Plane, bus, boat, SCUBA
World class scuba diving? Sipidan, Malaysia had better offer that. I’ll be there in August,
I’ll be staying at the SMART resort on the island of Mabul. Supposed to offer high-end accommodation. The resort has bungalows on the water, but a wee bit out of my price range. I’ll be in a chalet near the beach.
SMART will be my home for a week. In order to dive Sipidan, which restricts the number of divers it allows on site each day to 120, I had to book a certain number of days at a specific hotel room price point. And, that only guarantees one day of actual Sipidan diving. But, there are amazing unrestricted dive sites outside of the restricted area for the rest of the stay.
Costs so far: (not including Vancouver to Kuala Lumpur flight and one night hotel in KL) = $2497.00 CDN (biggest chunk of the cost)
- Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau: 225.73 MYR = $75.00 CDN (Yes, I know Air Asia did crash a plane earlier this year. I flew the airline to Bali two years ago. It was great. I’ve also got a flight booked on Malaysia Airlines, which lost two planes in recent years. Not worried).
- SMART resort 8D-7N: 7207.00 MYR = $2422.00 CDN
Package Includes: Transfer between Tawau - Semporna Jetty - Sipadan- Mabul Resort - Tawau by van and speedboat, food and hot beverage while at the resort (excluding alcoholic, fruit juice and carbonated soft drinks). Three boat dives per day with divemaster around Mabul, Kapalai and Si Amil islands including use of tanks with air, weights and weight belt. Unlimited diving at Mabul’s House Reef and 1 Day Sipadan Diving. For someone accustomed to a $30USD a night room in Roatan, Honduras, this is a bit much. At this price point, I likely won’t be able to/want to do this a second time in the future. I’ll be taking pictures and videos so I have lots of memories.
Next week: Tank meets Orangs.
tankstravels.com 