Scuba Season
Underwater reef at Mabul
Stable

Mabul

Malaysia · Sabah

Mabul is a tiny sand island off Borneo's east coast that became one of the world's premier muck diving destinations almost by accident — divers staying nearby to access Sipadan discovered the surrounding sand and seagrass was crawling with rare critters. Frogfish, mimic octopus, mandarinfish, blue ring octopus.

How this reef is doing

ⓘ How we measure this

Reef state

Stable

Macro and muck destination — coral cover matters less here than substrate diversity. Critters are unchanged.

Coral cover

45%
LowHealthy
Healthy

Fish life

Not surveyed

Heat

SafeBleaching

Warmer than usual right now, but not hot enough to bleach.

Warming

Fishing

QuietBusy

Some fishing is allowed here, in marked zones.

Limited

Sources · MERMAID and partner coral surveys · NOAA Coral Reef Watch · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity

What you will see

12 species across the dive sites here

Dive sites

What divers say

Sipadan is why people come. Mabul is why they stay an extra week.
— Resort owner

Good to know

Safety advisory

Check current government travel advisories for east Sabah.

Gear & getting wet

  • Basic kit

    • Mask and fins
    • BCD and regulator
    • 3mm shorty or dive skin · warm water
    • Dive computer

  • For specific sites

    • Macro light · Paradise Reef