The SIPADAN Blog
Guides written from the water: permits and planning, dive sites, marine life, courses and the islands around Sipadan — by people who dive them for a living.
North Point and West Ridge: Sipadan's Shark Corners
North Point and West Ridge are where Sipadan’s sharks hold station: the current that brings them, the approach that keeps them close and how to dive both well.
Read the article →Tun Sakaran Marine Park: The Crater Day Trip
Tun Sakaran is a drowned volcanic crater: the islands, the climb, the snorkelling and how the day trip differs from everything else you dive in Semporna.
Read the article →Pom Pom Island: The Outer Reef and the Turtle Sanctuary
Pom Pom’s outer reef and its turtle hatchery: what the diving is like, how the island differs from Mabul and Kapalai and who the crossing suits.
Read the article →Mataking Island: The Outer Edge of the Celebes Sea
Mataking sits at the outer edge of the Celebes Sea: the two islands and their sandbar, the house reef, the dive sites and who the longer crossing suits.
Read the article →Kapalai in Depth: The Sandbank Under the Floorboards
Kapalai is a sandbank, not an island. What that means for the house reef, the macro diving under the walkways and who the stilted resort actually suits.
Read the article →The Transit Funnel: Tawau Airport to the Offshore Reefs
Tawau airport to the offshore reefs: the road down to Semporna, which jetty your boat leaves from, the timings that matter and the classic mistakes to avoid.
Read the article →Sipadan on Nitrox: The Real Math of the Three-Dive Day
What nitrox actually buys you on a three-dive Sipadan day: the no-decompression maths, the depth limits that bite and when plain air is the better call.
Read the article →November on Sipadan: The Fallow Month and the Macro Pivot
Sipadan closes for November. What the fallow month is for, what the reef does with it and why the macro islands still make the trip worth taking.
Read the article →Sipadan Regulations 2026: The Return of the Three-Dive Day
The three-dive Sipadan day is back. What the current rules allow, how the boat schedule works around them and what it means for planning a permit week.
Read the article →The Sipadan Permit System: How Access Actually Works
How Sipadan access actually works: the daily ceiling, why a permit comes with a package rather than a ticket, the morning checkpoint and what to ask an operator.
Read the article →The Blue-Ringed Octopus on Mabul: Finding the Reef’s Quietest Killer
How to find a blue-ringed octopus in the muck at Mabul, what the neon rings actually mean, the truth about the toxin and the etiquette the animal deserves.
Read the article →Mandarinfish at Dusk: The 6pm Stakeout in Semporna
The dusk mandarinfish dive at Kapalai and Mabul: when the mating rise happens, why the blue is real pigment and the camera settings that do not scare them off.
Read the article →Barracuda Point: Inside the Tornado
The physics behind the barracuda tornado at Sipadan: why the school spins, how to tell the two species apart and how to hover inside it without breaking it.
Read the article →The Turtles of Sipadan: A Guide to the Island’s Heavy Traffic
Green and hawksbill turtles at Sipadan: how to tell them apart, where each one feeds, the sites they gather on and the threats working against them.
Read the article →Sipadan’s Bumphead Parrotfish: The 75-Kilogram Demolition Crew
Dawn herds of bumphead parrotfish at Sipadan: how they make the island’s sand, why they gather at first light and how to dive with them without losing the reef.
Read the article →What to Pack for a Sipadan Dive Trip?
A working packing list for Semporna's islands: exposure suits for 28°C water, reef-safe basics, cash and cards and the gear worth flying with.
Read the article →Underwater Photography: Wide at Sipadan, Macro at Mabul
One trip, two photographic planets: shooting Sipadan's walls and schools wide then switching to macro for Mabul's critters. Settings included.
Read the article →From Cousteau: A Short History of Sipadan
How a tiny oceanic island became diving royalty: the Cousteau years, the resort era and its end and the protection that shaped today's Sipadan.
Read the article →The Best Time to Dive Sipadan: Month by Month
Sipadan dives all year but visibility, seas, schools and permit pressure shift by month. A realistic calendar, including the November closure.
Read the article →Where to Stay for Sipadan: Mabul vs Kapalai vs Semporna?
The three bases for a Sipadan trip compared (island resorts, the stilt sandbar or town), by budget, permit access, house reefs and boat times.
Read the article →Snorkeling Sipadan & the Semporna Islands
You don't need a tank to see turtles here. Where snorkelers get permits, which islands reward mask-and-fins best and how mixed groups plan it.
Read the article →A Sipadan Dive Day, Hour by Hour
From the 5:30 alarm to the third dive's logbook entry: a realistic walk through a Sipadan permit day, with 3 dives, paperwork and all.
Read the article →Sipadan’s Hammerhead Window: Honest Odds
Hammerheads do pass Sipadan: deep, early and never on schedule. When the odds improve, which sites produce sightings and how to be ready.
Read the article →The Drop Off: 600m, 3 Fin-Kicks from the Beach
Sipadan's most surreal geography: step off the old jetty and the seabed falls 600 metres. How to dive The Drop Off and what lives on the wall.
Read the article →Turtle Tomb & Turtle Cavern: Sipadan’s Underwater Caves
The story and the science of Sipadan's famous caves. Why turtles rest (and sometimes perish) there and what it takes to dive them safely.
Read the article →Barracuda Point, Explained
What actually happens at Barracuda Point. How the current builds the tornado, when it forms and how to dive the site so it forms around you.
Read the article →Borneo for Divers on Surface Intervals
Eight Borneo experiences worth adding to a Sipadan dive trip: jungle rivers, island viewpoints, pygmy elephants and one very slow beach day.
Read the article →Hand Signals & Your First Dive Computer
A practical refresher on the hand signals that matter underwater plus a no-nonsense guide to choosing your first dive computer before a Sipadan trip.
Read the article →Sleeping on a Converted Oil Rig
Off Mabul, a decommissioned oil platform lives on as a dive lodge. What staying and diving from the rig is really like and who it suits.
Read the article →How Sipadan Stays Alive: Conservation That Actually Works?
Why Sipadan's reefs still thrive: the permit quota, the November closure, turtle protection, cleanups and the mangrove connection.
Read the article →Learning to Dive in Borneo: First Breath to Sipadan
Try diving with Discover Scuba, certify with Open Water then go Advanced: the course path that ends with you diving Sipadan.
Read the article →Muck Diving in Mabul: A Macro Diver’s Field Guide
Why Mabul is the muck-diving Mecca. What lives on its sandy slopes, how night dives change everything and camera setups that work there.
Read the article →The Best Dive Sites in Semporna & Sabah — Beyond Sipadan
A local shortlist of the Semporna region's best dives: Sipadan's walls plus the Mabul, Kapalai, Si Amil and Mataking sites that fill your week.
Read the article →The Marine Life of Sipadan: What You’ll Actually See
Green vs hawksbill turtles, the resident whitetip reef sharks, the barracuda tornado, dawn bumpheads and the rare visitors — what you’ll actually see at Sipadan.
Read the article →Sipadan Diving Guide 2026: Permits, Seasons & Planning
How to plan a Sipadan dive trip in 2026 — the daily permit quota, when to go, the certification you need, and how resort, package and minimum stay secure a permit.
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