Mabul Sipadan Sabah Hotels Booking

Kapalai is an island in Malaysia, known for its scuba resorts.

The island of Kapalai, just 15 minutes off Sipadan, was a beautiful island two hundred years ago, but now it is only a sand bar. Erosion has reduced the island to sea level and the village now sits on the edge of the extensive Ligitan Reefs. All of the buildings are on stilts which go down into the water.

Home to the weird and techno-colored flamboyant cuttlefish rumbling on the bottom like a miniature tank rippling with fluorescent waves of vermilion, purple, chocolate brown, bright yellow and blinding white, all the time waving and flourishing its paddle-shaped front tentacles like some samurai of yore, looking more like a sensuous orchid than a predatory cephalopod ; it is the domain of the invisible frogfish found in Kapalai in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors- which despite sometimes being as large as a melon will often escape even from the most trained of wildlife.

Though diving is the highly commended activity in Kapalai, there are other water activities one can indulge in such as swimming, snorkeling as well as ocean kayaking while looking at the many colorful fishes swimming freely just a few inch beneath.

Kapalai Island is located in the Celebes Sea, off the coast of Malaysian Borneo. It is in Malaysia’s most eastern state, Sabah, and can be reached within half an hour by speedboat from the closest town on the mainland, Semporna.

Speedboats to Kapalai depart from Semporna, a small fishing town on Malaysian Borneo, and trips there and back are arranged by the resorts. The boat trip takes around 20-30 minutes. Diving trips by boat to Kapalai are also arranged by resorts on nearby Mabul island.

The closest airport to Semporna is in Tawau, approximately 1 hour away. The Sipadan-Kapalai resort can arrange for transport (usually by air-conditioned minivan) from the airport to Semporna.

As there are no boats to the islands after nightfall, you may need to overnight in Semporna after flying in to Tawau. The Seafest Hotel and the Dragon Inn are popular choices as they are within metres of the Speedboat departure point.

Air Asia has several flights daily to Tawau from Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia Airlines has daily flights from Kuala Lumpur and Sandakan and several flights daily from Kota Kinabalu. From any international destination, book your return flights to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, from where you can get the abovementioned connecting flights to Tawau.