Backpacking Semporna
Semporna is a harbour town that runs on one thing: the sea. There is a fish market, a row of dive shops and a jetty where dozens of speedboats head out every morning, because an hour away lies one of the most beautiful stretches of water on the planet. Lagoons in ten shades of blue, sandbanks that surface at low tide, stilt houses over the coral and an island where you see turtles on every single dive.
That island is Sipadan, and it is why divers from all over the world end up in this little town. Only around 250 people a day are allowed to go, so if you want to dive it you have to sort it way in advance. Not a diver, or no Advanced certification yet? Plenty else to do: macro diving around Mabul, climbing the volcanic crater of Bohey Dulang for the most famous view in Sabah, and snorkelling off the sandbanks of Mantabuan and Sibuan.
The waters around Semporna are also home to the Bajau Laut, sea nomads who have traditionally lived on boats and in stilt houses, many of them without any nationality. You pass their homes on the way to the islands. Treat that with respect, and keep money and sweets in your bag. Allow a week if you want to dive, three or four days to island hop, and about €30 a day not counting the dives. Save it for last: nothing on a Malaysia itinerary ends on a higher note.
Why Semporna is popular with backpackers
- The base for Sipadan, one of the best dive sites in the world
- Macro diving and turtles around Mabul
- The view from Bohey Dulang
- Turquoise lagoons and sandbanks
- Learning to dive among the turtles
- Fresh seafood for very little money
- The last stop on your route through Sabah
Best time to visit Semporna
Semporna is in the southeast of Sabah, a little out of the way of the big monsoons. You can dive all year, but the water is not equally clear every month.
Sabah Parks closes Sipadan every November to let the reef recover. Mabul, Kapalai and the other dive sites stay open as usual.
Backpacker budget: around €30 a day
- €12hostel bed
- €2.50local meal
- €3beer
- €2jetty fee per boat trip
Guide prices for a backpacker's day in Semporna. Add a tour or a night out and it climbs fast.
Best area for backpackers
The centre by the jetty
Sleep in Semporna town, near the jetty and the row of dive shops. Every boat to the islands leaves from here, and most backpackers sleep in a dive shop dorm or a simple guesthouse in the same few streets.
Want to dive several days in a row? You can also sleep on Mabul, in a dive resort on the island itself. Read the bit on travel advice below first, though.
Why stay in the centre?
- Every boat to the islands leaves from here
- Dive shops and tour agencies round the corner
- Cheap dorms and guesthouses
- Fish market and seafood within walking distance
- The bus to Tawau and Kota Kinabalu leaves from here
For almost every backpacker the centre is the best base.
Best hostels in Semporna
Semporna has few classic hostels, and Hostelworld has next to nothing here right now. Backpackers mostly sleep in the dive shop dorms, which you book directly, often together with your dives. Scuba Junkie has backpacker accommodation in town, and Uncle Chang’s has a simple dive lodge on Mabul. Prefer a private room or a dive resort? Those are on Trip.com, including these three.
BarraCuda Den
BarraCuda Den was Jono’s Place until recently and sits in Semporna Seafront New Township, a few minutes’ walk from the jetty where the dive and snorkel boats leave. You pick a room with a shared or private bathroom, from about €30, and there is a shared kitchen with a fridge and a washing machine. In the morning there is free bread and instant noodles, handy when your boat goes early, and reviewers call it one of the cleanest places in town.
Ideal for
- Early boats to the islands
- Cooking for yourself
- A private room for not much money
Lanse Ocean Seaview Holiday Hotel
Lanse Ocean is a new hotel on Jalan Kastam, close to the Seafest jetty, with a Starbucks, KFC and 7-Eleven round the corner. The best rooms have a balcony looking out to sea, right on the side where the sun comes up. Rooms start at about €40 a night, and the breakfast buffet is about €5 extra.
Ideal for
- A bit of comfort after diving
- Couples
- A sea view from your balcony
Mabul Backpackers
Mabul Backpackers is a simple dive lodge on stilts over the water at Mabul, about three quarters of an hour by boat from Semporna. There is a dorm with a fan and shared bathroom, plus air-conditioned rooms with sea views, and all meals are included. Rustic, definitely, but you snorkel straight off the lodge and see turtles in the morning. When you book, check whether the boat transfer is included, because Trip.com sells rooms with and without.
