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School of fish at Sipadan, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

It felt like jumping into a freaking aquarium. The visibility was absolutely perfect. The reef was bustling with life. There were turtles, giant schools of jackfish, barracudas, reef sharks, rays, bumphead parrotfish, colorful soft and hard corals, gorgonians and sponges.

The waters around Sipadan, a small Malaysian island in the Celebes Sea, are one of the world’s top diving destinations. Located in the Sipadan Island Park in Sabah, Borneo, it hosts more than 400 species of fish and hundreds of coral species. Already in 1933 the island was declared bird sanctuary. Receiving more and more recognition as a scuba diving destination, the first resort opened its doors in 1984 on Sipadan Island. In 2004, the island was declared a Marine Park by Sabah Parks and all the hotel and resort facilities on Sipadan were closed by authorities due to their impacts on the ecosystems. The protected area expands by 6,846 hectares, bringing total area within Sipadan Island Park to 16,860 hectares.

Sipadan - Protected Marine Park

Always on the hunt for beautiful snorkeling destinations, I stayed on the Perhentian Islands. Ameer from Fauna Beach Chalet on Perhentian Besar brought my attention to Sabah. He told me that I should visit Sabah for great snorkeling. During my research to find the best snorkeling spots in Sabah, I found Sipadan. Sipadan is Malaysia’s only oceanic island, rising 600 m from the seabed. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop.

Due to its amazing biodiversity, Sipadan is one of the world’s best diving and snorkeling destinations. It is not possible to stay on Sipadan Island overnight because it is a protected marine park with no hotels or resorts. The closest islands to stay when going to Sipadan are either Kapalai or Mabul, or the harbour town Semporna. In order to dive or snorkel around Sipadan Island, a permit is needed. As per 2026 only 254 daily permits are issued. Each permit allows 3 dives per day. Check the official website of Sipadan to learn more about the permits. If you want to go diving or snorkelling around Sipadan, the resort or hotel you are staying at will organize the permit for you. Make sure to book several weeks in adavance. The permits go fast and I met people on Mabul who wanted to do a last-minute trip to Sipadan but could not get a permit.

How to get to Sipadan?

*Since there are no hotels on Sipadan Island, I stayed on Mabul, a small island about 30 min to 45 min by boat from Sipadan.*

The gateway to Sipadan is the harbour town Semporna at the South-Eastern coast of Sabah. There are direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, where the closest airport to Semporna is located. Coming from Switzerland, I flew via Singapore into Kuala Lumpur and took a domestic flight to Tawau. It takes around 2 hours by car to get from Tawau to Semporna. From Semporna to Sipadan by boat takes another hour, depending on the weather and sea conditions. Since Semporna itself is not worth visiting, I booked my stay on Pulau Mabul with Scuba Junkie. The trip from Semporna to Mabul takes around 45 min to 1 hour, depending on the sea conditions (and how fast your speedboat actually is). From Mabul to Sipadan it takes another 30 min to 45 min.

I stayed five days on Mabul. Sipadan is not the only diving and snorkeling spot in this area. It is possible to dive and snorkel around Mabul, Kapalai or Si Amil. I was unlucky with snorkeling in Mabula and Kapalai. I did see a lot of turtles around Kapalai but the visibility in general was rather bad. However, Sipadan was a whole differen story! I felt like swimming in an aquarium! A turtle came so close, it nearly crashed into me, I saw giant schools of jackfish, reef sharks, bumphead parrotfishes and the famous barracuda tornado.

Why I chose to stay with Scuba Junkie on Mabul

Snorkeling or diving in Sipandan ain’t cheap. Coming from abroad it takes several flights, car and boat transfers to get to Sipadan (and back). Since the journey to Sipadan is so long, you need to stay overnight, somewhere, either Semporna, Mabul or Kapalai. Semporna itself is dirty, polluted and chaotic, really not a nice place to stay, especially as a female solo traveller. I hardly ever feel unsafe on my trips but Semporna made me feel uneasy. Staying on Mabul or Kapalai is much nicer, but pricier. As mentioned, a permit is needed to dive or snorkle around Sipadan.

Scuba Junkie was established in 2004 and has since become Asia’s leading sustainable dive company. They not only offer reasonable prices and several different diving and snorkeling packages but also run Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S., a registered non-governmental organization (NGO), which has grown to have an extensive portfolio of conservation programs in place, including eco-resorts, turtle conservation, shark conservation, coral conservation, cetacean conservation as well as tackling marine debris. They support the Bajau Laut - also called sea gypsies - an indigenous, sea-dwelling ethnic group of maritime Southeast Asia, who face severe systemic disadvantages rooted in statelessness, social marginalization and environmental pressure.

I booked Scuba Junkie’s 4D/3N package for snorkelers staying at Mabul Beach Resort with snorkeling around Mabul, Kapalai and twice Sipadan. Free meals and snacks throughout the day were included. They are very well organized and you will get your money’s worth. They gave me the workout of my life: Sometimes the boat would leave as early as 6 am. We would snorkle twice in the morning and again after lunchbreak. I was busy throughout my whole stay on Mabul so that I did not even manage to walk around the island. For those having to catch the super early boats, they offered a 5 am light breakfast, with a bigger breakfast for those leaving a bit later. There were always enough snacks and drinks on the boat for those getting hungry in between dives or snorkles. The rooms are big and clean. Since they have a turtle rehabilitation centre right next to the resort, you can watch them release hatchlings if you are lucky to be there. I missed it, unfortunately. You can participate at beach cleanups and support the Bajau Laut by buying the goods they sell at Mabul Beach Resort.

Is Sipadan worth it?

To make a long answer short: Yes it is! The corals are healthy and the marine life is very vivid, with a lot of different species that you can observe upclose. The visibility was amazing the days I was there. We had to be selective where we could snorkle because it was breeding season of trigger fishes.

Upon arrival you have to register with the park authorities. You need to bring an ID or your passport (or a picture of it). Since there is a military station on Sipadan, you are not allowed to walk around the island. There is a designated area where visitors can walk, take pictures or play volleyball. Luckily, due to the restricted number of daily visitors, the island never gets too crowded. There are restrooms and showers if needed. We were allowed to snorkle twice for about an hour. There will be many Chinese tourists that are only there to get their pictures and videos taken to post on social media. They had different costumes to pose in, brough their own videographers, practiced their poses on the beach, would start fights underwater over who could swim into the barracuda tornado to get their picture taken and leave once they had it. So just be aware that influencers have found Sipadan.

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Fascinating Sabah - Snorkeling in Sipadan