A great resort for scuba divers, the Kapalai Dive Resort in Malaysia is outfitted to treat scuba diving enthusiasts with several different diving experiences. You'll also note that this medium sized resort is ocean based, with no on-land rooms to vacation in. Because this resort is for the ocean minded, you'll that find kayaking, snorkeling, and scuba diving are the main things to do here, as well as excursions to off-site scuba diving areas. Rooms here aren't on the luxurious side, but do come with all of the basic comforts, as well as world class ocean views.
Though the resort advertises to honeymooners, if you're looking for peace and quiet, without the presence of tour groups, you'll want to look into another resort. If you don't care about the possibility of large groups of people and are focused on scuba diving, then this resort is a good choice.
The Kapalai Dive Resort is located a few minutes away from the islands of Sipadan and Mabul in Malaysia and is situated on the Kapalai sand bar in the Celebes Sea.
Water Villas
There is no spa on-site.
To reach the Kapalai Dive Resort, you’ll fly to Tawau from either Kota Kinabalu, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Then you’ll be picked up at the airport after arrival and thus transferred to Semporna. After that, you’ll board the resort’s speedboat for a 40 minute ride to the resort itself.
The reviews for the Kapalai Dive Resort are honestly, very mixed. Some travelers praise the resort at every turn and have nothing but great things to say, while others report a lot of problems, or issues. Divers and guests who have positive things to say talk about how the resort has everything you could need for a solid diving vacation, and how the on-site dive shop is a one stop shop. The rooms are also praised by the same people who detail them as clean, comfortable, and with fanatic views of the ocean from both inside and outside on the private deck.
The staff is labeled as nice, but the service is detailed as lacking by a few past guests, and others agree that the food isn’t the greatest, but still good enough. This resort also gets a lot of tour groups, and guests agree that this may not be the best resort for visitors seeking a quiet, relaxing vacation. With that said, however, most reviewers say that the Kapalai Dive Resort is a destination dive resort that’s worth it for scuba diving enthusiasts.