Ideal for
- Divers
- Sleeping on the island
- Backpackers after a dorm
Best things to do in Semporna
Diving Sipadan
Sipadan is an island that rises out of the deep sea like a mushroom, with a wall dropping hundreds of metres right next to the beach. Turtles on every dive, schools of barracuda spinning into a tornado, reef sharks and bumphead parrotfish.
How does the permit system work?
- Sabah Parks issues only a limited number of permits a day
- They are shared out among the licensed dive shops, each getting a few a day
- Many shops hand them to their guests in order, and ask you to dive with them for a few days
- The earlier you book, the better your chance of a fixed date
- No permit? Then you dive around Mabul and Kapalai, and that is stunning too
Start here, before you even book your flight. Of everything in Sabah, this is the hardest thing to sort on the spot.
Diving and snorkelling at Mabul and Kapalai
Mabul is the place for macro diving: frogfish, seahorses, little cuttlefish and nudibranchs on a sandy bottom. You see turtles here on almost every dive too.
Highlights
- The best macro diving in Malaysia
- Turtles on almost every dive
- Stilt houses over the reef
- Lovely for snorkelling even without a certification
A dive day here is the perfect alternative if Sipadan is full.
Climbing Bohey Dulang
Bohey Dulang is an old volcano in the sea. A steep path with ropes takes you to the top, and up there is the most famous view in Sabah: a green crater rim around a lagoon in every shade of turquoise.
Why go?
- The best-known view in Sabah
- A short but proper climb
- Easy to combine with snorkelling at the sandbanks
- No dive certification needed
Wear shoes with grip and bring plenty of water, the path is steep and can be slippery.
Island hopping to Mantabuan and Sibuan
Mantabuan and Sibuan are tiny islands with white sand and shallow, clear water, and they are almost always in the same day tour as Bohey Dulang.
Highlights
- Crystal-clear shallow water
- Snorkelling over the coral
- Bajau Laut stilt houses along the way
- A full day out on the water
Do this tour on your first day and you instantly know why you came all this way.
Learning to dive
In Semporna you learn to dive among the turtles, with Sipadan as the reward: get your Open Water and Advanced here, and the most famous wall in Malaysia is yours. The water around Mabul is perfect for it: shallow, warm and full of life.
Why here?
- Learn to dive among turtles
- Small groups at plenty of dive shops
- Open Water and Advanced in one week
- That makes you eligible for Sipadan
When you book your course, ask straight away about their Sipadan permits.
How to plan your days in Semporna
Three days covers the islands, a dive day and, if your permit comes through, Sipadan. A fourth day gives you a relaxed wait before flying. Pick how many days you have.
Bohey Dulang and the sandbanks. An early boat to Bohey Dulang, the climb for the view over the lagoon, then snorkelling at Mantabuan and Sibuan.
Tonight: seafood by the fish market in town.
Mabul and Kapalai. Three dives or a snorkel trip around Mabul and Kapalai, with turtles, frogfish and stilt houses over the reef.
Tonight: filling in your logbook with your dive buddies at the dive shop.
Sipadan, or another day on the water. With a permit, today you dive the Sipadan wall. Without one, you dive around Mabul again, or start your Open Water.
Tonight: sunset over the jetty.
Rest day and onward. After diving you have to wait at least a day before flying. Take it easy in town, then it is an hour and a half to Tawau airport.
Tonight: a flight to Kota Kinabalu or Kuala Lumpur.
Food and drink in Semporna
Semporna eats fish. On the waterfront, restaurants on stilts let you pick your fish and seafood from the tanks and have it grilled, and at the market you buy grilled fish for a few euros.
Mornings are nasi lemak or roti at a kopitiam; evenings you share a table piled with prawns, squid and fish with your dive group.
What to eat in Semporna:
Getting there and onward
Semporna is in the southeast of Sabah, an hour and a half’s drive from Tawau airport. That airport has daily flights to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.
Getting there. A direct bus of about six hours runs from Sandakan and passes the Sukau turn-off in the morning, so you can board coming from the Kinabatangan too. From Kota Kinabalu the bus takes nine to ten hours; faster is flying to Tawau and then a minibus or taxi to Semporna.
In town. You can walk the whole town. To the islands you go on the dive shops’ and tour agencies’ speedboats, from the jetty in the centre.
