• Includes & Excludes
  • Meliá Kuala Lumpur
  • Sipadan Water Village
  • Diving Highlights
  • Destination Information

Includes:

Kuala Lumpur
  • Return transfers from Airport to Meliá Kuala Lumpur Hotel
  • 3 Night’s Accommodation in Guestroom on bed and breakfast basis 
SIPADAN WATER VILLAGE RESORT:
  • Return transfers from Tawau Airport to Semporna Jetty (90-minute drive)
  • Return transfers by boat from Semporna Jetty to Sipadan-Mabul Resort (45-minute ride)
  • 6 Nights’ Accommodation on a twin sharing basis in a standard chalet 
  • Buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner
  • Daily 3 boat dives (except on arrival and no dives on departure day)
  • Unlimited house reef dive from 8am to 5pm with buddy
  • Tanks and Weights
    •  

Excludes:

  • All flights and airport taxes (Approx R22 600 JNB – Tawau Return)
  • Travel and Diving Insurance (Approx R1 085)
  • Lunch, Dinner and Snacks in Kuala Lumpur
  • All beverages
  • Sipadan Entry Permit (477 MYR payable at resort by cash, Approx R1960)
  • Tourism Tax (Approx R370)
  • Snorkelling and dive equipment rental
  • Additional Sightseeing and dives not specified
  • Gratuities
MeliÁ Guestroom (1 Double bed or 2 Single beds)

4 Star accommodation in the Golden Triangle commercial and shopping district. Hotel features an outdoor swimming pool and 24hr gym. Each guest room has natural lighting and city views.

Room Facilities: Air conditioning, shower, desk, flat screen TV and free Wi-Fi.

This 3 Night Stopover in Kuala Lumpur on route gives you the opportunity to recharge and explore the capital of Malaysia. Besides all the attractions of a modern city, other things to do to include:

Central Market:

An arrangement of stalls representing the traditional market since the 1800’s. A great option for some shopping and to experience some of the local foods.

Petronas Twin Towers:

The city has a modern skyline dominated by the 451m tall Petronas Twin Towers. Take a trip up to the public skybridge and observation deck where you can view the city.

Kuala Lumpur Bird & Butterfly Park:

The bird park is a 21-acre aviary – one of the world’s largest covered bird parks.

sipadan water village resort

The entire resort is built over water on stilts. Sipadan Water Village has achieved near paradise in its layout, splendid water accommodation with flowered sidewalks. The chalets are spacious and each chalet has a private balcony with sea view.

Diving Highlights and Bucket List Dive Sites:

You will be diving a combination of sites in and around the islands of Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan.

 

SIPADAN ISLAND 

The diving in Sipadan Island is limited due to it being a strictly controlled Marine Park. There are limited permits issued per day to select resorts and dive centres in the area and each permit allows a diver to dive for the day (3 dives) at Sipadan Island. If you are at a resort for 4 or more days you are guaranteed at least one permit and if you are lucky, you might get the opportunity to obtain a second permit during your stay.

The islands’ mushroom shape and steep drop offs attract a huge amount of marine life to this small area and the visibility is usually very good. Sipadan Island is known to be one of the “big fish capitals of the world” where it is common to see schools of jacks, triggerfish and barracuda. The shallow reefs shelter species such as the white tip reef sharks and crocodile fish. Turtles are in abundance found munching on sponges, sleeping on ledges or simply cruising past. The reef is alive with eels, octopus, rays & other marine life.

 
KAPALAI & MABUL AREA

The diving in and around this area is shallow (average 15m) and is predominantly muck diving (loose sediment/muddy bottom & variable visibility) in contrast to the crystal-clear water and drop offs at Sipadan Island. At first glance you will think that there is no life to be seen and that it is boring environment until you grasp the macro life which is astounding and has a reputation for amazing bio-diversity. Highlights include the pygmy seahorses, mandarin fish, blue ringed octopus, gobies, blue ribbon eels, frog fish, leaf fish and nudibranchs galore!
Some of the Well-Known Dive Sites Include:

Sipadan Island: Barracuda Point, Mid Reef & Hanging Gardens

Kapalai: Cleaning Station & Lobster Rock

Mabul Island: Eel Garden & Crocodile Avenue

Language

Bahasa Melayu is the national language, but English is widely spoken.

Time zone
MYT Malaysia Time
Time zone Sipadan is 6 hours ahead of South Africa
Climate

Average temperatures range from 27 to 31°C year round with a low of 23°C.

Water temperature

The sea is excellent for swimming all year round as the water temperature is very warm and ideal for relaxing and swimming for the whole day.

Power supply

In Malaysia the supply voltage is 240V.  You may request an adapter from the front desk upon check in.

Departure Tax

At the time of writing, departure tax is included in the ticket price for both domestic and international flights.

Staying in contact

There is WiFi available at the resort lobby. It is possible to get a micro SIM card in Malaysia for your phone. The service providers are Maxis, Digi and Celcom. 

What payment method is accepted

Credit cards are accepted with preference for Mastercard or Visa.

What to bring
  • Proof of dive insurance and dive certification card.

  • Passport valid from 6 months from the time of entry into Malaysia.

  • One full empty page in your passport.

  • Hat and polarised sunglasses.

  • Light casual clothing.

  • Any toiletries you may need such as razors, tampons, toothpaste, medications, etc.

  • Reefsafe sunscreen.

  • Rechargeable batteries.

What NOT to bring
  • No outside food or drinks are permitted at the resort

  • Any single use plastics, including duty free bags and water bottles.

diving
  • Nitrox is not provided
  • Certification must be presented as well as a log book and dive insurance
  • Safety: Every diver needs to be equipped with a diving computer, SMB and drop line which is to be deployed at the end of each drift dive after completing the safety stop
  • Alcohol Consumption: If alcohol is consumed in between dives by an individual then they will be required to refrain from diving for the remainder of the day
  • Flying After Diving: A minimum surface interval of 18 hours must be allowed prior to flying or going to altitude
  • Decompression Chamber: The nearest decompression chamber is in Semporna – which is a 40 minute boat ride from Mabul.