🐉 Komodo vs Sipadan: Which Should Be on Your Dive Bucket List?

Nov 10

Two of Southeast Asia’s most legendary dive destinations. Both breathtaking, both unforgettable — yet completely different in character.
If you’ve ever dreamed of exploring the Coral Triangle’s most spectacular underwater worlds, this is the comparison you’ve been waiting for.

🌊 Introduction: Two Legends, One Ocean — Komodo vs. Sipadan

Ask any diver to name their dream destinations, and two names rise instantly from the blue: Komodo and Sipadan.
Both sit within the fabled Coral Triangle, home to the greatest concentration of marine life on Earth. Yet despite sharing the same ocean currents, these two legendary dive sites couldn’t feel more different — one a raw, current-swept wilderness, the other a calm cathedral of coral and schooling fish.

🇲🇾 Sipadan: Malaysia’s Oceanic Treasure

Sipadan Island, a solitary volcanic pinnacle rising 600 meters from the depths of the Celebes Sea, is Malaysia’s only true oceanic island. The sheer walls that drop away just meters from the beach create one of the world’s most dramatic underwater environments.

Its fame began when Jacques Cousteau visited in the 1980s and proclaimed,

“I have seen other places like Sipadan… but now we have found perfection.”

Since then, it’s become a sanctuary for marine life — turtles gliding in every direction, barracuda swirling in shimmering vortices, and reef sharks cruising calmly along drop-offs. Strict permit limits (just 176 divers per day) ensure its reefs remain untouched, making each descent feel like an invitation into a living, breathing work of art.

🇮🇩 Komodo: Where Two Oceans Collide

In contrast, Komodo National Park in eastern Indonesia is the wild heart of the Coral Triangle — a place where the Pacific and Indian Oceans collide, creating some of the most nutrient-rich and dynamic waters on the planet. Those powerful currents are the lifeblood of Komodo’s reefs, feeding vast coral gardens and drawing in manta rays, sharks, and swirling schools of fish.

But they also demand respect. Komodo’s currents can change direction without warning, surging through channels and over pinnacles with legendary force. For confident divers, though, that energy is part of the magic — a raw, untamed pulse that brings every dive site to life. From Batu Bolong’s coral-covered tower to the drift-heavy Castle Rock and Manta Alley, Komodo delivers a thrilling mix of chaos and beauty that few places on Earth can match.

⚖️ Two Destinations, Two Different Souls

Sipadan is serenity — vertical walls, gentle drifts, and timeless beauty.
Komodo is power — currents, creatures, and adrenaline.

Both belong on any diver’s bucket list. But if you can only choose one, this guide will help you decide which underwater world fits your dive style, experience, and sense of adventure.

🌏 How We’re Comparing Komodo and Sipadan

Both Komodo and Sipadan are icons of Southeast Asian diving — destinations that top every diver’s wish list for good reason. But deciding between them means looking beyond the hype and focusing on what truly defines the experience underwater and above the surface.

In this guide, we’ll compare these two legendary dive regions across six key areas that matter most to divers:

Diving Style — how each site feels once you’re beneath the waves
Marine Life — from macro critters to megafauna
Experience Level — what kind of diver each location suits best
Accessibility — how easy it is to reach and dive there
Surface Attractions — what makes the topside experience special
Best Season — when to plan your trip for ideal conditions

Each category reveals something unique about the soul of these destinations — helping you choose whether the swirling currents of Komodo or the serene coral walls of Sipadan are the better match for your next great dive adventure.

🤿 Diving Style: Komodo’s Currents vs. Sipadan’s Serenity

🇮🇩 Komodo: The Thrill of the Drift and the Allure of the Liveaboard

Diving in Komodo National Park is an exercise in energy and precision — a masterclass in drift diving shaped by the forces of nature.
Positioned squarely between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Komodo experiences the full power of these two systems colliding. Warm, nutrient-rich waters funnel through narrow straits and around submerged seamounts, creating a patchwork of currents that shift and swirl with every tide.

At sites like Batu Bolong, Castle Rock, The Cauldron (Shotgun), and Manta Alley, divers ride those currents like underwater roller coasters — drifting effortlessly over coral gardens one moment, then gripping the reef to watch mantas circle the next. Each dive demands focus and respect; conditions can change in seconds, rewarding skilled buoyancy and situational awareness.

