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4.5

Excellent

1,052 reviews

#1 of 2 special resorts in Pulau Mabul

Location

Cleanliness

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Property amenities

Free internet

Free breakfast

Beach

Diving

Highchairs available

Airport transportation

24-hour security

Baggage storage

Internet

Bar / lounge

Restaurant

Breakfast buffet

Complimentary Instant Coffee

Complimentary tea

Kid-friendly buffet

Snorkelling

Taxi service

Sun loungers / beach chairs

Room features

Air conditioning

Private balcony

Safe

Walk-in shower

Room types

Non-smoking rooms

Family rooms

Good to know

Languages Spoken

English, Malay

Location

Mabul Island, Pulau Mabul Malaysia

Getting there

Tawau Airport56 kmSee all flights

Rental CarsSee all Pulau Mabul car hire

See all nearby hotels

1052Reviews15Q+A100Room tips

Reviews
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Yuri W wrote a review 4 Dec

1 contribution

Great experience diving here

I did my Padi open water course at Scuba Junkie Mabul. It was a 4 day course. Sadly enough I didn’t know you could stay at Mabul so I had to take the ferry everyday from Semporna to Mabul. I would recommend to stay at Mabul because Semporna isn’t nice at all. The course was really great because because Florence (Flo) was so helpful and so nice. She knew I was struggling with some exercises, so what she did was helping me one on one even tho that slowed the group a little bit down. She made me help overcoming my fear of breathing true my mouth and not stressing in difficult situations. That was definitely not the only thing because her patience was so good and you need some patience as a teacher, I can tell you that as a ski instructor myself. But the best part was her joy in her work. Like you could just see that she was so happy teaching people new things and showing the under water world to us. Last but not least she takes her job really seriously because she told me not to dive the last dive because my ear was not feeling okay. If she had said you could try it I would definitely had tried it and then I might had making my ear worse. So I would definitely recommend everybody to dive with Scuba Junkie Mabul. The under water world is fantastic and the service is perfect. A big shout out to the whole team and specialty Flo.…

Date of stay: October 2023

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Trip type: Travelled solo

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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cjritchie50 wrote a review Oct 2023

Dunfermline, United Kingdom6 contributions2 helpful votes

A great affordable dive resort

We stayed and dived with Scuba Junkies on a Mabul/Kapalai only package as adding Sipadan didn't fit with our budget, yet still had a wonderful time. The resort is fairly basic, however it's comfortable and well set up for divers. The dive sites at Mabul are just a few minutes away from the centre by speedboat, so you can spend your surface intervals resting back at the resort. This allowed for 4 dive days without being too exhausting. Food was plentiful and tasty, if a little simple. We stayed in a non-AC room, which while often a little warm in the day, was cool at night. The resort is heavily dive focused, so ultimately it's the quality of said diving that makes or breaks the experience. We found it to be really enjoyable. We came with blue-ringed octopus and flamboyant cuttlefish at the top of our wishlist and managed to see both. On top of that we saw some of the largest and most active octopus we've ever seen, changing shape and colour as they climbed across the reef. Human sized sea turtles, colourful frogfish crawling around artificial wrecks, cuttlefish mating and huge crocodile fish were among other highlights. Currents were minimal, with only one site exhibiting notable drift, and this would be a great place for less experienced divers to build comfort and confidence. Standout dive sites for us were the Kapalai House Reef and Seaventures, both of which were rich in macro. We also managed to see schools of jacks and barracudas at the Mabul artificial reef. We'd highly recommend doing a night dive too, with something fascinating everywhere you shine your torch. Our dive guides were excellent, with particular mention to Pray for his enthusiasm under the water, and Khai (Legend) for his superhuman ability to spot the tiniest things. The dives were well planned, lasting at least an hour each time (and I'm not the lightest on air) and we felt safe throughout. If one day we return to dive Sipidan, we wouldn't hesitate to choose Scuba Junkies again.…

Date of stay: May 2023

Value

Location

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Trip type: Travelled as a couple

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Getaway15565401569 wrote a review Sept 2023

Hong Kong, China1 contribution

+1

Great Way to Learn & Experience the Underwater World

I'm in for the 8D7N for a fast-track OW+AOW learning and sure didn't waste any of my time. My instructor, Mark Booth, is a divemaster with years of teaching experience, and a man who knows how to amuse his students. For those who are lucky enough to learn from him, PLEASE keep your ears sharp under the water and expect to hear his song as he leads the dive, a habitat of his to make the safety stop less boring as it could. Mark is surely muti-linguistic and his dedication (or in a sense, obsession :p) to learning languages like Chinese also makes the dive courses more interesting. The resort is good and the dorm I was in is decent. For those who cannot stand the tropical heat, please get yourself an AC room as the dorm could get a bit got during the night if all choose to close the window. The staff are nice and enthusiastic to help. That was, in general, a great experience, and I hope I'll be back sometime soon.…

Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled solo

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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scubacol11 wrote a review Sept 2023

Rotherham, United Kingdom1956 contributions788 helpful votes

+1

Not as good as expected.

