Malaysia Resorts
Sipadan Water Village is located on Mabul Island in a shining water paradise, a world away from the hustle and bustle. The resort has 45 water chalets, all built over the water on stilts. The spacious chalets have wide sliding doors that open onto the private balcony for ocean or island views. There are six semi-detached junior chalets, four semi-detached standard chalets, and 29 detached standard chalets. The junior and standard chalets have either two twin beds, or double and a twin bed. The two deluxe chalets have a king-size bed, and the four grand deluxe chalets have two queen-size beds. All chalets are equipped with private bathrooms, coffee makers, hair dryers, ceiling fans and minibars. The garden deluxe chalets also come with a spa bath. The resort is currently installing air-conditioning to some of the chalets, and the deluxe chalets have been completed.
Delicious Asian and Continental cuisine is served buffet style in the lovely restaurant overlooking the sea. The large open-air bar is a favorite gathering spot for sundowners. The resort has a boutique and guest internet access. Kayaks are available for rent. Sipadan Water Resort dives Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan, and most dive sites are within 15-minute boat ride. Mabul and Kapalai are macro havens with shallow dive sites and incredible variety of critters to photograph. Sipadan’s diving is mostly wall and drift diving with beautiful coral gardens and more turtles than anywhere else. Dive trips are arranged three times per day and with no more than twelve divers per boat.
Borneo Divers Mabul Dive Resort
Borneo Divers Mabul Dive Resort is a quiet little haven of white sandy beaches and friendly service. It was built with divers in mind and offers diving at the best Sipadan and Mabul sites. There are 21 deluxe twin rooms and nine deluxe double rooms, all with private bathrooms and views over the ocean. The chalets feature two rooms each, and were constructed from local hardwoods. Amenities include ceiling fans, air-conditioning, hair dryers and comfy sofas in each chalet. Mabul Resort knows that diving takes energy, and serves you delectable dishes from Malaysian, Japanese, Chinese and Western cuisines. The dining hall is the gathering place for not only for meals but also socializing and watching videos.
Mabul is a wonderland of strange and exotic marine creatures, including blue ring octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, sea horses, pipefish and lots of macro action. You can dive and snorkel right from the beach, the gently sloping reef surrounds the island. Sipadan diving is all about diversity and plunging walls covered in sealife and it’s no wonder is consistently rated one of the best places to dive in the world. Dozens of turtles and sharks, large schools of barracuda, jacks, fusilier and batfish – all in a day’s diving! The dive shop features private lockers, room to hang your equipment to dry, and rental gear if you need it. A fleet of fast speedboats take you to the many dive sites.
Minutes by boat from the islands of Sipadan and Mabul is the exhilarating Kapalai Dive Resort, sitting on its sturdy stilts on the shallow sandbanks of the Ligitan Reefs. Built as an airy, comfortable and sunny water village with no land in sight, it boasts a mile-long sandbank of powdery white sand where you can suntan at complete leisure while serenely gazing out to the miles of brilliant turquoise stretching into the horizon. There are 59 wooden twin chalets with private balconies and full bathrooms. Kapalai’s chalets are all linked by long wooden walkways, perfect for those who like to take their morning jog while looking at thousands of fish swimming just a few feet beneath. Have a drink with your friends on the deck at sunset, and continue on to dine a delicious meal served buffet-style in the open-air restaurant. Surrounded by the sea and the exciting sealife right by your chalet, you get beautiful sea breezes and an instant access to the water – all without the motion and confinement of being on a boat.
Diving Kapalai’s reef is very easy, just swim out. Boat trips take you to further on the reef, and Sipadan and Mabul are just fifteen minutes away. The resort’s PADI dive shop offers a variety of dive courses and has equipment for rent. Kayaking and snorkeling are equally excellent, the waters are calm and perfect for spotting extraordinary creatures hiding in the shallow waters. Dive Sipadan for the big fish and magnificent walls, Mabul for tiny creatures, and come back to Kapalai for excellent photo opportunities right by your own chalet with the flamboyant cuttlefish, frogfish and a myriad of juvenile reef fish. Kapalai Dive Resort has wireless internet access and satellite phone link for keeping in touch.