Divers are flocking to the northern Borneo state of Sabah where unique resorts and hundreds of dive sites offer immersive experiences in one of the richest marine habitats on the planet
Photography: Nurul Yazid, Mataking Reef Resort, Shutterstock
Mesmerising manta rays, swirling barracuda, gigantic whale sharks, scalloped hammerheads and hawksbill sea turtles; Sabah’s underwater Big Five entice thousands of scuba divers to take the plunge each year. Located at the heart of the Coral Triangle, a region in the western Pacific Ocean which boasts more marine biodiversity than anywhere else in the world, Sabah’s year-round diving scene has grown from a well-kept secret in scuba circles to a bucket-list experience for adventure travellers.
In 2023, diving tourism generated RM500 million for Sabah’s economy, with sharks and rays named as the region’s underwater star attractions. Now is the perfect time to appreciate the wonders of Sabah’s waters, and to recognise the importance of diving responsibly in protecting the region’s thriving marine life.
Sipadan Island Marine Park, Mabul and Kapalai Islands
Thirty-five kilometres off the southeast coast of Sabah lies Sipadan, Malaysia’s only oceanic island, rising 600m from the seabed and crowned with 15ha of white sand and pristine rainforest. This small volcanic cone, covered in living corals, is surrounded by oceanic currents that bring marine creatures, great and small, to the island’s 12 world-famous dive sites.
“People travel to Sipadan from all over and they come for the big stuff,” says Suzette Harris, owner of Seaventures, the world’s only dive rig, a decommissioned oil rig which has operated as a floating dive hotel near Sipadan since 1997. “There aren’t many places in the world where you can experience being at the centre of a barracuda tornado, have an up-close encounter with a shark and watch a huge school of bumphead parrotfish, [gregarious reef fish which grow up to 1.5m long] in one dive.” Harris says Sipadan’s reputation for incredible underwater encounters has made it Malaysia’s most in-demand dive destination.
“Twenty-seven years ago, there were fewer divers and more fish,” admits the business owner. “But it’s still an amazing place to dive. Social media has introduced Sipadan to a new generation of open-minded adventure travellers who seek out extraordinary experiences and unique places to stay – as well as incredible diving.”
In recent years Sabah Parks, the organisation that protects the state’s jungles and marine parks while promoting tourism, has introduced several new measures to safeguard Sipadan’s marine life against the influx of underwater explorers. While all divers in Sabah must have their PADI Open Water Diver certification, an Advanced Open Water Diver certification is required to dive in Sipadan, to protect the fragile coral ecosystem. This two-day certification can be taken at many of the resorts in Sabah. A daily dive permit is also required and allows two dives per day.
Due to its protected status, you can’t stay on Sipadan Island, but you can stay on Seaventures Dive Rig, which offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sleep offshore. Homey accommodation, rustic buffet dining and a games room complete with pool and table tennis make for a laid-back vibe where travellers quickly become friends. Relax in hammocks on the sun deck, perfect for star gazing, or try the famous rig jump – a 20m leap into the Celebes Sea below that’s not for the faint-hearted.
Seaventures offers easy access to Sipadan and the surrounding dive destinations of Mabul and Kapalai Islands where shallow reefs are ideal for beginner divers and macro photography. Around Mabul is where you’ll find venomous blue-ringed octopus and surreal giant frogfish while the coral gardens of Kapalai are frequented by adorable pygmy seahorses, lionfish and blue-spotted stingrays.
Tun Sakaran Marine Park and Mataking Island
Northeast of Sipadan, the Tun Sakaran Marine Park, also known as Semporna Islands Park, encompasses a chain of islands and 21 dive sites which offer a more secluded, but no less impressive, diving experience than busy Sipadan.
The park’s shallow coastal waters attract barracuda, eagle rays and turtles in abundance while vast coral walls teem with rainbow-coloured sea slugs called nudibranchs. Bodgaya Lagoon, a sweeping arc of turquoise waters fringed with coral reefs, attracts snorkellers to explore from the surface. Above water, visitors will find the Bajau Laut, an indigenous community of seafaring nomads who live in stilt houses and house boats on this remote archipelago.
In April, the Regatta Lepa water festival in Semporna celebrates the customs of the Bajau Laut with a floating parade of wooden lepa – single-mast, wooden ships traditional to the indigenous people of the region. Hundreds of elaborately decorated boats take part in the festivities which include a tug-of-war between ships and a small dugout boat race.
Just outside the park boundary, Mataking Island and Mataking Reef Resort offer a private island retreat for those wishing to dive in and explore the region in style. This decadent spa resort offers beach massages, seafront dining, beach bonfires and a turtle hatchery. The resort runs Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes where guests can participate in activities like beach cleanups. It even has its own incredible dive sites including a shipwreck and Malaysia’s only underwater postbox where postcards can be placed in waterproof envelopes ready for an underwater postmark.
Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and Gaya Gaya Island
Off the northern coast of Borneo, three kilometres north of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s capital city, lies Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, a collection of five palm-fringed islands and an impressive 50 dive sites. The park’s vast coral jungles are home to snapper, spiky scorpion fish and no less than seven types of Nemo-like clownfish.
You can also enjoy night diving here, a unique experience for any diver looking for lesser spotted marine life such as mimic octopuses and moray eels, which come out to hunt after dark. Gaya Island Resort is a luxury resort within the park with a focus on marine and reef conservation, including coral propagation and turtle rescue and rehabilitation.
“With record tourism numbers and an influx of divers discovering Sabah’s underwater treasures, the need for marine conservation has become more critical than ever,” says Scott Mayback, the resort’s resident marine biologist.
He cites ghost pipefish, dwarf lionfish, blacktip reef sharks and an incredible array of coral varieties as big attractions but admits that migrating whale sharks, on their journey through the Sulu Sea to the Pacific, steal the show when they’re in town. These plant-eating gentle giants, the fourth largest fish in the world, can reach 18m in length and 20 tonnes in weight.
“The whale shark season around Gaya Island Resort typically occurs from February to March, coinciding with the abundance of krill, their primary food source. During this period, sightings of whale sharks become more frequent as they follow the krill,” explains Mayback. “On a few occasions, whale sharks have ventured into the resort’s waters and divers and snorkellers have had the incredible opportunity to swim alongside these gentle giants.”
But, for Mayback, the beauty of Sabah’s seas lies in the sheer abundance of life they contain. “Sabah is home to 75 percent of the world’s coral species and more than 2,000 different types of reef fish,” he says. “It is an irreplaceable biodiversity hotspot that is well worth conserving for future generations.”
How to get there
To reach the Islands of Kapalai and Mataking, fly into Tawau Airport, which has daily connections from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. From Tawau Airport, it’s an hour’s drive to reach bustling Semporna Town, the gateway to diving off the east coast of Borneo. Semporna to Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort is 45 minutes by speedboat and Semporna to Mataking Reef Resort is 1 hour. To reach Gaya Island, fly to Kota Kinabalu and enjoy a 10-minute speedboat ride to Gaya Island Resort.
Overwater bliss
Looking for more luxurious quarters? Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort is an overwater retreat on stilts, built on the tidal sandbar of Kapalai Island. Spot green sea turtles or snorkel with colourful reef fish from your water bungalow before enjoying sundowners on the spectacular floating sundeck. Both Seaventures and Kapalai Dive Resort have a quota of Sipadan dive permits.