Been wanting to dive Sipadan for years and finally got to go,booked a 5 day four night package with three days Sipadan diving,as I was travelling alone chose dorm accommadation to keep price down,booking and comunication with Scuba Junkie was very easy with promt replies to all e-mails.The trip to Mabul was fine and as instructed went ready to dive on arrival,the dorm accommadation was as expected,adeqate and clean with fans and no air con,the dorms were very hot at night and would reccomend an air con room if you can run to it.The food was plentyfull but a bit repetative,so much chicken,breakfast was very good and good strong coffee available 24 hrs a day.As for the diving I did not rate the no Sipadan days as I an pretty fish acd coral man and can't get exited about slugs.As for Sipadan after all the formalities on arrival at the island and good breifings the diving was very good,I really wanted to have my mind blown but that did not happen,more green turtles than you could shake a stick at and eventually you have had enough turtles and want to see something else,The dive guide I had for all 5 days was KHAI [legend] he was very good and made sure I got the longest dives possible.Most evenings were spent in the bar upstairs chatting and having a beer or two (reasonably priced beer for a resort)before turning in early for a silly o-clock start.Overall,glad I went,descent value for diving in Sipadan,would not rush back.…

Date of stay: April 2023

Value

Location

Service

Trip type: Travelled solo

Room Tip: take air-con room if you can afford.

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Michael M wrote a review Sept 2023

Kihei, Hawaii301 contributions238 helpful votes

+1

Good and bad

Repeat customers who love the diving but expected better service at the resort. First the good: Mabul and Kapalai are fantastic places to dive with lots to see and diving for all levels. We didn't take any permits to Sipadan as we have been several times before and just wanted to focus on macro. The local dive guides are for the most part exceptional in what they can find and take care of the guests. Nice facilities and good, clean rooms with lots to eat. On the minus side, the foreign staff seem like they don't care about you at all. Not once did a foreign instructor say hello or acknowledge us in any way. Not a single conversation with any foreign staff about our stay or even just to make us feel welcome. They stay in their office during the day and eat by themselves. My wife and I are both instructors and were shocked how the foreign staff managed to ignore the guests. A resort that doesn't interact with their guests. Very interesting. My wife had a complaint about the boat ride when we arrived and talked to Lawrence, apparently a manager. He managed to infuriate my wife by telling her it was her fault that we got drenched and the ride was terrible. We have worked on dive boats for the last eight years and know to expect to get a little wet versus getting drenched because the captain is trying to get to the island on time. He further lied to her by saying that ninety percent of the emails we received tell you to expect to get wet. Untrue. The emails say be ready to dive if you are on the morning boat. Just a simple bit of empathy would have smoothed everything over but Lawrence had to show my wife that he had power. Too bad he didn't use any power to make her feel appreciated and welcome. At any rate, the locals are first-class and hopefully the foreign workers will try harder.…

Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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LL721 wrote a review Sept 2023

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia894 contributions316 helpful votes

Nice trip!

We were here for 4D3N and it was a smooth transfer from the Semporna office to the jetty and to the resort. They told us that we have to be 'swim ready' as our first snorkeling trip was immediately when we arrived at the resort. And on Day 1, we had 3 snorkeling trips. 2 negative points: - why did we only have 3 snorkeling trips on Day 1 and 3 snorkeling trips on Day 4? Day 4 was a mad rush as we had to check out before our 1st snorkeling trip and after our last snorkeling trip, we had to change and get on the boat back to Semporna. We had no snorkeling trips on Day 2 and Day 3. We tried to move some snorkeling trips to Days 2 and 3 but it was not allowed. - we had to be on the same boat as divers during our snorkeling trips. And, divers took a long time getting ready. Then the boat will pick them up first before picking us up from the sea. And in one of the snorkeling sites in the open sea, the sea was so rough that we all had sea-sickness IN the sea!! It would have been better if there were separate boats for snorkelers and divers. We felt that the resort's priority were divers, not snorkelers. Other than the above, we had a nice time. Our snorkeling guide Mez was really good and we had 2 different boat captains who were great too. They kept us safe. Our chalet was nice and comfortable, although the curtains don't close properly. Hot water shower was nice and powerful. We especially liked the clothes line outside our chalet to dry our swim wear. Food was buffet - simple and sufficient, although sometimes the food was too salty or overcooked. We cleared our own plates. The bar upstairs was simple too and most of the time they only had 2 types of ice cream: Magnum or cornetto. On one side of the resort, there were sea gypsies with houses on stilts over the water. Unfortunately for us all, it was full of garbage in that part of the beach and sea. Not sure why nothing is done as it is an eye sore and health hazard. …

