pom Island. You can book this project via many travel agencies in Semporna, for 300 RMB per person, for a total of about 600 RMB, including diving equipment. The divers usually arrive at the diving store at 8 a.m. and set off at 9 a.m. If you live in Pom Pom Island, you can book the project via the island resort. If you book the project in advance, you only pay 305RMBper person for three dives, about 610 RMB.

Mataking Island is located in the north of Mabul Island, near Sipadan Island. On the east of the island, there is a coral cliff stretching into towards the bottom of the sea; on the west of the island, there are vertical coral cliffs. Both eastern and western corals are about 100 meters from the surface. The complex and diverse environment is suitable for beginners to practice. The corals in this sea area are protected, so they attract rare fishes, such as scorpion fish and green-tailed lip fish, even the giant turtles are also attracted here to seek food. The biodiversity makes the underwater of the island as lively as the animal world at the bottom of the sea. Mataking Island is divided into large and small islands. You can view the beach connecting these two islands at low tide. On the large island, you can also live in the water house, which can be compared with Kapalai Island which is also famous for water houses. Mataking Island has beach, jungle, and rich activities, as well as dishes which are suitable for Chinese tastes.