Coral Triangle · Malaysia
Sibu & Tinggi Islands
Calm marine-park reefs and twin pinnacles a short boat ride from the Sibu resorts
Photo: Wolfgang Ahlmer · CC BY 4.0
Pulau Sibu and its neighbouring islands, Pulau Tinggi among them, lie in the Sultan Iskandar Marine Park off the Johor coast, and Sibu is the closest island diving to Singapore. Resort dive bases on Sibu run shore dives on a house reef and boat trips to fringing reefs around the other islands: the twin pinnacles of Dolly, the hard-coral formations of Nangka Kecil, the five-peaked island of Lima Besar and the schooling barracuda at Barracuda Point. Calm seas make it a relaxed, beginner-friendly reef trip.
About diving in Sibu & Tinggi Islands
The diving runs from dive bases in the island resorts on Pulau Sibu; Pulau Tinggi has none of its own. Shore dives go out daily on a resort house reef, which also hosts the night dives, and the boats run single- or two-tank trips to sites further away around the neighbouring islands. At Nangka Kecil the current decides whether the drift runs from the eastern tip westwards or the other way, and on the house reef a current can pick up as the tide goes out.
The sites are fringe and sloping reefs scattered around the islands near Sibu, and the Marine Police Wreck PX8 lies coral-encrusted at 22 m (72 ft). Flatworms, nudibranchs and gobies guarding their blind pistol shrimp make Barracuda Point a muck dive as much as a reef dive, and old fishing cages at Mentiggi shelter batfish. Cuttlefish, moray eels, turtles, blue-spotted ribbontail rays and fish nurseries turn up across the park, where protection keeps local fishermen off the sites.
Calm seas, warm water and sites for different skill levels make the islands a natural fit for newer divers, courses and anyone after unhurried reef dives within easy reach of Singapore. Deeper water means the long crossing to Pulau Aur, run only as a package for groups of 8 or more; Advanced Open Water is the preferred level there, since most of its sites lie deeper than 18 m.
Best time to dive Sibu & Tinggi Islands
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Good | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Most resorts close for the monsoon from December into February; visibility also dips in August, the warmest month.
Best months: March, April, May, June, July, September, October
Dive types & marine life
Barracuda school at Barracuda Point, and a small, shy resident blacktip reef shark named Cinder usually shows at Mentiggi. A dugong has been seen at Nangka Kecil only once.
- Reef
- Coral garden
- Drift
- Muck & macro
- Night
- Wreck
- Barracuda
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
Best dive sites in Sibu & Tinggi Islands
- 1
Dolly
Famous Sibu site near Tinggi with two large pinnacles teeming with marine life
- 2
Nangka Kecil
Hard-coral reef beside Pulau Tinggi with massive unscathed coral formations
- 3
Lima Besar
Reef from 2 m off the beach to 18 m at the eastern tip, where batfish and angelfish hide
- 4
Barracuda Point
Reef found in 2014 and named for the barracuda seen there
- 5
One Tree Rock
Small island off Pulau Tinggi ringed entirely by hard and soft corals
- 6
Sanggol
Soft coral layered over hard coral from 5 m to 16 m, a common second dive on two-tank trips
- 7
Jefferies Rock
Drift and macro dive at a rock round the north-eastern corner of Rimba Resort
- 8
Jack Rock
Outlying rock about 40 minutes by boat, dived when the tide brings clear water
Site guides
Reef
Named for the barracuda school that met its first divers
A rock that shows above water only at low tide
A large, shy green turtle that lives on the reef
Coral garden
Massive, undamaged hard-coral formations off Pulau Tinggi
Coral garden
An islet with one tree, ringed all round by hard and soft coral
Reef
Soft coral layered over hard coral, with bumphead parrotfish passing
How to get to Sibu & Tinggi Islands
Singapore Changi and Senai International near Johor Bahru are the practical airports. From Singapore or Johor Bahru the road runs to the Tanjung Leman jetty on the Johor coast, not Mersing, where resort boats cross to Pulau Sibu.
Photos from Sibu & Tinggi Islands
Todd Huffman from Phoenix, AZ · CC BY-SA 2.0
Questions divers ask
Is there a marine park fee for diving at Pulau Sibu?+
Yes. A marine park fee of MYR200 is payable on arrival; the islands have been a marine park since 1993.
Which resorts stay open during the monsoon?+
Most resorts close for the annual three-month monsoon, save those facing the mainland. Rimba Resort and its dive centre open from Chinese New Year to 1 December, so an early-February trip depends on when the holiday falls.
Can new or uncertified divers dive at Sibu?+
The house reef has no certification minimum, and Lima Besar and One Tree Rock take Scuba Divers; most other boat sites need Open Water.
Sources
- Diving at Rimba Resort — Rimba Resort (Hi-Tide Divers)
- Sea Gypsy Village Resort & Dive Base — Sea Gypsy Village
- Pulau Sibu, Malaysia — GS-Diving
- Tinggi Island — Scubago
- Sibu Island — Wikivoyage
- Sibu Island — Wikipedia
- Johor Bahru — Wikivoyage
- Getting to Rimba — Rimba Resort
- Pulau Sibu — SGMYTaxi
- Best time to visit Sibu Island — Myisland.my
Photo credits
- A black long-spined sea urchin with a pale centre sits on a green-flecked brown coral, seen from above by Wolfgang Ahlmer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A rocky cove with green water below a tree-covered granite headland, with hills on the horizon by Todd Huffman from Phoenix, AZ, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Embed
Run a dive centre, club or blog? Embed this map of 5 dive sites near Sibu & Tinggi Islands on your own page.
Similar destinations
Eighty human figures stand in a ring on the sand off Gili Meno
Walls from 5 m past 60, and a dive base of its own
Coral Triangle
Halmahera — Kusu & Sali Islands
Indonesia
Blacktip reef sharks by day and the endemic Halmahera walking shark after dark.
Sheltered macro bays and current-swept islets from one harbour