Turtle Tomb
Turtle Tomb is a special dive which every cave diver must see once in their life!
Turtle Tomb is a cave system located after Turtle Cavern. There are several side tunnels and a small passage way near Barracuda Point.
Turtle tomb's floor is about 8m wide and is covered with a thick layer
of white sand and dust composed of numerous turtle skeletons. The turtles
couldn't find their way out and died from asphyxia. There is also the
remains of a dolphin.
This dive requires specialist equipment and an experienced local diver
who knows the cave.
Turtle Tomb is the dive at the far end of Sipadan's spectrum — a true cave system beyond Turtle Cavern, with branching side tunnels, a floor about eight metres wide strewn with the turtle remains that named it, and a small passage reaching toward the Barracuda Point side of the island. Cave divers speak of it the way summit climbers speak of certain ridgelines: something to be done once in a diving life, properly.
Full-cave certification, lights and lines
Let's be unambiguous about what "properly" means. This is full overhead cave diving — not a cavern swim — and it is exclusively for trained, certified cave divers, with the island's qualified guides, correct equipment, lights, lines and planning. There is no casual version of this dive, and no responsible operator will offer one. If you hold the training, the reward is genuine: sculpted passages inside an oceanic pinnacle, absolute stillness, and a natural monument that explains itself in torchlight.
For everyone else — which is most divers, us included on most days — Turtle Cavern's guided outer chamber delivers the atmosphere within recreational limits, and the wall outside is Sipadan at its finest anyway.
If you're cave-certified and want Turtle Tomb arranged correctly — guides, technical support, permits and the resorts equipped for it — contact us and we'll set it up with the operators qualified to take you.
Contact us to dive at Turtle Tomb
- Depth
- 17-23 metres
- Visibility
- 30 metres (100 feet)
- Location
- East of The Jetty.
| 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!