Mabul

In the Celebes sea about one hour by boat south of Semporna lies the small island of Mabul. This has a slim oval shape and can be walked around in less than one hour. Following the Accommodation ban on Sipadan, the resorts on Sipadan resettled to Mabul island island which is very close to Sipadan. While these resorts are very expensive. there is cheap Accommodation (Uncle Chang for instance) on the western side of the island.
In addition to the resorts on Mabul there is a small fisherman village on the western side of the island. Here is where the sea gipsies have settled down. The village has an own school. Except for the beach of the Sipadan mabul resort, the island has no good beaches, because everywhere else the sea water is too shallow and you have to wade through the corals to reach the deep sea. In addition there are very strong currents around Mabul, especially west of Mabul, which make swimming an ardous task. Mabul is therefore only suitable as a basis for divers who want to explore the nearby diving sites. The seawater immediately surrounding Mabul has poor visibility.