Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sipadan-Mabul Resort $$$
(SMART; 088-486389; www.sipadan-mabul.com.my ; 7-day, 6-night dive package
from US$1570, nondivers US$1186; ) Even though the summer-camp styling
suits the tropical landscape, the prices here are out of whack. Long-stays get the hard sell.
If you feel like splurging why not go all the way and snag a room at SMART's sister prop-
erty, Mabul Water Bungalow ( Click here ) ? Wi-fi is available in the dining area.
RESORT
Sipadan Water Village Resort $$$
( 089-751777; www.swvresort.com ; 4-day, 3-night package from RM4100; )
Outmoded design details (although when were wooden tarantula ornaments ever in style?)
quickly set the tone here - this resort-on-stilts doesn't pull off 'graceful elegance' quite
like Mabul Water Bungalow next door, despite the idyllic location. If you decide that this
is the spot for you, then go for the 'grand deluxe' bungalows.
RESORT
Seahorse Sipadan $
( 016-8355388, 089-782289; www.seahorse-sipadanscuba.com ; dm/r from RM80/90)
Basic digs for budget backpackers.
GUESTHOUSE
KAPALAI
Although commonly referred to as an island, Kapalai is more like a large sandbar sitting
slightly under the ocean surface. From afar, the one hotel, Kapalai Resort (
088-316011/3; http://sipadan-kapalai.com /; 63 Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu; 4-day,
3-night package from RM2790; ) looks like it's sitting on palm trunks in the middle
of the sea. The resort designers went for a Sea Gypsy theme and tacked on an opulent
twist, making the sea cabins out of shiny lacquered wood.
MATAKING
Mataking is also essentially a sandbar, two little patches of green bookending a dusty tad-
pole tail of white sand. Mataking Island Resort ( 089-786045, 089-770022;
www.mataking.com ; Jln Kastam; 3-day, 2-night package for divers/nondivers from
RM2470/2110; ) is the only accommodation here. This is an impeccably luxurious
escape full of dark-wood chalets and gossamer sheets. This sandy getaway has some
really beautiful diving - an artificial reef and sunken boats provide a haven for plenty of
sea life - and has set up a novel 'underwater post office' at a local shipwreck site.
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