But this energy is what makes Komodo so special. The constant water movement feeds an astonishingly healthy reef ecosystem — bright soft corals, massive table corals, and dense schools of fish that shimmer in the sunlight. And when the current pauses for just a moment, you’re surrounded by life at every level, from tiny pygmy seahorses to sweeping mantas in the blue.

Most divers experience Komodo by liveaboard, which is part of its magic. Spending several days at sea allows access to remote sites across the northern, central, and southern zones of the park — each with its own unique topography and conditions. Mornings often start with mist over volcanic islands, followed by three or four dives in crystal water and evenings anchored in quiet bays under star-filled skies.

💡 In short: Komodo diving is thrilling, dynamic, and endlessly varied — best suited to divers who love adventure, don’t mind a bit of current, and crave encounters that feel raw and untamed.

🇲🇾 Sipadan: The Calm Cathedral and the Art of the Day Trip

If Komodo is movement and chaos, Sipadan is calm and rhythm — a perfectly balanced underwater world that feels almost meditative.
Located off the coast of Sabah, Borneo, Sipadan Island is Malaysia’s only true oceanic island, rising 600 meters straight from the seabed of the Celebes Sea. This unique geography creates towering drop-offs just meters from shore, where coral walls plunge into the deep blue.

Diving here feels effortless. The currents are mild, the visibility often reaches 30–40 meters, and the underwater topography is dramatic yet easy to navigate. You drift past vibrant soft corals, barrel sponges, and gorgonian fanswhile clouds of anthias, butterflyfish, and fusiliers dart through shafts of sunlight. Above you, barracuda swirl in hypnotic tornadoes; below, reef sharks patrol calmly. And at nearly every site, turtles glide past — Sipadan’s signature residents, often seen in pairs or groups resting on ledges.

Because Sipadan is a protected marine park with a strict daily limit of just 176 dive permits, most divers stay on nearby islands like Mabul or Kapalai, joining day trips by boat. Each morning begins with the anticipation of receiving a coveted Sipadan slot; once you’re there, it’s three or four unforgettable dives before returning to your overwater bungalow as the sun sets behind the Celebes horizon.

That rhythm — early boat rides, pristine dives, slow evenings — defines the Sipadan experience. It’s a destination for divers who value serenity, photography, and marine spectacle over adrenaline and speed.

💡 In short: Sipadan diving is peaceful, deeply immersive, and timeless — ideal for divers who want pristine coral walls, predictable conditions, and a front-row seat to nature’s choreography.

🐠 Marine Life: Power and Diversity vs. Density and Perfection

🇮🇩 Komodo: Where Currents Bring the Giants

Komodo is pure movement — an ocean alive with energy, where the collision of the Pacific and Indian Oceans fuels some of the most biodiverse waters on Earth. The nutrient-rich currents here are the lifeblood of the reef, sustaining everything from microscopic plankton to massive pelagic wanderers.

Drift over Komodo’s reefs and you’ll see schools of trevallies, snappers, and barracuda shimmering in the blue while reef sharks patrol the slopes and bommies. The park’s true icons, however, are its reef mantas (Mobula alfredi). At sites like Manta Point, Makassar Reef, and Manta Alley, these gentle giants soar gracefully through cleaning stations, their vast wingspans gliding effortlessly in the current. Watching a manta hover just meters away — its cephalic fins unfurling as cleaner wrasse dart across its belly — is one of diving’s most humbling experiences.

Beyond the big stuff, Komodo rewards the patient eye. In sheltered coves and cooler southern sites like Horseshoe Bayand Cannibal Rock, a different world appears — rhinopias, frogfish, ghost pipefish, flamboyant cuttlefish, and nudibranchs in a kaleidoscope of colors. It’s a macro photographer’s paradise, often hidden just meters from where a reef shark might cruise by.

Each region within the park tells its own story:

North Komodo: Clear, warm water; vibrant reefs; frequent big-fish sightings.
Central Komodo: Balanced currents; iconic manta cleaning stations.
South Komodo: Cooler water; world-class macro and soft coral walls.

No two dives are ever the same — Komodo’s strength lies in its unpredictability. One moment you’re drifting through a swarm of fusiliers, the next you’re surrounded by mantas dancing in a plankton cloud. It’s raw, untamed, and utterly exhilarating.

📸 Photography Highlights:
Wide-angle is essential here — mantas, reef walls, and current-fed bommies all burst with life. Strobes help cut through plankton for crisp manta shots, while a fast shutter freezes movement in drift-heavy sites. Bring a macro setup for southern sites — they’re every bit as photogenic as Lembeh’s.

