Guide No. 20 of 20
Island · Sabah · Borneo
Pulau Mabul
Operator notice
1–30 November 2026: Sipadan is closed, as it is every November, and reopens on 1 December. Mabul, Kapalai and the other islands stay open.
- Boat from
- Semporna jetty
- Crossing
- 45–60 minResort speedboat
- Season
- All yearResorts open all year
- Stays ranked
- 7
Pulau Mabul is a small island in the Celebes Sea, 26 km off Semporna in east Sabah and about 15 km from Sipadan; you get there by resort speedboat from Semporna, 45 to 60 minutes, after a flight to Tawau.
Where to stay
Order is editorial, not paid. An editor sets each stay’s tier by hand; within a tier, stays follow the beach. Booking partners have no say.
Pick: our first choice on the island. Good: sound, with a catch. Listed: facts only.
PickOur first choice
2 stays- 1
Scuba Junkie Mabul Beach Resort
Mabul · On the beach, Mabul
A dive resort on the beach with clear published rates, 30 beachfront rooms and dorms, and two boats a day each way from Semporna. The boat costs RM90 each way unless you dive or snorkel with the resort that day, and it is a busy dive centre.
- 2
The Reef Dive Resort
Mataking · Pulau Mataking
A resort on its own island with 63 rooms in six types, and the shared boat from Semporna in the package. The rooms are ageing for the price, and it is the longest boat ride of the islands in this guide.
GoodSound, with a catch
5 stays- 3
Borneo Divers Mabul Resort
Mabul · Pulau Mabul, by the village
A dive resort from a registered Sipadan operator, with a published transfer schedule from Tawau airport and card payments accepted. The Standard rooms are small and dated, the village edge brings noise and litter, and Wi-Fi works only in the dining hall.
- 4
Mabul Water Bungalows
Mabul · Over the water, east side of Mabul
Bungalows over the water off Mabul, with transfers from Tawau in every package and a published 2026 tariff. It is priced in US dollars, a Sipadan day costs RM889 extra, and the resort's 6 permits a day are not guaranteed.
- 5
Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort
Kapalai · On stilts over the reef
A whole resort on stilts over a reef, with two boats a day each way from Semporna. There is no land, only walkways, guest reviews call the rooms dated and hot at midday, and the food below the price.
- 6
Pom Pom Island Resort
Pom Pom · Pulau Pom Pom
Clear all-in pricing: full board, the transfer from Tawau airport and the boat, with 2027 rates already published and 6 Sipadan permits a day. There is no Wi-Fi, the villas are ageing, and every activity goes through the resort.
- 7
Pearl Island Resort
Bohey Dulang · Bohey Dulang, inside the marine park
The only resort on Bohey Dulang, opened in 2025, with the island's summit climb on the doorstep and two boats a day from Semporna. It is expensive, guest reviews mention mosquitoes, and low balcony rails are a worry with small children.
Things to do
Not sold by our partners. Ask your resort.
Bohey Dulang summit climb
Sipadan dive day
Tun Sakaran Marine Park day trip
When to go
- JanOpen
- FebOpen
- MarOpen
- AprOpen
- MayOpen
- JunOpen
- JulOpen
- AugOpen
- SepOpen
- OctOpen
- NovPart
- DecOpen
Open: the resorts and their boats run. Part: Sipadan is closed for the month; the other islands stay open. No source publishes monthly visibility for Mabul, so none is shown.
The resorts and their boats run all year. Sipadan, the dive island most people come for, closes every November, from 1 to 30 November, and reopens on 1 December; Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking, Pom Pom and the Tun Sakaran islands stay open. A dive travel agency's guide puts the wetter months at about December or January to March, when crossings can be rougher, and the best months at March to June for calm seas and the clearest water at Sipadan, or April to October overall.
Getting there
- Kuala LumpurFly direct to Tawau, about 3 h. Land by 10:30.
- Tawau airportRoad to Semporna, 82 km, 75–90 min. Many packages include it.
- Semporna jettyResort speedboat 45–60 min, usually in the package. Jetty fee RM10, or RM2 for Malaysians.
- Pulau MabulYour resort's own jetty. Sipadan is about 15 km south.
Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, about 3 hours direct, or via Kota Kinabalu. Semporna is 82 km from Tawau airport, 75 to 90 minutes by road. Resort speedboats take 45 to 60 minutes from Semporna to Mabul, and about the same to Kapalai, Mataking and Pom Pom. There is no public ferry: each resort runs its own boat, usually as part of the package. Land in Tawau by 10.30 am, because boats leave Semporna around midday and none run after 5 pm.
The islands and where to stay
Mabul is about 25 ha and about 2 km round, with villages of about 2,000 people and a police station alongside the resorts. It lies outside any marine park. Sipadan is about 15 km to the south, and Kapalai, a reef with a resort on stilts, is about 7 km to the east.
