Diving Kapalai on Borneo's Litigan Reefs

Kapalai scuba diving features

MARINE LIFE:
mandarinfish
blue-ringed octopus
nurse sharks frogfish

KAPALAI'S TOP DIVE SITE:
The resort jetty

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
A half hour boat ride from world-famous Sipadan island and even less distance from acclaimed Mabul, is a scuba diving resort that can only be described as something special. Kapalai Resort sits on the Litigan Reefs and is built as a water village. Her pretty bungalows hover over a clear lagoon full of fish and small corals. Although charted on maps, there is only a sand bar remaining from what was once a small island.

This flat topography extends underwater to low-lying reef mounds. Corals conform to the contours of the landscape and have become a haven for all sorts of weird and whacky critters: there are resident mandarinfish and flambouyant cuttlefish right below the boat jetty; ornate ghost and seagrass pipefish are all over the place while tiny pink sangian crabs are found in the folds of barrel sponges. Leaffish appear in groups, crocodilefish in pairs, frogfish on virtually every dive and blue-ringed octopus almost as often.

Being on Kapalai is quite an experience. Not only can you dive any time of day to see the incredible macro life, but you are right beside Sipadan and Mabul for day trips.

Seasons
Year round.
Visibility:
5 – 25 metres
Water temperature:
25 – 29º C
Deco chambers: Labuan, Singapore

Flights to Kota Kinabalu then Tawau, followed by 1.5 hours by road and speed boat
Accommodation
Sipadan-Kapalai Resort

SCUBA DIVING
Kapalai is principally a muck diving and critter destination. There can be some strong currents when the tides change but the divemasters schedule dives to avoid them where possible. Most dives are fairly shallow and visibility is never gin-clear due to the tides moving over the sandy seabed.

OPINION
It's hard to describe just how good somewhere like this can be. Romantic and peaceful evenings are balanced by exciting critter life on your doorstep and big blue pelagics half an hour away on Sipadan. For us, Kapalai was about as good as you can get: the dive guides were incredible, the rooms comfortable and the food was simple but delicious. NOTE: We have visited Kapalai twice a few years ago. Up-to-date reports say it's less romantic than it was now that all Sipadan resorts have been closed and the resort has expanded to take more guests.