Snorkeling at Sipadan and other islands

Hi - We plan to go to Semporna in July but two of us are snorkelers. Is the snorkeling on the dive trips around Sipadan and the other islands in the area rewarding, or do the dive operators cater so much to the divers (e.g., deep water) that snorkelers cannot see much? If Sipadan is not the best choice for snorkelers, are there other islands/places out of Semporna area that you would recommend specifically for snorkeling? Thanks. bawauchope@aol.com

Snorkeling at Sipadan and other islands

Thanks, Anna. That%26#39;s helpful and encouraging.

Snorkeling at Sipadan and other islands

Have also been to Sipidan many times, based on Mabul. My partner and I only snorkel and as already stated above, it is awesome.

So good, in fact, that despite snorkeling in many areas around the World, including Maldives, Caribbean and Red Sea, nothing now can equal it. (Which is why we have to keep returning)!

Thanks for the endorsement. Sounds wonderful.

One thing that you should note if you are planning on staying in Semporna... it is a fairly long boat ride out to the islands such that the Semporna dive operations stay out there ALL day. The boats tend to leave around 8:30 or so and arrive back in Semporna around 5:00. The point I am making is that you will do 3 dives and often one of those 3 dives might not be in a snorkel friendly spot. As another poster pointed out, there is excellent snorkeling/diving in the 3-5 meter range all around Sipadan, but you may not always be there.

Since permits are needed to dive Sipadan, everything is orchestrated by the dive operations. You can%26#39;t generally plan on showing up in Semporna and heading out to Sipadan the next day without the proper permits. If you show up without make the proper ';reservations'; you may not even get out to Sipadan. You also don%26#39;t get to pick your snorkel or dive spot.

I have been diving directly from Semporna and have also stayed out on Mabul island. Some of the ';3rd'; dive spots- the house reefs at Mabul Water Bungalows, Kapalai or the old oil rig are not nice spots to snorkel.

That being said, if you stay out on Mabul, the boats come back to the resort for lunch, and this way, if they are going to dive in a spot that isn%26#39;t great for snorkelers, they would have the option of enjoying the resort/island. Note that it is generally a lot more expensive to stay out on Mabul.

Finally, Semporna is not a nice town to visit IMO. The ONLY reason to go there is due to its proximity to the islands.

I have only one disagreement with what has been said. I have snorkled at Kapalai three times now and weather permitting, found it fantastic. (only once when it was a bit windy it was not so good).