Lobster Lairs
Lobster lairs is a very nice dive with lots of lobsters hiding in cracks. Reef sharks and mantas are living inhabitants.
Lobster Lairs, on the southwest of Sipadan's reef, is the connoisseur's wall: 25 to 40 metres, 30-metre visibility, and a face full of cracks and crevices where the site's namesakes live — antennae first, bodies in shadow, in numbers that explain the plural in the name. Between lobster inspections, the blue side delivers: reef sharks are residents here, and mantas pass often enough to keep every diver glancing over a shoulder.
A 25–40 m wall: watch your NDL
The depth band makes this an Advanced Open Water dive in practice as well as on paper — the interesting terrain starts at 25 metres, so bottom time is a budget to spend deliberately. Our approach: drop to the working depth promptly, run the crevice line while the no-deco clock is generous, then step the profile up the wall and let the sharks and the seafans fill the ascent. It's a dive that rewards divers who plan like divers.
Best as your second or third Sipadan day
That's also why we quietly recommend it for the second or third Sipadan day rather than the first: once the permit-day nerves are gone and buoyancy is dialled in, Lobster Lairs is where Sipadan feels like your island rather than a bucket-list checkbox.
Permit-day planning and site rotation is our daily trade — contact us, and read how the permits work if you haven't yet.
Contact us to dive at Lobster Lairs
- Depth
- 25-40 metres
- Visibility
- 30 metres (100 feet)
- Location
- Southwest of Sipadan reef.
| Dive site | Min depth | Max depth | Level | Dive Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barracuda Point | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
| Coral gardens | 10m 33ft | 23m 75ft | OW | Wall, Reef |
| Hanging Gardens | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Lobster lairs | 25m 82ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef, Big Fishes |
| North Point | 25m 82ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Drift, Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| South Point | 20m 65ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
| Staghorn Crest | 20m 65ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| The Jetty | 3m 10ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef |
| Turtle Cavern | 14m 46ft | 23m 75ft | AOW | Cave, Reef |
| Turtle Patch | 5m 16ft | 12m 39ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Turtle Tomb | 17m 56ft | 23m 75ft | Divemaster | Cave |
| West Ridge | 18m 59ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Whitetip Avenue | 17m 56ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Midreef | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
| The Drop Off | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
Divers: book your Sipadan permits in advance!