💡 Komodo’s marine life in a sentence: a dynamic, ever-changing theatre of movement — from delicate macro wonders to soaring mantas riding the current highways.

A turtle poses for the camera at Sipadan

🇲🇾 Sipadan: The Wall of Life — Intensity in Every Direction

If Komodo is a vast symphony, Sipadan is a perfectly tuned note — a single island that holds the essence of tropical diving perfection.
Malaysia’s only true oceanic island, Sipadan rises from the abyss of the Celebes Sea, attracting a concentration of life so dense it’s almost overwhelming.

Every dive begins with color and ends in astonishment. At Barracuda Point, shimmering schools of chevron barracudaform spiraling tornadoes so vast they can eclipse the sun. Nearby, immense shoals of bigeye trevallies (jacks) swirl and pulse like liquid silver, creating moving walls of fish that seem to breathe in unison. Between them, reef sharks cruise effortlessly through the haze while turtles — green and hawksbill — glide past in slow, peaceful choreography.

On rare mornings, especially between April and July, divers have reported fleeting encounters with hammerhead sharks, silhouettes emerging from the blue as a reminder of how deep and wild Sipadan truly is.

The vertical walls themselves are alive with coral and sponge growth — forests of sea fans, barrel sponges, and whip corals that host their own miniature kingdoms. Peer closely and you’ll find cleaner shrimp, blennies, pipefish, and tiny nudibranchs tucked among the textures. There’s enough macro life here to fill an entire dive — if you can tear your eyes away from the barracuda tornado swirling overhead.

For divers craving even more detail, nearby Mabul and Kapalai add the perfect contrast. Their shallow sandy slopes are macro havens: flamboyant cuttlefish, mandarinfish, blue-ringed octopus, frogfish, and ornate ghost pipefish — a calm, critter-filled counterpoint to Sipadan’s dramatic blue.

📸 Photography Highlights:
Sipadan is the ultimate wide-angle playground — turtles, schooling jacks, and dramatic drop-offs are your subjects here. A fisheye lens captures the full sweep of the action. For macro, Mabul and Kapalai are essential side trips; bring a second camera or interchangeable ports to make the most of both worlds.

💡 Sipadan’s marine life in a sentence: pure underwater abundance — swirling silver walls of fish, turtles in every direction, and coral life so rich it borders on surreal.

🧭 Experience Level: Skill, Confidence, and Respect for the Ocean

🇮🇩 Komodo: For the Confident, the Skilled, and the Fully Engaged

Komodo’s beauty comes with a pulse — a powerful, shifting rhythm that demands attention from even experienced divers. The park sits at the crossroads of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, where massive volumes of water move through narrow straits, creating some of the most dynamic and unpredictable conditions in the world.

Currents here aren’t just strong; they’re alive. They can switch direction mid-dive, surge unexpectedly, or form vertical upwellings and downcurrents that test even seasoned drift divers. For that reason, Komodo should always be treated with deep respect — it’s a place where awareness, preparation, and a calm mindset matter as much as your dive gear.

From my own experience diving Komodo, it’s a destination that keeps you fully engaged from start to finish. You can’t switch off here — every moment underwater requires focus. I remember monitoring my air more carefully than usual; on dives where you’re swimming hard against a current, your tank drains faster than expected. Good buoyancy control and a conservative dive plan make all the difference between a smooth, exhilarating dive and one that leaves you fighting the water.

That said, the rewards are immense. Riding the currents through Komodo’s channels is a rush unlike anything else — one moment you’re flying over coral slopes bursting with color, the next you’re hanging in the blue as a reef manta glides past. The energy of the place is addictive, and for divers with the right experience, it’s as close as you’ll get to feeling the ocean’s true power.

Most visitors explore the park via liveaboard, diving multiple times a day and covering vast sections of the region. Liveaboards allow access to the park’s remote corners — where the diving is often most spectacular — but they also mean long days, early starts, and constant readiness. It’s a trip for divers who are confident in the water, physically comfortable with drift conditions, and looking for a challenge that sharpens their skills.

💡 In short: Komodo is raw, thrilling, and unpredictable — a world-class destination that rewards alert, capable divers who respect the currents and know their limits.

🇲🇾 Sipadan: Accessible, Calm, and Still Demanding of Respect

By contrast, Sipadan offers a calmer and more forgiving environment — but it’s still part of the open ocean, and that means it deserves respect. While most dives here are gentle drifts along stunning vertical walls, currents can pick up quickly, and divers should always stay aware of their depth and positioning.

