Siamil Island
Si Amil is a beautiful island located around 45-60 minutes by speed boat trip from Mabul and Semporna.
How to Scuba Dive in Siamil?
Si Amil has four main dive sites including East Point, Celebes Reef, Maratua Reef, and Jefferys Reef.
The dive sites are unique to the island but fairly similar to each other with similar marine life found at each site.
Muck diving is popular here as the watchful diver can find nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, coral shrimps, sea dragons and camouflaged frogfish.
Also, keep your eyes open for the poisonous scorpion fish and the uniquely shaped trunkfish.
Shark sightings also occur at Si Amil Island, although largely at night. Keep your eyes open for bamboo sharks as you swim along the gently sloping reef populated by colourful sea fans and hard corals.
On the east side of the island there is a breath-taking drop into
the deep blue as the sea floor plunges into the several hundred
meter deep Alice Channel.
More about Siamil Island
Si Amil sits 45–60 minutes by speedboat from Mabul and Semporna, and it rewards the extra travel time with what distance always buys on this coast: quieter sites and undisturbed marine life. The island pairs naturally with neighbouring Denawan on day trips, and among divers it has a specific reputation — muck diving with fewer bubbles in the water than the famous addresses.
The island has four main dive sites: East Point, Celebes Reef, Maratua Reef and Jefferys Reef — each with its own character, from sloping coral terrain to the critter-rich bottom that keeps macro photographers loyal. The supporting cast runs the classic Celebes Sea list: frogfish, ghost pipefish, nudibranchs in variety, with turtles and the occasional pelagic drifting through off the points.
A little history adds flavour to the surface interval: Si Amil once hosted a Japanese fishing settlement, and traces of that era remain part of the island's story — one of those places where the topside past is nearly as interesting as the underwater present.
Siamil works best as a dedicated day trip for divers who've done the headline islands and want the coast's quieter chapter. See the Siamil photo gallery for a preview, and contact us to arrange the boat — pairing it with Denawan makes the travel time earn double.