Onward. This is the end of the road through Sabah. From Tawau you fly to Kota Kinabalu or straight to Kuala Lumpur. Wait at least a day after your last dive before you fly.
- PlaneVia Tawau to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur
- Minibus or taxiTawau airport about 1.5 hrs
- BusSandakan about 6 hrs, about €11 · Kota Kinabalu 9 to 10 hrs
- SpeedboatMabul about 45 minutes, jetty fee about €2
- After divingWait at least a day before you fly
Staying safe in Semporna
Semporna town itself is a quiet place. Some of the islands offshore do come with stricter travel advice, though, and it is worth knowing how that works before you book.
Government travel advice. Several governments, including the UK’s (FCDO), advise against all but essential travel to the islands and dive sites off the coast of eastern Sabah between Sandakan and Tawau, and that includes Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan. The reason given is the threat of kidnapping. The advice covers the islands, not Semporna town or the mainland of Sabah. The army and police also regularly run security operations off the coast of eastern Sabah, so expect extra checks. Read your own government’s current advice before you go.
Your insurance. Plenty of travel insurance policies cover less, or nothing at all, in places your government advises against travelling to. Check with your insurer before you go if you want to visit Sipadan, Mabul or Kapalai.
On the water at night. Off the coast of eastern Sabah, Semporna included, a ban on boats at sea from six in the evening to six in the morning has been in place for years. That is why every day trip is back well before dark. Ask your dive shop whether the rule still applies.
- Check your government's travel advice and your insurance before booking the islands
- Book with a licensed dive shop or a registered tour agency
- Ask permission before you photograph anyone from the Bajau Laut
- Wait at least a day after your last dive before flying
- Hand out money, sweets or stuff to children who paddle up to your boat
- Ask children to swim or pose for your photo
- Eat reef fish when you do not know how it was caught
- Touch coral or leave your rubbish on the sandbanks
Rebels on the Road tip
Sort your Sipadan permit before you sort anything else. Email a few dive shops at once, ask how many days you need to dive with them and on which date they can get you a permit, then plan the rest of your Sabah route around that. If it does not work out, do not sweat it: Bohey Dulang, the sandbanks and the macro diving around Mabul easily fill a week on their own.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Semporna?
Three to four for the islands and a dive day. Want to get certified or dive Sipadan? Plan a week.
How do you get a Sipadan dive permit?
Through a licensed dive shop. There are about 250 permits a day, shared out among the shops. Book months ahead, and expect many shops to ask you to dive with them for a few days first.
Which dive certification do you need for Sipadan?
Advanced Open Water at minimum. You can do two dives a day there at most. With just Open Water you dive around Mabul and Kapalai.
Is Semporna safe to visit?
Semporna town itself is quiet. For the islands and dive sites off eastern Sabah, Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan included, several governments, including the UK, advise against all but essential travel because of the threat of kidnapping. Check your own government’s current advice and your travel insurance before you book.
Can you do Semporna without diving?
Absolutely. The day tour to Bohey Dulang, Mantabuan and Sibuan is the highlight for plenty of backpackers, and you can snorkel at Mabul and Kapalai.
Is Semporna expensive?
The town itself is not: €30 a day covers a dorm, seafood and the jetty fees. Diving is the big expense, and Sipadan the priciest of all.
When is the best time to visit Semporna?
March to October, with the calmest sea and the clearest water. November to February is wetter, and in November Sabah Parks closes Sipadan to let the reef recover.
How do you get to Semporna?
Fly to Tawau and take a minibus or taxi for an hour and a half. Overland, a morning bus runs from Sandakan, past the turn-off for the Kinabatangan, in about six hours.
Who are the Bajau Laut?
Sea nomads who have traditionally lived on boats and in stilt houses around Semporna, many of them without any nationality. Do not give money or sweets to the children who come up to your boat, and do not photograph anyone without asking.
Can you fly straight after diving?
No. Wait at least a day after your last dive before you get on a plane. Plan a rest day in Semporna or Tawau for exactly that.
Sources: hostel ratings from Hostelworld, tours and reviews from GetYourGuide, transport and travel times from 12Go, visa rules from the official immigration sites (see our visa page). The daily budget is our own estimate based on hostel, food and transport prices. How we work.
