Diving

Fact Sheet about diving in Borneo - Kalimantan (FAQ)

The most important facts like a list of dive operators (dive centers) and liveaboard operators, dive safety (addresses of the hyperbaric chambers), dive conditions, climate, hotels and how to get to Borneo, Brunei and Kaliamantan. on one page and ready to print.

On this page: diving facts about Borneo - Mabul Sipadan, Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan, Brunei
Look at my website about dive sites in Borneo and click here to look at underwater photos taken in Borneo

How to get to Borneo, Kalimantan and Brunei

Maps of Borneo: Map of Borneo (print version, Zubi) / Malaysia maps on www.worldatlas.com / Sabah and Sarawak map with zooming / Borneo map with zooming / political map of Borneo with cities / Sabah diving map / Borneo map with description of dive sites in Kalimantan (east Borneo) / Cities
Articles about Kalimantan: www.indonesiaphoto.com

		For international flights: There are several airports in Borneo, Brunei and Kalimantan (= Indonesian part of Borneo) - Kota Kinabalu, Sepinggan Airport (Balikpapan, Kalimantan) and Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) - flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Brunei, Taipei, Seoul and Cebu etc.
For local flights only: Kuching, Kudat, Sandakan, Tawau, Sibu, Miri, Lahad Datu (Borneo) Banjarmasin, Pontianak, Pangkalanbun (Kalimantan) - flights from Makassar, Jakarta

Mabul and Sipadan

How to get to Mabul and Sipadan: Fly from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau (Borneo), then by taxi to Semporna (30-40 min), take boat to Mabul or Sipadan. Sipadan dive sites

Dive operators

Sipadan: There are no dive operators on the island anymore. They moved to the neighbor islands of Mabul and Kapalai
Mabul: Borneo divers / Smart-Resort / Sipadan Water Village Resort / Seaventures Tours & Travel / Sipadan Dive Centre (moving at the moment)
Kapalai: Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort / Pulau Sipadan Resort
Roach Reef: (about 40 min. from Sipadan): Roach Reefs Resort
Mataking: Reef Dive Resort Mataking
Liveaboard: Celebes Explorer

General information about east Borneo

Weather averages in Tawau - weather map Indonesia / Borneo

weather now in Tawau	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
Best time to travel
Highest temperatures (°C)	31	30	31	32	32	31	31	31	32	31	32	31
Lowest temperatures (°C)	23	23	23	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	24	23
Daily hours of sunshine	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6
Rainy days	23	24	24	22	19	19	19	19	13	18	23	22
Precipitation (mm)	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Humidity (%)	83	85	82	82	81	81	81	81	79	81	83	83
Water temperatures (°C)	27	27	29	30	30	29	29	29	29	28	28	28

Sabah

How to get to Labuan: Fly to Labuan airport from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching or Bandar Seri Begawan or by speed ferry from Kota Kinabalu.
How to get to Lankayan: fly from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, then to the Sepilok Sanctuary, stay over 1 night, by boat to Lankayan.
How to get to Layang Layang: 1 hour flight with a private airline from Kota Kinabalu Terminal 2 Airport. Booking necessary beforehand!
How to get to Mantanani: About one hour forty five minutes by car, and approximately forty five minutes by boat
How to get to Pulau Tiga: 2 hours by car from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Penyu, about 45 minutes by boat. can also be reached by boat from Labuan
How to get to Tunku Abdul Rahman: best to organise a tour in Kota Kinabalu.

Sarawak

How to get to Miri and the Luconia Shoals: Miri airport is accessible from Kota Kinabalu or Kuching. The luconia shoals can only be reached by liveaboards.
How to get to Sematan: from Kuching by car

Kalimantan (Indonesian part of Borneo)

How to get to Derawan, Sangalaki and Nabucco: fly from Singapore, Jakarta or Bali, Berau, Tawau to Balikpapan. Overnight stay in Balikpapan is recommended for better connection to Tanjung Redeb (Berau). From there it is about a one hour river ride and then 1.5 to 2 hours to the resort. Ask the resort to organize the last part of the trip dive sites

Brunei

How to get to Brunei: There are several international flights to Bandar Seri Begawan

The Continental Dive Shop, Lot 1260, Kampong Kapok Jalan Muara, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Brunei Bay / report about wreck diving in Brunei / Report about dive sites in Brunei / Louisa Reef - report
Diving clubs: Panaga Sub Aqua Club / Brunei Sub Aqua Diving Club

Liveaboards around Borneo and Kalimantan

Celebes Explorer / MV. Sea Dancer liveaboard trip starting from Sangalaki island / M.V Scuba Explorer / MV Spirit of Borneo / MV Coral Topaz (more information) / MV Layang Laut

General information about Borneo and Kalimantan

Borneo.com (also about diving) - lonely planet information about Malaysia - yahoo information about Malaysia - Infosabah.com

Dive safety in Borneo and Brunei

Phone DAN (Divers Alert Network) outside Australia +61-8-8212 9242

Dive safety: contact DAN (Divers Alert Network) in Malaysia phone 05-930 4114

Hyperbaric chambers (or recompression chamber):

Borneo: Recompression Chamber Labuan Pejabat Selam, Markas Wilayah Laut Dua, 87007, Labuan, Labuan Phone: 087 412 122

Kalimantan: Rumah Sakit Pertamina Balikpapan, Jl Jendral Sudirman Nr 1, email: aspb@rspb.co.id, Tel:+62542 734020, 734020, 734024. Contact person: Dr Lukman Hatta, Sp.PD, Sp.KL (Internist).

Brunei: The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) also has a recompression chamber, but I couldn't find out a phone number or address. It might be a transportable chamber on a ship...

Philippines: Coron (Busuanga, Palawan) Deco chamber at Seadive resort. Phone: 0920 9458714 or 0918 40000448

Singapore: The Singapore Naval Underwater Medicine Centre. Phone +65-6758 1733 (24-hours Emergency Hotline) / +65-6796 4197 (appointments)
Hyperbaric Medical Services, 1 Orchard Boulevard #08-05, Camden Medical, Centre, Singapore 248649, Phone: +65-6732 8552
Hyperbaric Medicine Centre, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Tan Tock Seng, Hospital, Basement 1, Singapore 308433, Phone: +65-6355 9021/2
www.hyperbaric-singapore.com / Medical Director: Dr Wong Ted Min

For more information about hyperbaric chambers look at the dive safety page. For more information about dive safety look at the excellent site of Diving Medicine Online or the dive safety page.

More Information about scuba diving in south-east Asia