This guide groups the stays in the Semporna islands under Mabul. They all match entries on the Sabah Tourism Board’s list of licensed accommodation in Semporna, last updated on 5 November 2026; Pearl Island Resort matches under its former name, Bohey Dulang Resort. In May 2026 the state government said only 9 of the 68 places to stay on the islands and at sea off Semporna held a valid licence, and seven resorts off Semporna were issued compounds and temporarily shut that month. Check the list again before you book.
- Mabul: Scuba Junkie Mabul Beach Resort, Borneo Divers Mabul Resort and Mabul Water Bungalows.
- Kapalai: Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort, built over the reef on walkways, with no land.
- Mataking: The Reef Dive Resort.
- Pom Pom: Pom Pom Island Resort.
- Bohey Dulang: Pearl Island Resort, inside Tun Sakaran Marine Park.
Most resorts sell packages that include the boat from Semporna, and some the road transfer from Tawau airport too. Scuba Junkie prices per person per night and charges for the boat on days you don’t dive or snorkel with it.
Sipadan
Sipadan is its own park, run by Sabah Parks. It has been a bird sanctuary since 1933 and a marine park since 2004, when its accommodation closed; divers stay on Mabul or Kapalai and go out by boat. Sabah Parks puts it 45 minutes to an hour from Semporna by speedboat.
- Sipadan closes every November, from 1 to 30 November, and reopens on 1 December.
- You need at least an Advanced Open Water certificate, or its equivalent, to dive there.
- Permits are booked through operators registered with Sabah Parks, 42 at the last count, up to 6 months ahead. They ask a 50% deposit and the rest 2 weeks before. Cancel more than 2 weeks out and you lose 10%; less than 2 weeks, you lose everything.
- Sabah Parks caps the number of divers a day, and each resort gets a handful of permits. Pom Pom says it gets 6 a day; Mabul Water Bungalows gives the cap as 240 people a day and its own share as 6. A stay does not guarantee a Sipadan day.
- Ask your resort how many dives a permit covers. Some operators also report a cash charge for cameras on the island.
Sabah Parks fees, per person:
- Conservation: RM100 for non-Malaysians, RM50 for Malaysians.
- Scuba diving: RM350 for non-Malaysians, RM250 for Malaysians.
- No child rate is published.
Sabah Parks lists the dive sites as Barracuda Point, Drop Off, Turtle Cavern, Midreef, Staghorn Crest, Turtle Patch, Coral Garden, Hanging Gardens, South Point and Whitetip Avenue, and gives visibility of 60 to 200 feet.
Tun Sakaran Marine Park
Tun Sakaran Marine Park, gazetted in July 2004, covers eight islands off Semporna: Bodgaya, Bohey Dulang, Tetagan, Selakan, Sebangkat, Maiga, Sibuan and Mantabuan. It takes in 340 km² of sea and 10 km² of land, about 45 minutes by speedboat from Semporna, and is open from 8 am to 5 pm every day. Bohey Dulang is 313 ha and rises to 353 m.
Sabah Parks fees, per person:
- Conservation, per day: RM20 for non-Malaysian adults and RM12 under 18; RM8 for Malaysian adults and RM5 under 18.
- Bohey Dulang climb: RM50 for non-Malaysian adults and RM30 under 18; RM20 for Malaysian adults and RM10 under 18. A mountain guide is RM50 per climb, for up to 6 people.
- Scuba diving: RM150 for non-Malaysians, RM100 for Malaysians.
- Malaysians aged 12 and under or over 60, and Malaysians with a disability, pay no conservation or climb fee.
Pearl Island Resort sits inside the park. Whether staying guests pay the daily conservation fee is not published; ask the resort.
Safety and practicalities
- UK government advice is against all but essential travel to the islands and dive sites off eastern Sabah from Sandakan to Tawau, because of the threat of kidnapping. It does not apply to the Sabah mainland. Check that your travel insurance covers the islands.
- No resort boats run after 5 pm, so plan flights around the boat times.
- Only three jetties in Semporna may be used for tourism: Bangau-Bangau, Seafest and Kapalai Resort.
- From 1 January 2026 there is a jetty fee when you leave Semporna: RM10 for a non-Malaysian adult and RM5 for a child under 11, RM2 for a Malaysian adult, and nothing for a Malaysian child.
- Non-Malaysians pay tourism tax of RM10 per room per night.
- Bring ringgit from Tawau or Semporna. Borneo Divers takes Visa, Mastercard and American Express; ask other resorts.
- Wi-Fi is limited. Borneo Divers has it in the dining hall only, and Pom Pom has none.
- Don’t buy shells, turtle products or coral. Sabah’s tourism ministry has cited the sale of protected wildlife to tourists.