Links to Islands in Malaysia

West Malaysia
Pulau Redang
Pulau Redang
Pulau Perhentian
Pulau Tenggol
Pulau Lang Tengah
Pulau Perhentian
Pulau Tioman
Pulau Aur
Pulau Kapas
Pulau Langkawi
Pulau Langkawi
Pulau Payar - Langkawi
Pulau Pemanggil

Pulau Pangkor
PADI / SDI Open Water Diving Courses
Pulau Tinggi
Ex - West Malaysian Islands
Pulau Sibu
Ex Kuala Lumpur plus 3Days Open Water Diving (West Malaysian Islands)
Pulau Tenggol
Pulau Rawa
Perhentian Islands Diving Packages
Gem Island



East Malaysia
Pulau Manukan
Pulau Sipadan
Gaya Island
Pulau Layang Layang
Pulau Tiga
Kapalai Island
Turtle Island
Mabul Island

Lankayan Island

Sipadan Water Village


Local divers living in Malaysia have been diving the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and the west coast of Sabah, in East Malaysia, since scuba diving equipment first became available, but it was only in the late 1980s, with the discovery of the delights of the island of Sipadan, off the east coast of Sabah, that Malaysia became a truly global diving destination. Since then, divers have been arriving in droves from all over the world. Apart from the Layang Layang area, diving is generally easy and relaxed. There is something for divers and snorkelers of all levels.
The East Coast of Peninsular MalaysiaMarine life is prolific around Pulau Tioman and Pulau Perhentian. The Pulau Redang region has larger areas of stony corals. The islands of Perhentian and Redang are also haven for snorkellers.Sipadan

Pulau Sipadan has just about everything. You can take your pick from the easiest of diving and snorkeling in shallow water above coral, drifting with the currents on the more exposed sites, diving as deep as safety allows down the walls, or penetrating the renowned Turtle Cave. There are many turtles on every dive. Jacques Cousteau's documentary, Ghost of the Sea Turtles, made Sipadan famous around the world. Divers will find schools of barracuda, humphead parrotfish and friendly reef fish by the thousands. Hammerheads are sometimes sighted at South Point and a solid wall of barracuda is found on most dives. Turtles are the star attraction of diving in Sipadan. You will see about 30 to 40 on practically every dive.MabulThe island of Mabul is 20 minutes by boat from Sipadan, off the coast of Sabah. The resorts on Mabul evolved mainly due to overcrowding on Sipadan, but photographers have since discovered Mabul's unique marine life. The list of species found here is endless. There are pink, yellow and green anglerfish, five different colors of ghost pipefish, cuttlefish, blue ribbon eels and at least two species of Mandarin fish.Layang LayangNorthwest of Kota Kinabalu, the Layang Layang atoll rises from the South China Sea. With its peaceful isolation and breathtaking seascapes, Layang Layang is one the most remote spots on earth. Throughout the chain of 13 submerged coral islets, there are many fabulous dive sites. Pristine corals and clear water are the area's trademarks. Divers can expect to see the Gorgonian Forest, red sea whips and shark caves littered with white tip and nurse sharks. Layang Layang is a great place to see lots of hammerheads. Dog Tooth Lair features schools of hammerheads at about 33ft. You will also find viable breeding colonies of grouper and Napoleon wrasse. Layang Layang is like a liveaboard dive boat that sits permanently over the dive site. There is a good ambience, and with its limited group of visitors and friendly mixed-race Malaysian staff you soon get to know everyone.Peninsula Malaysia - East CoastDiving on the eastern coast of Peninsula Malaysia is interesting and rich. Islands include Pulau Tioman and Pulau Perhentian. On weekends, divers from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore converge on the islands. On Pulau Tioman, Magicienne Rock is one of the best sites, full of surprises ranging from sightings of black tip reef sharks, whale sharks and mantas to Volkswagen-sized groupers.Redang & TenggolRedang is north of Kuala Trengganu and Tenggol is to the south. Redang's major attraction is it's population of leatherback turtles. Tenggol features a dramatic drop-off on the eastern side of the island to 48ft. Both Redang and Tenggol are favorite local weekend destinations. These Malaysian offshore islands boast schools of jacks, fusiliers, sweet lips, clown triggerfish, parrotfish and a wide variety of nudibranchs. Occasionally divers spot mantas, tiger and gray sharks.

The turtles are there year-round in Sipidan, but the highest concentration is during the month of August (with a whole lot of mating going on). The island is composed of ancient reef limestone and sand with no rivers, so runoff has little effect on water clarity. However, water clarity seems as unpredictable as the currents. Once, after a diver noticed heavy lightning off in the direction of the mainland, the water visibility dropped dramatically from 100ft to 50ft the next day, and heavy flotsam and debris floated on the surface. But even then, some dives would have great visibility below 40ft, while other sites still had 100ft visibility right below the surface. The ocean is roughest between November and February. The best season is between April and September, but diving is year-round.

