10 replies to this topic

[Bent C]

I am going to Sabah again next spring and considering Sipadan. I have been there twice during the current quota system and did alright in getting in quite a number if dives at Sipadan. However, this time I have been quoted with a maximum of every third day to Sipadan and when there limited to 45 minute dive time per dive. That is not a deal I am interested in, and if this is the general rule, I´d rather go somewhere else. Which resorts give the best Sipadan/other dive sites ratio, and which allows longer dive times?

Best regards Bent

[diggy]

Hi bent was there last year, but i guess thats the maximum dive time they allow there nowadays! I dived with scuba junkie and they have 4 dives on the days of sipadan diving.

Diggy

[AMW]

If you want to dive Sipaden, most definitely consider doing so via a liveaboard!!!
Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time shuttling between the resorts and Sipaden, and, depending how crowded the resorts are will determine how frequently you will be permitted to dive Sipaden Island itself.

[ckchong]

Boneo Diver, SWV, Smart and Sea Venture.....This a the most higher chance resort......
Boneo diver 4 dive a day, SWV 3dive a day, Sea Venture 4dive a day and SMART unknow...
day request 4day 3night is confirm 1 day permit, if u can stay longer time will be better, the best time is unpeak session so that you got higher chance to go in but better check with the operator.


SWV and SMART is Water Village, Boneo on main island(mabul island)

Edited by ckchong, 02 September 2011 - 12:36 AM.

[Chriso]

We where there 3 months ago, stayed at Kapalai, great resort tops service good guides guides.

First day we where told all these rules by the guide 40min, 30m max yadda yadda, after the first check out dive and saw we new what we where doing all the rules pretty much went out the window and he let us do our own thing for the trip.

8 days diving and got 3 days diving at Sipadan, 4 dives everyday.

A handful of Photos from our trip http://www.uwphotog.com/p691687760

[Bent C]

Thanks guys. Still to little and to uncertain given the price of staying there. With the 40-45 minute limit, even with rather slack enforcement, I will find somewhere else to visit. To bad, I have been to Sipadan a number of times earlier and twice with the quota system. Sipadan one day out of two is OK, but the way the slots are distributed now it seems as if there is quite a risk to be significantly more seldom on Sipadan. Maybe Lankayan instead. Or maybe Indo.

Regards

Bent C

[Luko]

Still to little and to uncertain given the price of staying there. With the 40-45 minute limit, even with rather slack enforcement, I will find somewhere else to visit.

Maybe Lankayan instead...

Hi,
I am surprized you say you've been quoted for a MAXIMUM of 1 day out of 3 in Sipadan, You probably meant a MINIMUM of 1 out of 3 days. In low season the pattern is much like 2 days out of 3 (Went 3 times last year in feb, aug and dec at Borneo Divers : I had to BEG to stay diving on Mabul in feb and dec and went 3 times out of 7 days in aug...).

Speaking about the 45 minutes limit, I don't see any problem in Sipadan when you're on 4 dives in a 8 hours period! I sometimes wished I skipped the fourth dive... (and in fact never dived less than 50mins).

Lankayan? Uh well, you can compare the prices with Mabul/Sipadan, I am not sure you can compare the diving though...

Cheers
Luko

[Bent C]

Thanks, Luko. Probably incorrect of me to state it as a maximum. However, it certainly wasn´t put forward as a minimum either, more like this is what you will get. I do realize that with a little bit of luck and low season it could be better, but as I would be going late March I believe that it can be quite full then. Last time I was there I stayed two weeks, with one week going to Sipadan five days out of seven and the next week once or twice. So it really seems to be much about luck. Well, I will be in the area anyway, so I could probably just check out the booking situation when my visit approaches.

I really like my one hour dives. Even with the 4 dives a day schedule, I prefer that, and maybe then skip a night dive if needed. But then the last half to third of the dive would be spent very shallow. I remember the times when one could stay on Sipadan with unlimited shore dives. 5-6 dives/day was the rule, with one day going for 7. On the other hand, those days my air consumption seriously limited dive times!

I read a lot of good about Lankayan, and also on the somewhat high prices. Do you find the diving seriously limited to that of Sipadan?

Cheers

Bent

[mcliffy2]

I did some rather unscientific polling of past trip reports on scubaboard.com and other places, and concluded that SWV seemed to give the best chances for getting a large number of days because they seem to have more permits per guest than other places, and also cater to snorkelers/non-divers, meaning some permits might not be taken. SWV was also the only resort that promised at least 2 of 5 days via email (all the others would promise no more than 1).

We did 5 days of diving and got 3 at Sipadan, and were offered a fourth but declined because our luggage (which had been lost for 5 days) was due to arrive and we wanted to be around when it did. We were there at the end of Nov/beginning of December, which I think is a bit less crowded. However, in airport conversations with others who stayed at Kapalai and Mabul Resort at the same time, it seemed we got more chances at Sipadan than they did.

Also, they didn't impose any kind of time limit on us.

Edited by mcliffy2, 12 September 2011 - 11:50 AM.

[mcliffy2]

One other hint -- a simple email to SWV asking if they had any discounts resulted in an offer for 20% off the standard rates. This may have been due to it being low season, but it can't hurt to ask.

[Bent C]

One other hint -- a simple email to SWV asking if they had any discounts resulted in an offer for 20% off the standard rates. This may have been due to it being low season, but it can't hurt to ask.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it and got a "once in six days" guarantee! You had significantly better prepromise. Maybe it is the time that is wrong for me, late March seems to be pretty busy.


/Bent C