KUALA LUMPUR DIVING MABUL & SIPADAN

SIPADAN is the small island where you can dive and snorkel. It is a 15-30 minutes boat ride south of Mabul. Sipadan is the tip of a mountain with steep underwater walls all around it. These walls drop to 300m on the Mabul side of the island and 600m on south side. Diving on Sipadan is all drift diving, divers drop in and cruise with the current along the walls.

• Please be informed that all guests need to obtain entry permit daily to dive or visit to Sipadan Island and it will be subject to approval by the Sabah Parks Management, which is in control of issuing the entry permit.
• The total number of divers or visitors allowed to visit Sipadan Island is restricted to 120 people per day.
• Our resort has been allocated 14 quotas each day out of the 120 people. Due to this limited quotas our Sales Office will only arrange for guests who stay from 5 nights onward at standalone chalets to have 1 day diving guarantee at Sipadan Island.
• This guarantee trip is NOT included the entry permit fee. The fee is RM 40.00 net per person per day for divers, non-divers, visitors and children. This entry permit fee has to be paid on arrival in the resort.
• We will not be held responsible for not being able to provide trip to Sipadan due to the conservation measures by the Government.

CONDITIONS FOR DIVING:

• All divers will be required to show proof of diver training / certification by an internationally recognized Diver Training Agency upon arrival before they would be allowed to participate in any diving activity. SMART also reserves the right to require a Scuba Skills Refresher Course for any diver who cannot provide proof of diving in the last 12 months and/or exhibits uncertainty in their skills.

• All guests will be required to sign a Liability/Release Form (Waiver) before or upon arrival and abide by all diving and safety rules of the resort. No diving or snorkeling activities will be permitted until the said form is signed and witnessed.

• The first dive at the Dive Resort on the day of arrival will be an orientation dive with a Divemaster. This is required of all divers. Please take note that there is NO Underwater Camera or Video allowed during the orientation dive. Other jetty dives can be done on the first day under our UNLIMITED JETTY DIVES program. First day diving is depends on your arrival time to the resort.

• Boat Dives: There are three (3) boat dives a day, two in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is a combination dive at nearby dive sites making a total of 3 dives per day. Each boat goes out with a boatman and Divemaster. All dive sites and dive schedules will be arranged at the discretion of the resort Management.

• Our dive boats will depart to the dive sites every morning at 8.00 to 9.00 am and return to Sipadan-Mabul Resort after the 3rd dive, around 4.00 p.m. Divers will return to the resort for their meals after every dive. If you are diving at Sipadan Island you will be there the whole day, lunch will be served on site.

• The number of dive is limited to avoid overcrowding; therefore, visits must be arranged well in advance. Divers on their first visit to Sipadan are briefed before they take the plunge.

• Besides the three (3) boat dives, unlimited jetty dives may be carried out daily on Mabul’s House Reef. These jetty dives can only start after your morning boat dive, unless you choose not to go on the morning boat dive; then you may dive anytime after 7.00am. Your last jetty dive has to be planned in such a way as to exit the water by 9.00 p.m.

• Surface Intervals: For safety measures, a mandatory minimum 60 minutes surface interval is required before the next consecutive dive, regardless of whether you are diving by a computer or by tables.

• Night Diving: to Night Dive, divers must show proof of night diving in the form of certification cards or logbooks documenting such dives. If no proof is available, divers who wish to night dive will be required to take an introduction OR certification course in night diving at an additional cost. Night Divers must exit the water by 9.00 p.m. (2100 hrs).

Rates for night diving with boat on Mabul Island is RM 286.00 net per dive/per boat from 1-2 Divers and if there are 3 divers and above the rate is RM 106.00 net per diver/per dive. This will be charged locally.

• The latest recommendation from DAN, Training Agencies etc., indicates that you should wait a minimum of 12 hours and sometimes up to 24 hours after diving before you fly. However, SMART recognizes that people, agencies, and even computers and tables differ on this. If you choose to dive on the day you leave and fly, you will be required to sign a separate Liability/Release Form (Waiver) to do this. You will only be able to do one morning dive at 8.00am at Mabul Island; however, this is at the discretion of the resort Management. The extra charge for the dive on last day is RM 106.00 per person/per dive.

SMART reserves final discretion on who may or may not do any type of diving we offer, based on a diver’s shown abilities, experience, etc. If a diver is or becomes physically incapacitated by injuries, illness, intoxication, ‘hangovers’, etc., we reserve the right to stop this person from diving.