Borneo Divers Mabul Resort
Rooms, dive operation and permit rotation at our partner resort.
Resort detailsOne permit day at Sipadan, three or four days here. Divers arrive treating Mabul as the dormitory and leave rating the house reef as the best macro diving they have done.
Mabul sits about 15 kilometres from Sipadan, 45 minutes by boat, and it is where almost every Sipadan diver stays. Since resorts were cleared from Sipadan in 2005, Mabul has held the dive infrastructure, the permit allocations and the beds — the resort comparison covers every base if you are still choosing.
It is a real island with a real population — a substantial Bajau Laut community lives alongside the resorts, and the village is a genuinely different place from the resort strip. Unlike Sipadan, which nobody stays on, Mabul is somewhere you live for a week.
Structurally it is the opposite of Sipadan. Where Sipadan is a vertical wall over deep ocean, Mabul is a shallow sand and rubble slope in 3 to 25 metres. That sounds unpromising and is precisely why it works — muck diving needs sediment, and this is some of the most productive sediment in the world.
Mabul is routinely rated among the top macro destinations globally, alongside Lembeh and Anilao. Underwater photographers frequently prefer it to Sipadan, and some book trips here without a permit day at all.
Frogfish in several species and colour morphs, resident on the house reef and the artificial structures. Once you learn to see them they are everywhere.
Mandarinfish at dusk, mating in the shallow rubble. A reliable, timed spectacle that most operators run as a dedicated dusk dive.
Blue-ringed octopus — small, spectacular and genuinely present here rather than theoretically present.
Flamboyant cuttlefish, walking across the sand in impossible colours. One of the animals divers travel specifically to photograph.
Ghost pipefish, ornate and robust, seasonally abundant among crinoids and weed.
Plus: harlequin shrimp, bobtail squid, mimic and coconut octopus, seahorses, leaf scorpionfish, crocodile fish, and a nudibranch count high enough that dedicated nudibranch divers book here.
Learn to dive slowly. Mabul rewards the diver who covers thirty metres in an hour. Divers who swim it like a reef dive see sand.
Boat dives run three times daily at 08:30, 10:30 and 14:00, plus unlimited unguided house reef diving from the jetty. Sites are shallow, calm and suitable for any certification level.
The house reef is the main event and it is free and unlimited. Sand slope, seagrass, rubble and the jetty structure itself. Divers who use it properly get five or six dives a day rather than three.
Artificial reefs including the Blue Liberty wreck and various deliberately sunk structures, now heavily colonised. Good for frogfish and schooling juveniles.
Paradise 1 and 2, Lobster Wall, Ray Point, Crocodile Avenue, Froggy Lair — the named boat sites around the island, all within a short ride, all shallow.
Kapalai, ten minutes away, is dived on the same rotation. Shallower still, with an exceptional sandbar and its own macro population. See Kapalai.
Night diving is available on the house reef, unlike at Sipadan where it is prohibited. Mandarinfish at dusk and the full nocturnal cast after dark.
Per person, twin sharing, at Borneo Divers Mabul Resort. Includes accommodation, full board, transfers from Tawau, three guided boat dives daily, unlimited house reef diving, tanks and weights.
| Package | Off-peak | Peak | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3D2N Diving | RM2,390 | RM2,510 | RB-3D2N-BD-NSD |
| 4D3N Diving | RM3,380 | RM3,550 | RB-4D3N-BD-NSD |
| 5D4N Diving Most dives per ringgit | RM4,250 | RM4,460 | RB-5D4N-BD-NSD |
| 3D2N Snorkelling | RM1,880 | RM1,980 | RB-3D2N-BD-NSS |
| 5D4N Snorkelling | RM3,420 | RM3,600 | RB-5D4N-BD-NSS |
Adding Sipadan permit days moves you onto the Sipadan packages, from RM4,170. Permits are limited and date-specific, so if Sipadan matters at all, ask about both when you enquire — adding a permit day later is often impossible.
Mabul in November. Sipadan closes for the whole of November, but Mabul and Kapalai stay open at off-peak rates. It is the cheapest month of the year to dive this area, and the macro is unaffected by the closure.
You are a macro photographer — this is the better site for what you shoot. You hold Open Water only and do not want to spend two days on an Advanced course — see the beginner's route for the full picture. Your dates fall in November. Or you want the maximum number of dives for your budget: 5D4N at RM4,250 delivers more total diving than the 4D3N Sipadan package at RM4,170.
You want the wall, the tornadoes and the reef sharks, which Mabul does not have. Sipadan and Mabul are complementary rather than competing — one is wide angle and pelagics, the other is macro and patience. Most divers who fly this far take both, and the 6D5N package gives you two permit days plus three days at Mabul.
Rooms, dive operation and permit rotation at our partner resort.
Resort detailsYes. Mabul is among the world's best muck diving sites, with frogfish, mandarinfish, blue-ringed octopus and flamboyant cuttlefish resident. Many photographers rate it above Sipadan.
About 15 kilometres, roughly 45 minutes by boat. Permit-day departures leave around 06:00.
Yes, without restriction. Sites are shallow and calm. Advanced Open Water is only required for Sipadan itself.
Yes, on the house reef, unlike Sipadan where night diving is prohibited. Mandarinfish at dusk is the standard dive.
From RM2,390 per person twin sharing for 3D2N, up to RM4,460 for 5D4N in peak season, including accommodation, meals, transfers and diving.
Yes. Only Sipadan closes for November. Mabul and Kapalai run normally at off-peak rates.
Send your dates and we will quote Mabul alone and Mabul with Sipadan permit days, so you can see the difference before you commit.
Get dates & price See Sipadan rates