Scuba Junkie Mabul Beach Resort

I highly recommend a holiday with Scuba Junkie! We stayed for 6days (5nights) and we have nothing to complain. Everything went so smoothly and was well organized. We had a deluxe ac room, which was extremely comfortable and tidy. The food was tasty and there was plenty of variety. Even for a vegan like myself, there was always some sort of tofu, tempeh, etc served. I do recommend you bringing some snacks, since the time between lunch and dinner is quite long. We did three dives a day (plus one night dive) and the wait after the third dive was a tad long. There are some pastries you can snack on. The diving was exceptional at best. They highly prioritize eco-friendliness in diving and at the resort. The day we arrived we went almost straight to diving, and did three dives at Mabul island. The next four days we went to Sipadan for two dives, and the third we did somewhere on the way back to the resort. Bring a drybag with you, or buy one at the resort, since everything will get wet in the boat :) also if you get cold easily and do repeated dives, I’d recommend you bring your own long wetsuit or a heat vest, because they only have a few longs available, and usually the ones going early get them. When diving in Sipadan, make sure you go to Barracuda point. It is an amazing divesite, with pristine coral and regular encounters with massive schools of barracuda and bumphead parrotfish to name a couple. The surface interval at Sipadan is 90minutes, so you can chill at the island, get some coffee and eat lunch there. There are plenty of friendly cats waiting for cuddles at Sipadan island. I’d also recommend bringing a pair of earplugs, ’cause there are some roosters living near the resort, and they sang their songs at 5am. We weren’t too bothered, ’cause we got up early anyways, but just a heads up if you’re wishing to get a sleep in :) There is a little shop at the resort, where they sell t-shirts, hoodies, some small diving equipment like tank bangers and such. There is also a bar in the resort and at the jetty, where you can get deco beer after dives :) All in all, book your holiday now and thank yourself later. It is amazing!

We spent four nights at the scuba junkie Mabul beach resort and it was just incredible. Very well organised and the entire resort is so environmentally conscious. The trip formed part of our honeymoon and on arrival, our bed was made up extra specially which added even more to our trip! All the staff are brilliant and the food always delicious with plenty to choose from. The diving was so well organised- we were so well looked after with our equipment being set up for us and bought over when we were ready to go in the water. We kept being told we were on holiday and to just relax- it was just perfect! The dive guides were also all fantastic and a special mention goes to Smiley! He was genuinely the best guide I have ever had whilst diving- he was funny, an excellent fish spotter and had such incredibly knowledge of all the marine life. I also really liked the fact that it was a maximum of 4 divers per guide which made for a lovely and personal experience. We will certainly either come back to the Scuba Junkie Sipadan resort or otherwise try one of the other locations! Thank you to everyone at Scuba Junkie.

It was almost perfect to have stayed at SJ Mabul resort 1. Staff was professional, helpful. From I sent email inquiry to help arrange logistics to check in. It was well organized, made my whole trip wonderful 2. I stayed at the AC room, close to the canteen/bar; food was just what you could expect from an island that is remote from mainland, but u get the meat, fresh fruits, desserts, and fresh coffee every morning-which is def a must before diving. Room was clean. 3. In addition to diving, can always chill at the second floor bar area-they have a nice archive of books, also can walk around the island-it is really small. I went jogging, 1.5 km a lap for the whole island. But can get a peak of how the local folks live 4. I had 4 days fun dive, had good experience interacting with different DMs and boat capitans. They are all very helpful, professional. Most of all, i appreciate their environmental awareness and always reminding me to be a responsible diver-no silly attempts when we are in the ocean. and at the Sipadan days, the DM would ask every diver where they have been previously(if any), to make sure the divers got the most of the view-esp the permit fee, and only two dives per day per diver. It was very considerate 5. I was witnessing the hutch of hundreds of baby turtles-it was a life experience. It was so nice the crew would knock at everyone's door to ensure ppl get to see it. It was also such a great approach for SJ as a dive center to help protect the marine life as best as possible I def would come back, and in fact i have booked my next dive with SJ Penida. because of how much i appreciate SJ's efforts of making the experience amazing. Thank you to the team.

We stayed for a week at Scuba Junkies and had a great time. We are a family of 3 generations and Scuba made a perfect program for the week for everybody. The staff is great. And then al the activity under water!!!!! We saw a lot of fish and turtles. Recommend a day at Sipidan - so butifull.

Before I booked, it was a bit of a struggle to get in contact with them. But finally I managed to get a contact and from there on, everything went very smooth. The resort is well organized, before and during the stay. You get extensive information on the pickup and the stay. You can book a pickup from Tawau Airport, but we came from Sepilok and booked a private transfer on our own with their sister company River Junkie. So we were more relaxed to get in time at the dive shop in Semporna. Transfer to Mabul by private boot is twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon and is included in the booking. At arrival we got information on the resort, the dive shop, the restaurant, bar, etc. We booked a VIP AC room, which had a nice view on the dive shop, the beach and the ocean. The room was spacious, nicely decorated, basically equipment, but more than enough for our one week stay. We also had a lovely patio with comfortable chairs which were also loved by the resort cats :) There is no daily cleaning, but you can request your cleaning (basic or all) at the reception by handing in one of the cards in your room. The resort is a real dive resort, besides diving there is nothing but the bar, restaurant and a small shop. The training location for water open water training is in the front of the dive shop in a secluded area of the ocean. The restaurant was open on fixed hours, but there was always possibility to get water, tea and coffee. The food was basic but delicious and with the large tables you get easily in contact with other divers. The diving itself was also well organized. Every evening you know the planning of dive sites. We got our own gear and got a spot to keep our gear overnight. Boots were well maintained. Depending on the location we had lunch on the island or we came back to the resort. In our package we also had 3 days of Sipadan, which is well protected and even closed for recovery in November. If you are lucky, you can visit the freshly hatched turtles in the turtle hatchery on the island. The staff also needs to be mentioned. They were very friendly and helpful. Overall we had a nice stay, if you plan to go, book well in advance, it's value for money as this is a resort for divers, by divers.