The topography makes navigation simple — walls that drop from just a few meters to hundreds — but that same structure can create downward pulls along the reef in rare conditions. Experienced local guides are experts at reading the water, and they’ll plan routes that keep you in safe, comfortable flow.

For most divers, Sipadan feels effortless: warm water, little surge, and world-class visibility that rarely dips below 25 meters. It’s ideal for advanced open water divers and confident beginners alike — especially those looking to log longer bottom times, improve buoyancy, or focus on underwater photography without battling currents.

Still, Sipadan commands the same respect as any oceanic site. The walls are deep, the blue is endless, and the wildlife can be distracting — it’s easy to drift away following a school of barracuda or turtles. The best dives here come from staying aware, relaxed, and responsive to the flow.

💡 In short: Sipadan is welcoming and tranquil, yet still wild — perfect for divers of all levels who understand that calm water can change, and that respect for the ocean is the most valuable skill of all.

✈️ Accessibility: The Journey Beneath and Beyond the Map

🇮🇩 Komodo: The Liveaboard Life at the Edge of the World

Reaching Komodo National Park already feels like the beginning of an adventure. Most divers fly into Labuan Bajo, a small port town on the island of Flores that has become Indonesia’s liveaboard capital. From the air, the view is breathtaking — scattered volcanic islets rising from turquoise seas, the unmistakable silhouette of Komodo itself breaking the horizon.

Once you’ve landed, the rhythm of the trip changes immediately. Streets buzz with dive operators loading tanks, provisioning boats, and welcoming travelers bound for days or even weeks at sea. Most divers choose to explore Komodo by liveaboard, and for good reason — the park’s best sites are spread across a vast marine area, from the northern coral gardens of Sebayur to the cool, current-charged channels of Manta Alley in the south.

Life aboard a dive vessel in Komodo is a world of its own. Dawn briefings over coffee, three to four dives a day, evenings under the stars as the boat drifts in a quiet bay. It’s immersive, elemental, and deeply rewarding. Between dives, you might spot flying fish skimming the surface or the occasional dolphin pod keeping pace with the bow.

For those short on time or new to liveaboard life, there are excellent day-trip options from Labuan Bajo too, focusing on the northern and central regions where the water is calmer. But the liveaboard experience is where Komodo’s true rhythm unfolds — waking to the sound of waves and knowing the next dive site could be a manta cleaning station, a coral pinnacle, or a drift through an underwater canyon alive with color.

💡 Travel tip: Plan flights carefully; Labuan Bajo is accessible from Bali and Jakarta, but weather can occasionally affect schedules. Always allow a buffer day before and after your liveaboard to account for delays and off-gassing before flying home.

🇲🇾 Sipadan: The Day-Trip Dance from Mabul and Kapalai

Getting to Sipadan is a little journey in itself — a sequence of flights, boat rides, and turquoise horizons that build anticipation with every step. The gateway is the town of Semporna in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Most travelers fly into Tawau, then continue by road (roughly 1½–2 hours) to the coast before boarding a speedboat bound for Mabul, Kapalai, or the mainland’s boutique dive lodges.

Because Sipadan is a protected marine park with no overnight accommodation allowed, all diving there happens by day trip. Each morning, divers wake to the sound of engines warming at the dock, coffee in hand as the first light hits the water. The ride across the Celebes Sea takes around 30–45 minutes, depending on your base — a smooth glide over shimmering blue that ends with the silhouette of Sipadan rising from the horizon like a promise.

Diving here feels organized yet intimate. Each operator receives a limited number of daily permits (only 176 divers are allowed on the island each day), and the process of receiving your Sipadan day is part of the excitement. Many divers spend non-Sipadan days exploring nearby Mabul’s macro sites or Kapalai’s shallow reefs, saving their Sipadan slots for calm, clear mornings when conditions are perfect.

When your turn comes, it’s magic from the first descent — three or four dives of pure marine spectacle before returning to your island base by late afternoon. The pace is unhurried, the service seamless, and the evenings end with golden light reflecting off the water as dive logs fill with stories.

💡 Travel tip: Sipadan permits are in high demand year-round — especially from April to July. Book early and allow several days in your itinerary to increase your chances of getting multiple Sipadan days.

🌍 Two Journeys, Two Tempos

Komodo is for those who want to live and breathe diving, days spent moving from site to site in a floating rhythm of adventure.
Sipadan offers structure and serenity — day trips wrapped in luxury resort comfort, every dive returning to a warm shower and an ocean-view sunset.

