Semporna is a vivid sea fishing village now often passed by travelers to Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai Island.
| Inserted/Added by: | lars, © Author: Lars Hemel |
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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, Hotel Holiday Dive Inn, Semporna, Semporna
Sipadan Scuba
| Sipadan Scuba - PADI 5-star ID... www.sipadanscuba.com 089-919148 | Hotel Holiday Dive Inn, Sempor... 91308 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
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