Semporna is a vivid sea fishing village now often passed by travelers to Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai Island.

Semporna is a nice, lively and touristic town on the southeast coast of Sabah. It offers cheap and delicious seafood that can be bought on one of its many floating markets. Unfortunately there has been a lot of dynamite and poison fishing on some of the protected reefs; it was even necessary to install a police post at Pulau Mabul, which strongly improved its coral reefs and the amount of fish that lived there. Semporna is mostly used for ongoing trips to Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai, since they are world renowned for its excellent scuba diving and snorkeling possibilities, but some other small islands nearby are definitely as good and much less known.

The Gaya Group consisting out of a few islands and reefs are excellent daytrips just northeast of Semporna. If you are planning to visit Gaya, Mantabuan, Selakan, Sabangkat, Boheydulong, Sibuon, Maiga or one of the offshore reefs such as Church Reef and Kapikan Reef, make sure you bring food and drinks as there are not many facilities. Two of the better known islands are Pulau Mantabuan and Pulau Sibuan, both pristine uninhabited islands covered in dense rainforests. At the northern part of Pulau Sibuan live a few families of the Sea Bajau tribe, some of the sea gypsies. More islands which can offer some spectacular diving are on the Ligitan group and Mataking, all within half an hour speed boat trip from Semporna. There are more things to do besides diving. There are excellent hikes along the jungle trails of Danum Valley Field Centre, some spectacular caves (Batuh Peteh Tulung Burial Caves, Gomantong Caves) and there is the Sepilok Orangutang Rehabilitation Centre.

Many islands, islets and reefs are part of the Semporna Marine Park, protected for too much fishing and its underwater eco system is maintained as good as they can. It is a diverse dive region where you can find steep drop-offs, healthy shallow colorful reefs, most of the common coral fish, but also pelagic, sharks, turtles, manta rays. Muck diving is popular as the rare mandarin fish, pipefish and many different species of nudibranch are common. Enjoy one of Malaysia's best dive destinations.

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Sipadan Scuba

Sipadan Scuba - PADI 5-star ID... www.sipadanscuba.com 089-919148

Hotel Sipadan Inn, Gr. Fl., Se... 91307 Semporna

SIPADAN SCUBASemporna, Borneo, Malaysia Sipadan Scuba is the first and only PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia and winner of 3 PADI awards in 2008! Our team of professional, multilingual instructors conduct all PADI courses from beginner diver through specialty diver all the way to dive professional. With well over thousand divers certified, we are the leader in diving education and at the seaside town of Semporna and it's nearby islands. Learn to Scuba Dive in the warm, clear waters of tropical Borneo. The adventure and the beauty of the underwater world are the main incrediantes of our courses without any compromise on safety or the quality of training that you will receive. When choosing Sipadan Scuba be prepared for an adventure that is fun and goes well beyond the blue wonders of the marine world.

DIVE SIPADAN ISLAND "I've seen places like Sipadan Island before, some 45 years ago. Now we've found again an untouched piece of art." by Jacques-Ives Cousteau Sipadan Island is worldwide known for awesome diving with spectacular marine life found along it’s 600m steep wall that jets out of the ocean floor of the Celebes Sea. Turtles by the dozens, patrolling reef sharks and a giant tornado of thousands of silvery barracudas that darkens out the sun are just some of the highlights a diver can experience at Sipadan. Those with advanced or specialty training may venture further down the walls and perhaps get eye to eye with the more elusive creatures of the deep such as hammerhead sharks, massive sting rays or giant groupers. Another highlight of Sipadan, and by many accounts second only to the “Cenotes” of Mexico, is the cave system of the “Turtle Tomb”. A myriad of passageways lead thru the reef some 20m below the surface but this is nothing for the fainthearted as the dead ends are many on the way to the tomb where turtle skulls and bones litter the floor. know more... With the number of divers allowed to visit Sipadan each day being strictly limited a booking well in advance is quintessential. Sipadan Scuba has a boat going to Sipadan every day departing from our dive base at Hotel Sipadan Inn in Semporna each morning at 8.30am and returning after 3 dives at appr. 5.00pm. An advanced diving certification is highly recommended to dive Sipadan. Prior to a trip to Sipadan all divers are advised to join our dive trips to another island of the Semporna Marine Park where our divemasters will evaluate your diving skills and provide a brush up to those in need. A part of the PADI Advanced course or PADI Specialty courses may be conducted at Sipadan upon request.

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The best dive sites and top diving locations in Semporna rated by divers since last year.

1. Rated 5.0, 3 ratingsBarracuda Point
2. Rated 5.0, 1 ratingsMandarin Valley
3. Rated 4.5, 2 ratingsTurtle Cavern, Turtle Tomb
4. Rated 1.0, 1 ratingsEel Garden