Entrance to Mataking Island Reef Dive Resort
From Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), the flight to Tawau will take approximately 50 minutes. The best seat on the plane? Of course on the left side, because the plane will fly by Mount Kinabalu and you can see how majestic and beautiful it is.
For Mataking Resort, there are 3 boat transfer daily, the last one will be around 4.30 pm in the evening. There is no boat transfer later than that due to the ESSCOM dust-to-dawn curfew in order to curb cross-border kidnapping and other crimes. If you reach Tawau Airport before or by 2 pm, you can still catch the last boat transfer of the day, later than that you will have to stay a night at Tawau town and go to the resort on the next day. Driving from Tawau Airport to Tawau town will take about 35 minutes, with distance of 31 km. You can get taxi or Grab, which cost about RM30 for Grab.
Quick tips : If you're staying at Mataking Island Reef Dive Resort and you reach Tawau the day before and staying overnight at Tawau town, you can book their hotel which cost around RM100- RM150 per room per night and you can get a free land transfer from the airport to the hotel.
We stay overnight in Tawau town before heading to the resort the next day. The bus pickup time is around 7 am and it takes about 2 hours to reach the Semporna Jetty. From the jetty, it will take another 45 minutes boat transfer to Mataking island.
Restaurant (left) and bar (right). A view from the jetty.
We reached the resort before noon, after check-in we were leads to the dining hall where we can finally relax and enjoy our trip.
Front beach
Front beach
I did my first snorkel in Mataking island during my first visit on 2015, it was a very enjoyable snorkel. The water are clear, we spotted a few turtles and a lot of fishes. Although, I have not been a good swimmer and the divemaster holds my hand and dragged me all the time.
The turtle of Mataking. Picture taken during the first trip on 2015.
I did my first dive (Discover Scuba Dive) during my second visit on 2017, and honestly as someone who is terribly terrified of water, I did not enjoy the dive at all! The divemasters and instructor were kind enough (and good enough to convince me to do DSD), that they managed to make me change my mind and do my first dive. I admire my divemaster, Shukree for having such patience with me, and for being responsible to take care of me and literally dragged me all the way during the dive. We spotted few turtles along with some other fishes I can't really name, other than a nemo and their host. It has been a great adventure for me, eventhough all the time all I did was trying to calm myself, trying very hard to remember how to breathe, and try not to die underwater. Thankfully, I am still alive thanks to the divemaster who really take good care of me. I remember how relief I am when we finally get into the boat, I almost throw up.
The rest of the stays are well spent by playing around the resort.
Sunset view from the front beach
Sunset view from the front beach
We stay in Semi Detached Beach Chalet for 3 days.
The chalet are facing the beach at the back, where at 6 am you can see the sun rise from the horizon.
The navy jetty. No access beyond this point.
The army watchpoint, is on the right side of the back beach, around 100 meter away.
During the last day, we check out at 12 pm and take the last boat transfer to the Semporna jetty at around 2 pm.
SIPADAN PERMIT
If you're planning to stay at Mataking resort with Sipadan in mind, you need to stay a minimum stays of night (I am not quite sure, its around 4 days or more) to get a guaranteed Sipadan permit. The boat from Mataking will depart around 7 am and it takes about 90 minutes to reach Sipadan island.
SECURITY
How safe is Semporna coastline and the surrounding islands? I've been to Mataking island twice, Mabul island twice and Sipadan once. I come back all alive!
There are ESSCOM, marine, navy, police and army everywhere.
There is even army base in Mataking resort, located at the other side of the island.
With thousands of tourist coming to Tawau and Semporna every months, the government has taken a great measure to provide a worry-free vacation to the tourist.
HOW TO GET THERE?
1. Contact your local travel agent. Confirm your date of stay.
2. Buy a flight ticket.
Never ever buy a flight ticket, then book your resort. High chance are that they're full during your preffered date. The resort are always almost full with peak season on August. Always book your stay 6 months in advance to avoid dissapointment.
There are lot of travel agent in Sabah that can take you there, you can check some of their website here;
1. Sipadan.com
2. Mabul.com
3. Mataking.com
Alternatively, you can just google or check the Sabah tourism board.
1. Sabah Tourism Board
LINK
1. Heritage Hotel Tawau
2. Sipadan.com
3. Mabul.com
4. Mataking.com
5. Sabah Tourism Board
6. ESSCOM (Eastern Sabah Security Command)
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