It is best to finalize your travel plans from Singapore to Sipadan before your holiday begins.
This will enable you to spend as much time as possible on Sipadan (after obtaining a permit of course), rather than having to waste unnecessary time – up to two days – during transits.
Flight options
Tawau Airport in Sabah, East Malaysia, is the nearest airport to Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai.
At the moment, there are no direct flights from Singapore to Tawau. These are the flight options available for visitors from Singapore to Sipadan:
| Air routes from Singapore to Tawau | |
|---|---|
| Option 1 | Singapore -> Kuala Lumpur (KLIA)-> Tawau |
| Option 2 | Singapore -> Kota Kinabalu (KKIA)-> Tawau |
| Option 3 | Singapore -> Johor Bahru (JHB)-> Tawau |
► Flight prices from Singapore to Tawau
Option 1 – Transit via KLIA (Recommended)
Flying from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur ultimately gives you better chances of boarding a connecting flight to Tawau (~2h 55m) on the same day. Overall, this route is more flexible in terms of flight connectivity options.
Option 2 – Transit via KKIA
If you fly from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu and land after 11.40am, you will likely have to stay a night in Kota Kinabalu in order to catch an early morning flight to Tawau (~55m) the next day.
- No matter which transit option you choose, try to ensure that your connecting flight to Tawau lands at the latest by 2.00pm so that you can then transfer from Tawau to Semporna and onwards to Sipadan on the same day.
- If you land in Tawau after 2.00pm, you will likely have to spend a night in Tawau or Semporna. Late land and sea transfers (after 3pm) from Tawau to Semporna and finally on to Sipadan are not recommended due to factors including safety, logistics and costs i.e. no more buses from Tawau to Semporna.
- If time is on your side, putting up for a night in either Tawau or Semporna is not a bad idea. Tawau is the bigger town of the two but some of Semporna’s attractions are worth exploring. Remember to inform your resort so that they may pick you up from either Tawau or Semporna the next morning to catch the first transfer to Mabul.
► Flight times from Singapore to Tawau
Land & sea transfer
After landing in Tawau, you will have to travel by land for around 1.5 hours to the jetty in Semporna, where you may then hop aboard a speedboat for the ~45-minute journey to Mabul (or the island where you will be based), before finally gaining access to Sipadan.
Your resort/dive operator may include or offer transportation at competitive prices for airport pickup + boat ride to Mabul or the island where you will be staying on, so it is best to check beforehand.
If, however, you will be arranging your own transportation from Tawau to Semporna, please follow this link for more information.
- It is not possible to stay in Sipadan itself. All visitors are brought in by dive operators with Sipadan permits from Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking or Semporna.
► More information on how to get to Mabul Island