Sipadan · boat
The Drop-off
Editorial plate — compiled from published sources, not yet confirmed by a verified diver. Dived here? Verify this plate.
Sipadan Island, Sabah
4.11500°N, 118.62800°E
Sipadan's signature wall, starting metres from the beach and plunging some 600 m, busy with turtles, jacks and reef sharks.
- Depth
- —
- Vis
- 10–30 m
- Current
- mild
- Health
- Unscored
Typical 25 m
26–30 °C
Awaiting verified ratings
- Geo (surface approx.)
- 4.11500°N, 118.62800°E
- Entry / access
- boat
- Difficulty
- advanced
Approximate position from published sources.
The reef edge lies only a few metres off the beach in front of the old jetty, and the wall then drops about 600 m into the Celebes Sea. Turtles are everywhere, jacks often school within minutes, and sharks and bumpheads patrol the face. Once dived from the beach, it is now a boat dive, and the Turtle Tomb entrance is on this wall. Sabah Parks permit rules apply.
Advanced Open Water (Sabah Parks permit minimum)
- Best season
- Year-round; Mar–Jul and Oct–Dec most settled
- Last reviewed
- 20 Oct 2026 by editorial
Hazards
- medium · Bottomless wall; watch depth
Marine life
Typical: green turtle, hawksbill turtle, bumphead parrotfish, bigeye trevally, whitetip reef shark, grey reef shark, napoleon wrasse, batfish
Durable site rating
Multi-axis score
Separate axes — not one vague star, and not today's water. Public rollup is the 0 verified ratings on this plate. This is not a community count.
No verified ratings on this plate yet. Self-declared scores stay off it until a centre attests the author.
File today's conditions — timestamped, separate from this score.
Checking verification…
No verified snapshot yet. Public rollup uses verified reports only. Typical conditions above are the encyclopedia baseline, not today's water. Report today's conditions.
Condition reports
What it was like — no verified reports yet.
No verified reports yet.
File a snapshot after the dive. It stays on this device until a centre verifies you.
Report today's conditionsLiving record
Change log — no attributed edits yet.
Structured field edits, named and attributed. Anyone can read. Phase 1: published on submit · centre-verified authors only. There is no staff moderation queue — this log is the record.
0 attributed edits on this plate
Checking verification…
Questions people search
Is The Drop-off suitable for beginners?
advanced — Advanced Open Water (Sabah Parks permit minimum)
Sources
- Sipadan dive sites · Dive The World
Supports: visibility, waterTempC, level, bestSeason, marineLife, entry
- Sipadan Drop-Off · PulauMabul.com
Supports: depth, marineLife, notes
- The Drop Off · dive.site
Supports: depth, level, marineLife
- Tighter restrictions for visiting Sipadan · X-Ray Magazine
Supports: minCert, notes
Where sources disagree
Dive The World calls it a night-dive spot, but its own permit section says night diving is banned. Annual closure is reported as November (Zublu, 2023) vs December (South East Asia Diving).
Related sites
Other advanced plates in Sipadan.
Durable multi-axis scores sit on the rating plate. File a timestamped condition report, CoralWatch colour, or debris card on today's report. Public averages stay verified-only. Book at an Andaman dive centre.