Stretching from southern Thailand to Singapore, peninsular Malaysia offers divers 2,068 km of coastline. The east coast islands are popular liveaboard destinations. The best diving is centered around Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Redang and Tenggol, Pulau Aur and Dayang and Pulau Tioman. Diving ranges from reacreational through technical on deep WWII wrecks. However, the most stunning sites are in Borneo (East Malyasia). The area around Sabah town in Tawau is most special with the legendary Sipidan and neighboring sisters: Mabul, Kapalai, Lankayan, and Si Amil.
The best times for diving are in spring and summer, May through September. However, if you’re coming to see the whale sharks and mantas the season is March/April and October/November. Water is usually a comfortable 27-30 degrees C. For visa info see www.kln.gov.my , but most people only need a valid passport and proof of return ticket along with financial responsibility for stay. Malyasian Airlines flies to Kuala Lumpur from most major cities around the world, and from there to Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia.
Peninsular MalaysiaThe east coast islands of Pulau Aur and Pulau Redang are nearby and great for weekend trips. Redang is a cluster of nine islands with its own marine park. The southern most site and most famous is Pulau Tioman, a protected marine park. Here you can dive in the islets and offshore reefs at the western tip where the reefs have rocky outcrops and range in the 12-20 m depths. All three islands have dozens of sites to choose from for all levels of divers.
Daily ferries and private flights are available between all islands. The best time to dive is February through October. No diving is available during the monsoon seasons of November to February. Water temperature is 21-29 degrees C and visibility is 10-25 m.
East Malaysia (Borneo)
Enjoy the best of the Celebes Sea with Sipidan, Si Amil, Mabul, and Lankayan. Stunning walls, pelagics, muck and wreck diving make this area one of the world’s most outstanding dive destinations. The diver’s golden triangle of Sipidan, Mabul and Kapalai offer it all...turtles and pelagics galore, macro, cuttlfish, schooling fish, and geant frogfish.
Visitors of Sipidan are restricted to their boats and must stay at resorts on Mabul Island or Kapalai Reef. Fly into Kota Kinabalu from Singapore. Then a 45 min flight to Tawau. Its a 1.5 hour ride on bus to Semporna for the liveaboard pier. Diving is year round, but best May through October when the visibility is 30 m or more. 15 m is standard, water temperature from 21-29 degrees C.
Wrecks and Tech Diving Located at the junction of both the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, Peninsular Malaysia has a plethora of wrecks from old Chinese trading boats to early 20th century streamers, WWII ships and modern cargo vessels. A minimum of 3N/4D is required to dive these wrecks and technical training is recommended. The majority of these wrecks are quite deep, 40-60 m.