Getting Here

Sipadan Island, Mabul Island and Kapalai Island are very near each other. These 3 islands are off Semporna town, East Coast of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

From your location, fly to Kota Kinabalu, then fly for 40 minutes to Tawau. From Tawau, go to Semporna by bus or taxi which will take about 1 hour. From Semporna, you will take the resort speed boat to Mabul Island where your resort is located. The boat ride will take another 45 minutes. Mabul Island will be your gateway to diving around the 3 islands.

If you prefer a leisurely pace, you can spend a night either in Tawau or Semporna. Tawau is the bigger town compared to Semporna. But both offer unique experiences and excellent fresh seafood.

Transfers to Resort

If you are already in Tawau or Semporna, your resort has free transfers to Mabul Island. The resort transport pickup schedule is:

Pick up location	Time
Tawau	0700 hours
Semporna	0900 hours

If you are flying in and want to reach Mabul Island as quickly as possible, plan to arrive at Tawau airport by 1400 hours and your resort transport can pick you up at the airport and whisk you away to the island right away. Otherwise you might have to spend a night in Semporna or Tawau. We recommend the following flights:

Flight №	Departs	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Boat Schedule from Semporna
MH2121 Malaysia Airlines	Kota Kinabalu	0700	0745	0930
AK5152 Air Asia	Kuala Lumpur	0720	1005	1300
MH2125 Malaysia Airlines	Kota Kinabalu	0950	1035	1300
MH2137 Malaysia Airlines	Kota Kinabalu	1315	1400	1630

International Airline Routes

Most likely you will arrive at Kota Kinabalu via Kuala Lumpur. But there are also a number of flights from other countries flying direct into Kota Kinabalu.

From Brunei, you can fly direct to Kota Kinabalu from Bandar Seri Begawan via:

• Royal Brunei Airlines – Royal Brunei Airlines has been around since 1974 and flies to 21 destinations cross Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and Europe.

From Hong Kong, you can fly direct to Kota Kinabalu via:

• Dragon Air – Dragon Air has been around since 1985 and flies to over 31 destinations across Asia.
• Malaysia Airlines – Malaysia Airlines has been around since 1974 and flies to over 100 different destinations today. It is an award winning airline and has recently won the coveted Airline of the Year (Top 10 Airlines of the Year) by Skytrax, UK.

From Philippines, you can fly direct to Kota Kinabalu from Cebu, Manila and Clark via:

• Air Asia – Air Asia has been around since 1974 and flies to 21 destinations cross Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and Europe.
• Malaysia Airlines

From Thailand, you can fly direct to Kota Kinabalu from Bangkok via:

• Air Asia

From Singapore, you can fly direct to Kota Kinabalu via:

• Malaysia Airlines
• Silk Air – Silk Air is the regional wing of Singapore Airlines. They cater for both business and leisure passengers focusing on destinations around the region.

There are also direct flights into Kota Kinabalu International Airport from China (Guanzhou and Shanghai) Japan (Tokyo and Osaka), South Korea (Seoul) and Taiwan (Taipei and Kaoshiung) via Malaysia Airlines.

If you are from Middle East countries, Europe, United States or United Kingdom, you will likely be flying to Kuala Lumpur International Airport first before flying to Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Transfers Out from Your Resort

I know, I know. I shouldn’t be talking about the end of your diving holiday even before it starts. But this might be useful information for your planning. So please bear with me.

The resort also has free transfers out of Mabul Island to either Semporna, Tawau or the Tawau Airport. Many divers take the following flights out of Tawau:

Flight №	Arrives	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Boat Schedule from Mabul Island
AK5153 Air Asia	Kuala Lumpur	1030	1315	0700
MH2134 Malaysia Airlines	Kota Kinabalu	1440	1525	1100
AK5633 Air Asia	Johor Bahru	1605	1850	1100
AK5155 Air Asia	Kuala Lumpur	1835	2050	1500
MH2148 Malaysia Airlines	Kota Kinabalu	2100	2145	1500
AK5157 Air Asia	Kuala Lumpur	2100	2345	1500