Date of stay: August 2023

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Trip type: Travelled with family

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Lynette W wrote a review Sept 2023

2 contributions

Fantastic stay and professional diving resort

The resort is a beautiful place to stay with great catering, room options and friendly professional staff. I completed my PADI open water diving certification at the resort and found the instructor, Mark Booth, to be fun, knowledgeable, very experienced and professional. The whole experience was ace from start to finish and I have definitely caught the diving bug! The sunsets from the jetty were incredible and are some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen! Everything was thought of and made easier during the stay and I really can’t rate the resort highly enough. If you’re thinking of getting certified or diving for fun, you really cant go wrong with the incredible views above and below the water!

Date of stay: May 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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millie wrote a review July 2023

2 contributions1 helpful vote

GO AND FEEL AT PEACE

I just spent one week at Scuba Junkie Sipadan (4 days diving with 2 Sipadan days). At first, I did my research and was about to pick another center. But after my friend's feedback, I decided to go with Scuba Junkies. The resort has a lovely atmosphere with trees and animals (cats, dogs, and 2 huge lizards). According to the resort, no one raises them, so I love the fact that they just decide to live peacefully here. The room is nice, not always 100% clean, but then it's not a big problem. The food is good, with some items tastier than others. It's the diving experience that brings me joy and satisfaction. I talked to a lot of staff, and they all love their job and are professional in what they do. I dove with 2 divemasters, Asrull and Andy. I would like to give special thanks to them. Asrull gave me some advice about my diving skills, and it really helped me improve a lot. I got better after every dive. Andy knew Sipadan like the back of his hand, making me feel very safe diving with him in such a deep ocean. We even spotted hammerhead sharks, and in Mabul & Kapalai, there is so much underwater life. I also met a lot of diver friends whom I will never forget. Even that one guy on my team, during my last dive, asked if he could ride a turtle and insisted that turtle love him. We all burst out at that silly joke; it also made the trip worth remembering. I can't wait to return soon and hope to see leopard sharks next time.…

Date of stay: July 2023

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Trip type: Travelled solo

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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esby619 wrote a review July 2023

Island of Hawaii, Hawaii7 contributions11 helpful votes

Scummy business practices - Sipadan packages are a rip-off

WARNING ⚠️: THE SIPADAN SNORKELLING PACKAGES ARE A RIP-OFF I was charged MR1260 (£212, $278) for a Sipadan snorkelling package. What I got was two hours (so £106/$140 PER HOUR) being forced to wear a life jacket 545am boat leaves 615am arrive on Sipadan island. At this point, we were told that we MUST wear lifejackets the entire time - no free driving. This was the first we'd heard of it - and if you're used to free diving, it is extremely restrictive - no seeing the nature close up. I guarantee you that if they forced all their drivers to wear life jackets, they would have mentioned it, but they don't care about snorkellers so they simply didn't. 7am first 1 hour session 8am break on the island 9am second 1 hour (and last) session 10am-130pm you just get left on the beach. We were told we can't go in the water, we can't walk around the island, we can't go back to the resort. Again, not mentioned that we'd spent about 5 hours just sat around with nothing to do I paid for a day of snorkelling, and in return got scammed - 2 hours in the water, wearing a life jacket the entire time, 5 hours sat around with no preparation and nothing to do I asked for a refund but they blanket do no refunds…

Date of stay: July 2023

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Trip type: Travelled with friends

Room Tip: No refunds means that if you pay in advance for a scuba course & fail your medical (esp. if first...

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Arthur Shelby wrote a review July 2023

2 contributions

Best 8 days diving, starting off my scuba diving journey

Mabul scuba junkie is where I started my scuba diving journey starting off with my open water certification and advanced open water straight afterwards, my instructor was Mark Booth who was a brilliant instructor went above and beyond for us. He wasn't there to just tick the boxes he genuinely wants to make good divers which you can really appreciate as I was going onto 3 days of sipidan afterwards and I was nervous to annoy the more experienced divers on my boat. I would definitely recommend him to other divers starting out. I had genuinely the best 8 days diving in mabul and the whole staff were so helpful in anything you needed and the resort was perfect

Date of stay: June 2023

Value

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Trip type: Travelled with friends

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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