Sipadan Island, Sabah

"Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea east of the major town of Tawau and off the coast of Borneo, East Indonesia on the island of Borneo. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem. Sipadan has been rated by many dive journals as one of the top dive destinations in the world.

Normally, rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: schools of green and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda and big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

A turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that become lost and drown before finding the surface." - taken from Wikipedia



There are three to four resorts available for visitors to choose from. Kapalai is the only resort built in the middle of the ocean. Guests of Kapalai have the flexibility of snorkeling right in front of their chalets while others who prefer diving can charter a boat out to the open sea. Lankayan is a resort by the beach. If visitors prefer to have the beach within reach, Lankayan is the place to stay because Kapalai doesnt offer that. These two are the only accomodations visitors can find at Sipadan which is on the beach and close to the waters. However, they do not provide the luxury of a five star resort from what I can see on their website but more of just a rest and relax kind of place where guests are not encourage to spend all their time in their room but out snorkeling, diving or either kayaking.

I've not been there before, but this is a place to visit for island lovers. I hope I'll be able to, soon :)