Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures - Sipadan
Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures operates out of Kota Kinabalu, making them a solid choice if you’re looking to combine your Sipadan diving with some topside Sabah exploration. They’re a PADI 5 Star CDC centre, which means serious instruction from beginner courses all the way to instructor development. We’ve found their team to be incredibly professional, with a focus on safe diving practices. If you’re keen on earning advanced certifications while still getting your fix of some of Malaysia’s best diving, Downbelow is well-equipped to get you there. They manage the logistics for Sipadan permits, which is a big plus, taking some of the stress out of planning your trip.
- Location
- Sipadan, Malaysia, Southeast Asia
- Coordinates
- 5.969928, 116.064995
- Website
- https://travel.padi.com/dive-center/malaysia/downbelow-marine-wildlife-adventures/
- Certification Agencies
- ["PADI"]
- Courses
- PADI 5 Star CDC [padi:36441]
- Address
- Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Dive Sites Near Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures
Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures provides access to 15 dive sites in Sipadan.
- AH KONG TONGUE - 19m
- Ah Long Rock - 18m
- Alternative Reef (reef)
- American Wreck (wreck)
- Arthur Reef, Sapi Island (reef)
- Asmarqa Point
- Australian Wreck (wreck)
- Bakkungan Kecil
- Barracuda Point (reef)
- Barracuda Point (drift)
- Barracuda Point Udar Besar - 18m (drift)
- Blue Water Wreck - 15-30m (wreck)
- BUNGA LAWAS - 50m (wreck)
- Centre Point
- China Town
Other Dive Centres in Sipadan
Best Time to Dive in Sipadan
The warmest water temperatures in Sipadan occur in August, averaging 30.6°C. The coolest conditions are in February at 28.3°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 28.5°C
- February: 28.3°C
- March: 28.9°C
- April: 29.7°C
- May: 30.3°C
- June: 30.3°C
- July: 30.2°C
- August: 30.6°C
- September: 30.5°C
- October: 30.4°C
- November: 30.0°C
- December: 29.3°C
Marine Life in Sipadan
Home to 147 recorded species including 111 reef fish, 11 sea snails & nudibranchs, 9 sharks & rays, 5 seagrass & algae, 4 other, 4 hard corals.
Notable Marine Life
- Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
- Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Small-eyed Squirrelfish (Myripristis murdjan) - Reef Fish
- Hound Needlefish (Tylosurus crocodilus) - Reef Fish
- seagrass (Halophila ovalis) - Seagrass & Algae
- Staghorn coral (Acropora millepora) - Hard Corals
- Crazy Fish (Butis butis) - Reef Fish
- Staghorn coral (Acropora tenuis) - Hard Corals
- Herring Scad (Alepes vari) - Reef Fish
- Branch coral (Acropora florida) - Hard Corals
Recommended Packing List for Sipadan
Based on average water temperature of 29.7°C, currents 12 cm/s.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 30°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories