The Drop Off
The Drop Off is a great dive site near the Jetty.
The Drop Off is the dive that made Sipadan a legend — and it starts five steps from the beach. Just along from the island's jetty, the reef shelf simply ends: a wall plunging some 600 metres into the Celebes Sea, close enough to shore that you can wade in over ankle-deep sand and, moments later, be hanging over an abyss. Jacques Cousteau's affection for Sipadan begins with this geography, and no amount of anticipation quite prepares divers for the first look down.
The world's most famous wall dive — 600m straight down
The diving delivers on the drama. The wall face is dense with growth and traffic — turtles at every depth behaving like commuters, whitetips on the ledges, schooling fish stacked along the edge — and because the site sits beside The Jetty, the two are often dived as one unhurried arc. Depth is entirely diver's choice: the wall offers everything from a 10-metre meander to the full AOW envelope, which is why this is many divers' first Sipadan tank — the briefing writes itself.
One piece of history worth knowing before you descend: the entrance to Turtle Cavern opens off this wall — visited only with the qualified guides, but its doorway alone, yawning in the wall at 18 metres, adds a shiver to the swim-past.
Contact us to dive at The Drop Off
- Depth
- 40m 131ft
- Visibility
- 30 metres (100 feet)
- Location
- Sipadan Island.
| 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!