Editor’s note: A personal favorite from SEVENSEAS Media which also happens to be were I got certified years ago. I still return any chance I get.
Dive with Scuba Junkie! Providing daily dive trips to more than 25 islands in the Celebes Sea. Whether you want macro diving at Mabul and Kapalai or wish to dive with sharks and turtles at Sipadan Island (one of top 10 dives sites in the world).
Scuba Junkie was set up by divers who had and still have a love and dedication to the marine terrestrial environments.
The Diving
Sipadan
Most people come for the world-famous Sipadan Island, home to thousands of turtles, schooling sharks, swirling barracuda, and awe-inspiring coral walls dropping more than 600m / 2,000ft straight down to the sea floor. Sipadan is frequently voted as the worlds number 1 dive destination, but the diving doesn’t stop there. The Sipadan Barrier Reef is the largest Barrier Reef in S.E ASIA and also has the Worlds highest marine biodiversity! Diversity is the beauty of this amazing reef: It offers wall dives with vertical drops to over 500M, Cleaning stations that attract Manta Rays, Devil Rays and all kinds of sharks! 1000’s of schooling fish and hidden away in the coral shallows are some of the world’s best macro life such as Pygmy Seahorses, Flamboyant Cuttle Fish, Mandarin Fish and other marine life that is still to be identified. This is truly one of the last unexplored frontiers on Planet Earth and its a must you dive here when you come to visit.
Mabul
Mabul, just a twenty minute boat ride from Sipadan, is home to an astonishing variety of marine life. With sites ranging from well developed artificial reefs home to thousands of schooling Jackfish, Giant Groupers & giant moray eels to gentle sloping coral reefs with their 100’s of resident turtles and easily accessible “muck-diving” sites where you’ll encounter untold numbers of weird and amazing critters including blue-ringed octopus, harlequin ghost pipefish, dwarf stonefish, seahorses, nudibranchs, Mabul truly has something to offer every diver! For the lucky guests, you may encounter a Whale Shark or even a Whale swimming past our Mabul Beach Resort – truly an experience of a life time.
Kapalai
Kapalai is the third point of the famous Golden Triangle, with Sipadan and Mabul being the other two. Kapalai is not a true island but rather a sandbar that resorts have built upon to form a true water resort. While the resort was originally built for it’s proximity to world-famous Sipadan, curious divers quickly discovered the paradise that awaited just beneath. Kapalai is undoubtedly one of the premiere macro dive sites in the world. It’s true that many divers come to Kapalai and never even go to Sipadan!
Sibuan
Or perhaps you’d like to visit Sibuan, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful islands in Sabah with empty white sand beaches, coconut palm trees, and azure blue waters. Frogfish are virtually guaranteed here, as are pygmy seahorses, mandarin fish, scorpion fish, crocodile fish, or encounters with eagle rays out in the blue. In short, there’s something here to meet every diver’s taste.
Mantabuan
Mantabuan is a volcanically formed and mostly submerged island that is paradise for divers who want to see magnificent coral and with unsurpassed visibility. Located northeast from the ancient volcano of Bohedulang, Mantabuan is one of the best islands in the area for manta rays, especially when the currents pick up. Eagle rays and devil rays can often be found in the blue as well. The real star of Mantabuan though is the black coral.
Mataking
Mataking Island is a honeymooners paradise located right on the Malaysian/Phillipine border. Mataking is a picture-perfect deserted island – so much so that the creators of the television show Survivor decided to film the first season here! With white-sand beaches that stretch the full length of the island, palm tress that house coconut crabs, and dive sites that will suite both macro and pelagic lovers alike, Mataking has it all!
