Hi people

My partner and I are heading over to Malaysia next June, and we're hoping to dive Sipidan and nearby islands.

Anyone been out that before and have any good advice for us? Anything about diving companies and/or accommodation would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Erica and I were looking at going to Sipidan next year and did heeeeeaps of research. If we had decided to go we would probably have done our diving through Kapalai. The main thing that put us off was the permit system they have for Sipidan which only allows a fixed number of divers to dive Sipidan each day. They all charge top dollar for the good diving at Sipidan but don't guarantee that you will even get to go. We read lots of reviews from people who were disappointed, and only got to dive Sipidan itself 1-in-3 or 1-in-4 days.

To be fair alot of peole seemed really happy, and overall there was more good feedback than bad.

Can't be much more help than that but I thought it worthwhile to let you know about the Sipidan permit system, just in case you didn't already.

I second Russell - the Sipadan permit system is something you will have to investigate clearly so that you know what to expect. We were looking at going in about May, but the last I looked into it the permit situation sounded pretty crap.

Russell - where are you guys going instead?

Southern Thailand. That's our default destination when we can't decide! We'll fly into Phuket but won't be staying there except for maybe a couple of nights at the end for some shopping. We are looking at driving up to Khao Lak and staying there, with a few days diving the Similan Islands/Richeleui Rock. Then drive to Koh Lanta and stay another week there, (so we can tick off Hin Daeng, which is supposed to be the best dive site in Thailand). Then get a boat back to Phuket and fly home again. About 18 days in total.