Sipadan Diving in Borneo

Whitetip Avenue

With a name like "Whitetip Avenue", you're probably wondering, does it live up to its name? Well, yes, it does. You can look forward to numerous encounters with schools of gentle whitetip reef sharks. This, however, is only one of the many amazing underwater sights this Borneo Sipadan site holds for you.

A coral reef located at a shallow depth before plunging into the 600 metres vertical abyss, Sipadan diving is full of unexpected encounters. You'll find yourself in the middle of a huge silver school of bigeye travellies or within a colourful palette of gigantic bumphead parrotfish.

The route you take will be determined by your Dive Master depending on the direction of the current. Either way, you will find the wall on one side and the open sea on the other.

The wall is full of terraces, crevices, ledges and vertical chimneys which are worth a look into - you'll find sponges of all shapes and colours, black coral colonies and gorgonian fans. Among this rich coral life, you'll find reef and den fish circulating merrily. Watch out for groupers, emperor angelfish, moorish idols, triggerfish, parrotfish, clownfish, boxfish, scorpionfish and butterflyfish. You may also find yourself cavorting with a friendly turtle (or 10!).

The open sea on the other side holds encounters with pelagics of Sipadan like the grey reef shark, and naturally, whitetip reef sharks. Novice divers are not encouraged to venture into the deep side of the drop-off.

Whitetip Avenue Reef Basics: Coral garden on the edge of a drop-off
Depth: 16 - >40m
Visibility: 20 - 30m
Currents: Gentle - moderate
Surface conditions: Calm
Water temperature: 26 - 30°C
Experience level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: 2
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 13 km (27 minutes) south from Mabul and 11 km (20 mins) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Mabul and Kapalai dive resorts

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