Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART)
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Booking by Tour Leader Club
2 room types · 23 named on the site's maps — 7 off Mabul, 10 off Sipadan and 6 off Kapalai dive sites · house reef
Sipadan-Mabul Resort, known as SMART, is a land-based dive resort on Mabul Island in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The chalets stand in a coconut grove right by the beach, facing Sipadan — fifteen minutes away by boat.
Mabul is noticeably bigger than Sipadan, though you can still walk right around it along the shore in under an hour. Where the interior of Sipadan is untouched tropical forest, Mabul is almost entirely actively producing coconut trees: practically every tree on the island is numbered and tied to one person who tends it and harvests the nuts.
People come to Sipadan for the pelagics — a sea mount made famous by Jacques Cousteau, with thousands of turtles and schooling fish. But the real find is the muck diving around Mabul itself. Here you dive not for visibility and walls but for the small stuff: frogfish the size of soccer balls, every species of pipefish known, fire gobies, mandarin fish, ghost pipefish, dozens of species of shrimp, crabs and lobsters. Mabul is nudibranch heaven — more species here than everywhere else you have been combined.
The sites have their specialities. Lobster Wall for paper scorpionfish, nudibranchs and shrimp. Mandarin Valley for mandarin fish, resident ghost pipefish and a black anglerfish the size of a rock melon. Froggy Lair for the flamboyant cuttlefish and two blue anglerfish. Crocodile Avenue is a huge grass bed with crocodile fish, sea horses, sea moths, pipefish and snake eels. Visibility is rarely endless here: usually at least twelve metres, and kicked-up silt cuts it further.
The package includes three boat dives a day with a divemaster off Mabul, Kapalai and nearby islands, plus unlimited jetty diving on Mabul’s house reef. The SMART-TEC technical centre runs separately: a dedicated nitrox filling station with six-stage filtration and a computerised panel, mixes up to 40% for recreational diving and up to 100% for decompression and rebreathers, 160cuft isolation manifold doubles, NAUI and PADI nitrox courses, technical guides and a cavern dive to Sipadan’s Turtle Cavern.
The daily routine is built for divers: you assemble your gear under the leaf umbrella numbered for your boat and never touch it again — the crew swaps tanks between dives, and in the evening everything goes back into a locked airing shed. Each boat has a permanent driver and deck hand.
Accommodation is chalets made from native Borneo materials, detached and semi-detached. Each has a private bathroom with hot water, 24-hour air conditioning, mosquito screens and free WiFi.
The dining hall at the land resort is closed: all meals are served at the water bungalow restaurant — a ten-minute walk from the land resort jetty, or a buggy that runs roughly hourly.
No markup
You pay exactly the rate the resort publishes. On top of that, only the actual bank costs of currency conversion and the international transfer — no commission of ours.
We run the deal
Correspondence with the resort, holding the room, the contract, booking confirmation and all paperwork are on our side. There is nothing for you to arrange yourself.
Card payment
We accept payment by card through Stripe and issue an invoice. The transfer to the resort is our job — you do not have to find a way to pay abroad.
Support all the way
We help you choose the room and dates, work out the dive package, answer questions about flights and gear, and stay in touch until you are home.
The exact amount is confirmed when we hold your booking: it includes the resort's rate at the day's exchange rate plus the actual transfer costs. No hidden fees.
About the resort
- Country
- Malaysia
- Location
- Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia
- Nearest airport
- Tawau airport — transfer included in the package
- Transfer
Included in the package — Tawau, van to the Semporna jetty (about an hour), then speedboat to Mabul (about 45 minutes)
- House reef
- Yes — unlimited jetty diving on Mabul's house reef
- Dive sites
23 named on the site's maps — 7 off Mabul, 10 off Sipadan and 6 off Kapalai
- Dive centre
On-site dive centre and the SMART-TEC technical centre — PADI courses from Open Water to Divemaster
- Nitrox
Yes — dedicated filling station, mixes up to 40%, up to 100% for decompression and rebreathers
from RM 35 a tank
- Rooms
- 38
- Internet
- Free WiFi in the rooms and in the dining hall
At the resort
Diving
Diving at Sipadan is limited by permits. Since 1 January 2025 every guest needs a daily entry permit from Sabah Parks: 240 people a day are allowed on the island, and the resort is allocated six places a day. The resort cannot guarantee diving at Sipadan but will source a permit separately — RM 889 net per person per day including the park conservation fee, paid in advance. Sipadan allows two boat dives a day and an Advanced Open Water certification is required. If a permit is not approved, the boats go to Kapalai, Mabul, Sibuan, Boheydulang and Matanbuan. A Sipadan day is a full day out with lunch on site; around Mabul you come back to the resort between dives. The number of dives on arrival day depends on arrival time, and there is no diving on departure day. All divers show proof of certification on arrival; anyone who has not dived in the last 12 months may be asked to take a refresher. The Sipadan-Mabul package is marked Not Available on the site — only the non-Sipadan package is sold.