Both journeys reward the traveler willing to go the extra mile — because neither place is just a destination. They’re experiences that begin the moment you leave the shore.

⚖️ **Summary: Komodo vs Sipadan at a Glance**

🌴 Surface Attractions: Dragons and Volcanoes vs. Island Calm and Coral Hues

🇮🇩 Komodo: Dragons, Volcanoes, and Pink Sands

Komodo’s topside world is as wild and cinematic as its underwater one. The same rugged forces that shaped its reefs also carved a dramatic landscape above the surface — a scattering of volcanic islands with rolling savannah hills, coral-fringed coves, and hidden beaches glowing with pink-tinted sand.

A dive trip here often doubles as a journey through Indonesia’s raw natural beauty. Between dives, liveaboards drift through channels flanked by green slopes and golden cliffs, and at day’s end, the sky burns with tropical sunsets. Many itineraries include a stop on Komodo Island or Rinca to see the park’s most famous residents — the Komodo dragons. Watching these prehistoric giants lumber through the brush feels like stepping into another era.

If you disembark in Labuan Bajo, there’s plenty more to explore. The town has grown into a lively hub with oceanfront restaurants, night markets, and cafés serving strong Indonesian coffee with views over the harbor. Hike to the Padar Island viewpoint for one of Southeast Asia’s most photographed panoramas, or visit Pink Beach, where crushed coral gives the sand its soft rose hue.

Komodo’s charm lies in its contrasts — fierce and tranquil, remote yet connected, where every surface interval or rest day is a new landscape to explore.

💡 Topside highlights: Komodo dragons, Padar viewpoint hikes, Pink Beach, Labuan Bajo sunset bars.

🇲🇾 Sipadan: Overwater Bliss and Island Serenity

Sipadan itself is strictly protected — no overnight stays, no crowds, no resorts — which is part of what keeps its reefs pristine. But just a short boat ride away, the neighboring islands of Mabul and Kapalai offer the kind of luxury and calm that most divers only dream about.

Here, your surface intervals might be spent on the deck of a Maldives-style overwater chalet, looking down through clear shallows at schools of baby reef fish glinting below. Both Mabul and Kapalai are built almost entirely over the sea — wooden walkways connecting stilted villas with open verandas, dive centers, and seaside lounges where evenings stretch lazily into golden sunsets.

Mabul offers a blend of local village life and boutique dive resorts, while Kapalai is a fully overwater paradise — a sandbar that vanishes with the tide, leaving a floating haven surrounded by turquoise lagoon. From these idyllic bases, day trips to Sipadan are effortless, and the non-Sipadan dives around the islands reveal incredible macro and muck divingfor photographers.

For those who prefer land-based comfort to life aboard a boat, Sipadan’s surrounding islands deliver the perfect combination of luxury and accessibility — serene, photogenic, and tailor-made for both relaxation and adventure.

💡 Topside highlights: Overwater chalets in Kapalai, Mabul’s local island charm, pristine beaches, sunsets over the Celebes Sea.

🏝 Two Worlds, Two Ways to Unwind

Komodo is adventure above and below the surface — dragons, volcanoes, and pink beaches framed by dramatic island vistas.
Sipadan (and its neighbors) are about serenity and ease — overwater villas, calm lagoons, and sunsets that feel suspended in time.

Both reward the diver who appreciates the full spectrum of the journey — from the rush of the dive to the peace that follows when the tanks are stowed and the horizon turns gold.

☀️ Best Season to Dive: Timing the Perfect Adventure

🇮🇩 Komodo: Seasons of Contrast and Flow

Komodo’s underwater world shifts dramatically with the seasons — it’s a destination that offers something unique year-round, but knowing when to go shapes what you’ll see and how you’ll experience it.

The dry season (April to November) is the most popular and reliable time to dive. During these months, seas are generally calm, visibility ranges from 20–30 meters, and the famous reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) gather in large numbers at cleaning stations like Makassar Reef and Manta Alley. The warm water and bright sunlight make this the best period for wide-angle photography and liveaboard trips through the park’s northern and central regions.

As the monsoon season approaches (December to March), the southern sites come alive. Cooler, nutrient-rich water sweeps in, dropping temperatures to around 22–25°C and transforming the reefs into a wonderland of soft corals, sponges, and macro life. Visibility can decrease slightly, but for photographers and critter lovers, the color and density of life are unbeatable.

