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  Sipadan Island

By Air

Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia provide flights departing from Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru to Kota Kinabalu. Check the flight schedules at www.malaysiaairlines.com.my and www.airasia.com. 

From Kota Kinabalu the flight will take 50 minutes to Tawau.  At the new Tawau airport you are picked up by an air conditioned minivan and transferred in 1.5 hours to the fishing village of Semporna.  If you arrive there in the afternoon it is better to stay there one night and sail to the islands on the next day.

From Semporna all operators bring their guests by speedboat to the islands. Most resorts offer a free transfer by speedboat to the islands. 

Following travelling times occurs:
· Semporna - Mabul  - 30 Min.
· Semporna – Kapalai  - 45 Min.
· Semporna – Sipadan  - 60 Min
· Mabul - Sipadan  - 20 Min.
· Kapalai- Sipadan  - 15 Min.
· Mabul - Kapalai  - 5 Min.
  
   
About Sipadan Island 

The late Jacques Cousteau, the world-renowned oceanographer, described Sipadan Island as ‘an untouched piece of art’, while divers around the world voted it as one of the top five dive sites in the world.

Malaysia’s only oceanic island, it is very small – only 12ha. in size. A 25-minute walk is all that is required to circle the island on foot. As an oceanic island, it rises about 700 metres from the sea floor, attracting diverse marine life from the blackness of the open sea. Surrounded by crystal clear waters, this crown jewel is a treasure trove of some of the most amazing marine animals.

Declared a bird sanctuary in 1933 by the Colonial Government of North Borneo and re-gazetted in 1963 by the Malaysian Government, the dense vegetation on Sipadan Island supports a large variety of tropical birds which include sea eagles, kingfishers, sunbirds, starlings and wood pigeons. Exotic crustaceans including the amazing coconut crab roam the beaches and scurry among the undergrowth.

When diving here, encounters with turtles, resident schools of jacks, bumphead parrotfish and barracudas are almost assured around the tiny coral island.