A full underwater world away but only 10 minutes by boat lies Kapalai island, a much sought after destination for macro life enthusiasts. The fine sand and clusters of coral heads host an amazing array of exotic macro fauna and other intriguing fishes such as octopuses, shrimps, mandarin fishes, seahorses, pipefish, delightful nudibranchs and many more.

"The purest image of natural serenity, the sandbank of Kapalai and its exclusive resort-on-stilts lie on a patch of brilliant tuquoise a few miles off the coast of Borneo, along the spectacular Ligitan Reefs and just a few minutes by speedboat from the celebrated islands of Sipadan and Mabul" *

Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort
The Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort, sits on sturdy stilts on the shallow sandbanks of the Ligitan Reefs. Planned and built in full style as an airy, comfortable, sunny water village with no land in sight, it boasts a mile long sandbank of powdery blindingly white sand and complete privacy.

The Resort offers great food, roomy and elegant twin-sharing wooden chalets with huge private balconies and attached bathrooms. For those that like to take their morning jog, the walkways of the resort provide ample distance for a sweat accompanied by thousands of fish at your feet.

Meals are served in the open air hall, located in the centre of the chalets. A big western sundeck allows divers to have an evening drink or an after dive chat with a background of fabulous tropical sunsets.

The resort has a chain of comfortable chalets with built-in bathrooms linked by a web of wooden walkways centered around an open restaurant, sundeck  and dive centre.

Diving in Sipadan and Kapalai
Sipadan is an oceanic island that plunges nearly vertically 600 metres into the depths of the sea creating a ‘wall’ of crevices, balconies and cavities that play host to an astonishing variety of inhabitants. They are all in great numbers due to the constant swirling of nutrients from the sea. There are over 500 species of coral and 3000 species of fish identified to date.

The population of green turtles to be found in Sipadan are beyond belief along with pelagics such as white tips, hammerheads, grey reef sharks, the famous wall of barracuda, the school of bump head parrotfish that leave at dawn and return at dusk to make their bed on the crevices of the wall. Don’t miss diving at the world famous Barracuda Point and the eerie Drop Off (voted as the world’s best beach dive). A short swim from the shore and jetty reveals the 600m plunge. There is even a turtle cave for specialised divers to explore, romanticised for being a final resting place for turtles.

Sipadan island was declared off-limits to all resorts in  2005 to preserve this treasured heritage.

Cost for 2008 (till 31st March 2009) and in USD

Notes:
Single pax can  share with another diver  
Single supplement - additional 30% of the above dive package prices.

Non diver - less 20% off the above package.
Limited dive gears are available for rental.
                                       
Dive equipment rental

BC JACKET	USD7.00/DAY
REGULATOR	USD7.00/DAY
TORCH WITH BATTERIES	USD4.00/DIVE
MASK, SNORKEL & FIN	USD4.00/DAY
WET SUIT	USD5.00/DAY

What does it include?

• Meet and land transfer from Tawau Airport to our Private Jetty at Semporna ( 75 mins ) & return transfer.
• Boat transfer to Kapalai island. 
• Accommodation on a twin/triple sharing basis at the resort.
• 3 boat dives daily except on arrival and departure days and unlimited dives in front of resort.
  Provide 2 morning dives to Sipadan dive sites and return to Kapalai for lunch. Afternoon diving around Kapalai and Mabul.
• Buffet style fresh food cooked by an excellent chef.
• Afternoon snacks served after 3rd dive. Tea/coffee, cold water and cordial served throughout the day.
• Tanks, Weight and Belt are provided during the dives.
• Night dives in front of dive centre with a buddy are included if you are an Advanced diver.
• Permit fee to enter Sipadan

What does it exclude?

Rental of dive equipment, air tickets.

Best time to visit

Diving is possible all year round at Sipadan although January and August has rougher weather. 

Getting here

The gateway to Sipadan is the sleepy town of Tawau located in Sabah, East Malaysia. Tawau is accessible by flight via Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, the capitals of Sabah and Sarawak respectively. Malaysia (http://www.mas.com.my/) airlines and AirAsia (http://www.airasia.com/), the region’s low cost carrier have daily flights to Tawau. From Tawau airport, there will be a private transfer to Sempoerna jetty, around 75 minutes away. Sempoerna is the launchpoint to Sipadan, Kapalai and Mataking islands.

Boat schedule

Semporna to Kapalai - 9.30 am; 12 noon and 3.30 pm
Kapalai to Semporna - 6.30 am, 11.00 am and 1.30 pm

Our Say

This is Malaysia’s finest diving. Top of every discerning diver’s list of must-dive places. The variety of fauna in Sipadan is truly astonishing, over a one week stay, we counted the wall of barracuda, grey reef, white tip, hammerheads, leopard shark, manta rays, green turtles everywhere and just about every type of reef fauna.

The rooms are great with the expected amenities. It’s great to sit in the bath tub and watch schools of fish beneath you.

Absolutely essential!

* Extracted from Top Nature & Dive Resorts of Borneo - Andrea and Antonella Ferrari