Komodo rewards those who match their travel style to its rhythm:

April – November: Best all-around diving, mantas, sharks, pelagics, and great visibility.
December – March: Cooler, richer waters in the south, ideal for macro and photographers.

💡 Travel tip: If you’re diving via liveaboard, plan itineraries that span both north and south — it’s the best way to experience Komodo’s seasonal contrasts in one trip.

🇲🇾 Sipadan: Year-Round Beauty, Seasonal Magic

Sipadan’s position in the Celebes Sea keeps its conditions consistently good year-round, but subtle seasonal shifts create different moods and encounters.

The dry season (March to October) is considered the best time to dive Sipadan, with calm seas, light currents, and visibility often exceeding 30–40 meters. Marine life is at its most active — schools of barracuda and jacks pulse around Barracuda Point, turtles nest and mate, and reef sharks glide along the drop-offs. The months of April to Julyare especially prized, as occasional hammerhead sharks are spotted cruising through the blue at depth.

The wet season (November to February) brings slightly rougher seas and reduced visibility, but it’s still entirely diveable. Many divers enjoy this period for smaller crowds and an even more peaceful atmosphere at Mabul and Kapalai.

No matter when you go, Sipadan delivers the same timeless spectacle — the same walls, schools, and serenity that drew Jacques Cousteau to call it “perfection.”

💡 Travel tip: For optimal conditions and the best chance of securing coveted permits, plan your visit between April and July, and allow several days in your itinerary to maximize your Sipadan slots.

🌊 Two Oceans, Two Rhythms

Komodo offers seasonal drama — currents shift, water cools and warms, and the marine life changes with the tides. It’s perfect for divers chasing variety and challenge.
Sipadan offers year-round consistency — the same spectacular walls and wildlife in almost any month, ideal for travelers who want calm, predictable diving without compromise.

In the end, there’s no “off-season” for either — only different shades of paradise.

🌊 Final Thoughts: Two Icons, One Ocean of Possibility

Choosing between Komodo and Sipadan is like choosing between fire and water — both spectacular, both unforgettable, yet completely different in temperament.

Komodo is energy incarnate — a place of swirling currents, vast seascapes, and raw, elemental diving. It’s a destination that keeps you sharp, tests your skills, and rewards your awareness with unforgettable moments: a manta hovering in the current, a shark gliding past the reef edge, a wall of fish dissolving into the blue. It’s for divers who crave movement, adventure, and the feeling of being completely alive in the ocean’s pulse.

Sipadan, on the other hand, is grace and harmony — a sanctuary where life gathers in astonishing concentration. It’s the calm drift beside a wall of coral, the slow turn of a turtle, the glitter of sunlight on schooling jacks. Days begin with boat rides across glassy water and end in overwater chalets as the sea turns gold beneath your feet. It’s the kind of diving that soothes the soul even as it takes your breath away.

Both sites demand respect — for their currents, their fragility, and their wonder — and both remind us why Southeast Asia remains the beating heart of the diving world.

So, which should you choose?
If you seek adventure, challenge, and power, Komodo awaits.
If you crave serenity, spectacle, and effortless beauty, Sipadan calls.

But for those truly in love with the sea, the answer is simple — you don’t choose. You dive them both.

🌐 Plan Your Next Dive Adventure

Ready to explore Southeast Asia’s most iconic dive destinations?
Whether you’re dreaming of manta-filled drifts in Komodo or the turtle-lined walls of Sipadan, we’ve got you covered.
👉 Explore more at www.southeastasiadiving.com — including guides to liveaboards, underwater photography, and top dive resorts.

❓ FAQs: Komodo vs Sipadan Diving

1. Which is better for beginners — Komodo or Sipadan?
Sipadan is generally easier for newer divers, while Komodo is better for those with experience in current.

2. Can you stay on Sipadan Island?
No — overnight stays are prohibited. Divers stay on nearby Mabul or Kapalai, both offering overwater accommodation.

3. How many dives per day at Sipadan?
Typically three to four dives per day, depending on permit allocation.

4. What experience do I need for Komodo?
Advanced Open Water certification and comfort in strong currents. Buoyancy and air management are key.

5. When is the best time to see manta rays in Komodo?
Year-round, but especially December–March in the south and April–November in central sites.

6. When can I see hammerhead sharks at Sipadan?
Occasionally April–July, usually early in the morning and deeper.

7. Can I dive both on one trip?
Yes — combine them via flights through Bali, Kuala Lumpur, or Jakarta. Two destinations, one unforgettable adventure.

Steve Poole