Dining
The dining hall at the land resort is closed. All meals are served at the water bungalow restaurant: about a ten-minute walk from the land resort jetty, or wait for the buggy, which runs roughly hourly. Alcoholic drinks, fruit juice and carbonated soft drinks are charged separately.
Things to do
In the evening the beachfront lawn chairs and leaf umbrellas are the place to watch the sun go down. You can walk right around the island along the shore in under an hour; in the evening sea snakes come ashore at the edge of the scrub to hunt. The site suggests leaving tips in the box at reception — around US$5 per guest per day, to be divided equally among all staff.
Rooms
Chalet
504
View: Garden and grove
Beds: Two beds or one double
Detached chalets built from native Borneo materials: sixteen twin-bed and six double-bed. Own balcony with mosquito screen, attached shower and toilet, hot water and air conditioning around the clock. The package rates are quoted for this type.
Chalet
View: Garden and grove
Beds: Two beds or one double
Semi-detached chalets — fourteen twin-bed and two double-bed. The balcony is shared with the neighbouring chalet; everything else matches the detached type: attached bathroom with hot water, 24-hour air conditioning, mosquito screens and WiFi. The site publishes no separate rate for this category.
Rates
Non-Sipadan package, 2026
| Diver | Non-diver | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 days / 1 night | US$ 616 | US$ 504 |
| 3 days / 2 nights | US$ 793 | US$ 624 |
| 4 days / 3 nights | US$ 970 | US$ 749 |
| 5 days / 4 nights | US$ 1,144 | US$ 873 |
| Extra day / night | US$ 280 | US$ 242 |
Per person on a twin-share basis in a standalone chalet, valid from 1 January to 31 December 2026. Single occupancy of a two-bed chalet adds 50% and must be booked in advance. The Sipadan package is marked Not Available on the site.
Nitrox and technical diving at SMART-TEC
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Nitrox tank, 80cuft, 21–39% oxygen | RM 35 a tank |
| Decompression tank, 40cuft, 40–100% | RM 45 a tank |
| Decompression tank, 80cuft, 40–100% | RM 55 a tank |
| Isolation manifold doubles, 160cuft | RM 65 a tank |
| NAUI or PADI nitrox course with two tanks | RM 1,040 per person |
| Technical diving divemaster | RM 150 a dive |
Prices in Malaysian ringgit, subject to 6% service tax. Special offer — rent nine nitrox tanks, get one free.
Rates and availability can change. Message us — we will confirm current dates and prices.
When to go
- Best time
- All year round
- Water temperature
- 26–31 °C
- Air temperature
- 27–32 °C
- Visibility
- 15–30+ m at Sipadan, often 6–7 m around Mabul
The climate is equatorial, with fairly uniform temperatures all year and humidity of 85–95%. Thermoclines exist, especially at Sipadan: the site advises at least a wool-lined lycra suit and possibly a 3 mm one-piece neoprene. Visibility around Sipadan averages 15 to 30-plus metres but can drop without warning to three to six. Around Mabul it is usually at least twelve metres, and kicked-up silt cuts it further — the price of muck diving. Most divers come for one to two weeks.
Getting there
The resort stands on Mabul Island in the Celebes Sea, at the south-eastern edge of the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The journey is included in the package: fly to Tawau via Kota Kinabalu or Kuala Lumpur, where you are met and driven by van to the Semporna jetty — about an hour — then a speedboat out to Mabul, another forty-five minutes or so.
Sipadan is fifteen minutes away by boat.
Electricity is 220 V with three rectangular prongs as in Britain, power around the clock. Time is GMT+8. The currency is the Malaysian ringgit; Visa and Mastercard are accepted. What to bring: personal dive equipment, tropical beach wear, insect repellent and torches.
Included in the price
Not included
Optional extras
Extras are per person and paid on site.
from 504 USD for the 2 days / 1 night non-diver package on a twin-share basis in a standalone chalet, transfers and meals included
Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART)
Availability for your dates will be confirmed before any payment. Estimated wait time — 24 hours
Other resorts
Layang Layang Island Resort
Dive resort · Malaysia
Layang Layang atoll, South China Sea, Malaysia
Price on request
Mabul Water Bungalows
Dive resort · Malaysia
Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia
from 710 USD for the 2 days / 1 night non-diver package on a twin-share basis, transfers and meals included
Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort
Dive resort · Malaysia
Kapalai, Semporna, Sabah
Price on request
Chalet
Detached chalets built from native Borneo materials: sixteen twin-bed and six double-bed. Own balcony with mosquito screen, attached shower and toilet, hot water and air conditioning around the clock. The package rates are quoted for this type.
- View
- Garden and grove
- Beds
- Two beds or one double
- Size
- 19 × 16 ft
- Rooms of this type
- 22
- Rate
- 504
Chalet
Semi-detached chalets — fourteen twin-bed and two double-bed. The balcony is shared with the neighbouring chalet; everything else matches the detached type: attached bathroom with hot water, 24-hour air conditioning, mosquito screens and WiFi. The site publishes no separate rate for this category.
- View
- Garden and grove
- Beds
- Two beds or one double
- Size
- 14 × 12 ft
- Rooms of this type
- 16
Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART)
from 504 USD
