Following the decision in 2004 to remove all resorts from the bird and marine sanctuary of Sipadan Island, your only chance to stay close to the island is now by dive liveaboard.  To further protect and enhance the marine environment, the number of divers per day that visit Sipadan is limited and permits must be applied for in advance.  A dive liveaboard is the ideal way to stay close to Sipadan on a trip which also encompasses other islands within the Semporna group including Mabul, Kapalai and Si Amil.

Borneo's emerald waters may reveal treasures to satisfy the most avid of divers, but the best of wild borneo is both above and below the waves.  Whilst this experience has its emphasis on the sub aqua, it also combines close encounters with two of the island's most famous wildlife highlights - sea turtles and orang utans.  On your journey with us you will witness one of the world's most famous wildlife rehabilitation and conservation programmes at an orang utan rehabilitation centre.  Here, young captive or abandoned orang utans are being helped by highly trained and motivated staff to readjust to a life in the wild.

Sea turtles are abundant in this part of the world and as well as encountering these below the water from your dive liveaboard, we will take you to see them laying eggs at an island sea turtle sanctuary.  Here you have the opportunity to see conservation in action and witness the transplanting of eggs to a hatchery and releasing of baby turtles back to the sea.

You have the option of extending your safari with an exploration of the riparian forest along one of Borneo's most majestic rivers, the Kinabatangan.  The river and its surrounding rainforest wetlands make up one of the richest ecosystems on the planet and is one of only two known places on earth where 10 primate species can be found.  These include the largest Malaysian population of Orang Utan, and several species that are endemic to Borneo, such as the Proboscis Monkey, the Maroon Langur and Bornean Gibbon.   

Pulau Sipadan

The cream of Malaysian diving, and among the best dive locations in the world, Sipadan is Malaysia's only volcanic island.  A favourite nesting site for Green Turtles and the occasional Hawksbill, Sipadan was made famous by renowned French oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau in his documentary 'Ghosts of the Sea Turtle'.  The waters around the island usually teem with turtles so accustomed to divers that they ignore them.  Sipadan also boasts almost every species of flora and fauna that exists in the Indo-Pacific.

The coral and marine life is prolific with large areas of staghorn, table, plate, lettuce and boulder corals, encrusting corals, bubble corals and mushroom corals.  Lying among the stony corals are large soft corals, vase and barrel sponges and true giant clams.  Whitetip and gray reef sharks thrive and there is a menagerie of reef inhabitants including porcupine fish, pufferfish, triggerfish, unicorn fish, Moorish idols and giant moray eels.  Leaf fish and crocodile fish can often be seen here too.  Gorgonian sea fans and black corals protrude from the steep drop offs and an encounter with a huge bumphead parrotfish is likely as is the spectacular sight of a living wall of hundreds of schooling barracuda.  Sipadan has one of the top beach dives in the world, as five metres of sand in knee-high water suddenly gives way to a precipitous drop and cave-diving enthusiasts can explore the caverns that Cousteau did more than 40 years ago.

Sipadan is the most famous of the scattered group of islands that make up the 73,000 acre Semporna Marine Park and you will also access other parts such as the islands of Kapalai, Mabul and Si-Amal.

Pulau Mabul

Mabul is located some 25 minutes north of Sipadan.  In contrast to the steep drop offs, coral reefs and pelagic species of Sipadan, Mabul is renowned internationally for a very different reason.  A muck diver's paradise, Mabul is great for macro life with every hole in the sand and coral rubble inhabited by ghost pipefish, frogfish, devil scorpionfish, stonefish, crocodile fish, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, cowfish and nudibranchs.  Macro photographers will find great opportunities to capture some rare species that inhabit the sandy bottom of Mabul's marine environment.

Pulau Kapalai

Like Sipadan and Mabul, Kapalai is part of the Semporna Marine Park island group.  Located around 20 minutes from Sipadan, Kapalai is another macro diving destination with all the species found at Mabul including blue-ringed octopuses, dragonets, mating mandarin fish, jawfish and cuttlefish.  Other sites around Kapalai are likely to reveal humphead (Napoleon) wrasse, blue spotted ribbontail rays and even bumphead parrotfish.

Sites visited will be dependant upon weather conditions and all diving activity is at the discretion of the boat skipper and Sabah Marine Park rules prevailing at the time.

For detailed draft itinerary, please click HERE

2008/2009 prices 12 days £1755 (diver)  £1685 (non-diver) 14 days £1950 (diver)  £1880 (non-diver) For travel Jul-Aug please add £59 Prices valid to 28th February 2010 Single supplements If you are willing to share a cabin with someone of the same gender then the following supplements apply for the rest of your journey: 12 day journey:  add £399 14 day journey:  add £549 If you would lke a single cabin to yourself please add £365 to these supplements. Our prices include All domestic flights All land and water based transfers All accommodation onboard liveaboard with private toilet, hot water shower and air conditioning All land based accommodation 4-5 dives daily whilst on liveaboard (except for arrival and departure day and subject to sea and weather conditions) Tanks and weights and weight belt All meals and beverages onboard liveaboard (excluding alcoholic and canned/bottled drinks or juices to be purchased at the bar) and as indicated at other times (B,L,D) Guided trips as per itinerary with English-speaking, expert naturalist guides Marine park & national park conservation fees & permits Our prices exclude International flights Drinks (except those provided with meals and as mentioned above), tips, dive equipment rental, snorkelling equipment and wet suits Travel insurance Visas Camera permit fee within national parks (RM10) Liveaboard features 8 Guest rooms with private ensuite and air-conditioning Comfortable Sofa Lounge with TV, Audio System and Mini Bar Buffet Meals Spacious Sun Deck for relaxation Dive Deck with convenience of showers and equipment storage Cruising speed of  8-10 knots Overall lenght of 29 metres (99 feet) Beam of 7.2 metres (24 feet) Draft of 2 metres (6.6 feet)

Sipadan and the Semporna group of islands are jewels in South-East Asia's rich tapestry of marine habitat - and long may they remain that way.  The diversity of life within them is of global importance, but like many reefs around the world, they are under pressure.  We therefore urge all divers to dive responsibly and safely, avoiding any contact with the reef.

Photographs kindly provided by Alan Oh, SMART, Charlotte Caffrey, Ralph Pannell, Nick Bramley, Lawrence Lee, Albert Teo and PSR