Turtles of Sipadan
Sipadan is famous for it's large population of green turtles.The turtles are there year-round, but the highest concentration is during the month of August (with a whole lot of mating going on). You will probably get to see at least ten turtles on every dive, either sleeping on the corals or swimming by, a very photogenic site indeed! Green turtles, like all sea turtles, are under attack though. In many places, people kill them for their meat; in Malaysia, it's the turtles' eggs that are the target, and egg harvesting from beach nest sites has reduced the turtles' population by 60% in just 50 years. Strange, but the green sea turtle is not that green. It's certainly not as green as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. In fact, it's shell has been described as being mostly black or brownish, with swirls of olive and gold. It is, however, the largest hard-shelled sea turtle with adults weighing in at an average of between 200 and 300 pounds with a shell length of between 36 and 43 inches. Despite this, it's head is small in comparison to other sea turtles – but don't be too tempted to poke fun at the green sea turtle, because the biting edge of it's lower jaw is serrated like a very sharp knife!

Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 2,000 feet or 600m from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea east of the major town of Tawau and off the coast of East Malaysia on the Island of Borneo. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem.

Normally rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: schools of greenback turtles and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda & big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that have become lost and drown before finding the surface.

Northern Borneo Sipadan is located in the mapIn the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. The matter was brought for adjudication before the International Court of Justice and, at the end of 2002, the Court awarded the island along with the island of Ligitan to Malaysia, on the basis of the "effective occupation" displayed by the latter's predecessor (Malaysia's former colonial power, Great Britain) and the absence of any other superior title. The Philippines had applied to intervene in the proceedings on the basis of its claim to Northern Borneo, but its request was turned down by the Court early in 2001.

In April 2000, 21 people were kidnapped by the Phillipino terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. The armed terrorists arrived by boat and forced 10 tourists and 11 resort workers at gun point to board the vessels and brought the victims to Mindanao. All victims were eventually released.


The Malaysian military protecting tourists against possible terrorist attacks.In year 2004, the Government of Malaysia ordered all on-site dive and resort operators of Sipadan to move their structures out of the island by 31 December 2004. This move is mainly to conserve a balanced eco-system for Sipadan and its surrounding. (Arguable, however, the private resort operators took far better care of the island than the Government has done)

Diving will continue to be allowed in Sipadan for divers who are ferried in and out by dive and resort operators from the mainland and surrounding islands. However, tourists and keen divers should be warned that the number of permits availiable for Sipadan each day is limited to 120 spread between 12 resorts and allocated by the local authorities using unknown criteria. For example, a resort such as the Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART) may have 70 guests on any given day and only 10 permits available. A visit to Sipadan is not only not guaranteed for guests at the resort, regardless of the length of stay, but it is highly unlikely for those who stay less than a week or who want to snorkel rather than dive. Please keep this in mind to avoid disappointment.

On May 15, 2006, a barge carrying thousands of tonnes of building material beached on the island, destroying a significant portion of reef between the old pier and Barracuda Point, said to be about 372sq metres

The purpose of the building supplies (mainly concrete and gravel) was apparently for a USD 1.3 million tourist facility including resthouse, toilets and scuba shop, said the State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat but denied by the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Later, it was reported that it was a Federal Government funded project.

Sipadan Updates

Overview of Malaysia, Singapore
Sipadan, a tiny island off Borneo where 20 divers and others were kidnapped by Filipino Muslim terrorists, no longer has land accommodations, but one can still reach the good diving there through other resorts. Malaysia has areas that compete well with Indonesia, but its diving infrastructure is not comparably developed.
Malaysia, Singapore Seasonal Dive Planner
Sipadan is famous for its large population of green turtles. The turtles are there year-round, but the highest concentration is during the month of August (and there's a whole lot of mating going on).
The island is limestone and sand with no rivers, so runoff has little effect on water clarity. However, water clarity seems as unpredictable as the currents. Once, after I noticed heavy lightning off in the direction of the mainland, the water visibility dropped dramatically from 100' to 50' the next day, and heavy flotsam and debris floated in on the surface. But even then, some dives would have great visibility below 40', while other sites still had 100' vis right below the surface.
During our July visit, the seas were flat except for one day when the wind kicked up. The ocean is roughest between November and February. The best season is between April and September, but diving is year-round.

http://www.impressions.com.my/sipadan/main.htm

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah's mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more then 70 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of tribes that became disoriented and then drowned.The residential schooling barracuda and big- eye trevally are one of the highlights on every divers wish-list which often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations. With the possibility of seeing pelagics such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event. Its not only the frogfish that amaze divers coming to Sipadan, the macro life is equally mesmerizing. Garden eels, leaf scorpionfish. mantis shrimps, fire graces and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. The diversity and abundance of marine life found at Sipadan gives it its reputation of being one of the ten best dive locations in the world.
Announcement: Presently, the island is in the care of Wildlife Department, which has stationed several park rangers to oversee the state of nature of the island. To protect the world unique flora & fauna on the island as well as the underwater world the Malaysian Government has decided that from 2005 no more overnight facilities shall be on Sipadan itself. This means that all dive operators on Sipadan have to move; diving Sipadan will be conducted from other destinations, such as Mabul and Kapalai. It is likely that Sipadan will be designated a marine reserve under Sabah Parks, and there are plans for a World Heritage Site listing.