Sipadan Water Village Know Before You Go

Transcription

1 Sipadan Water Village Know Before You Go Checked baggage You should check your bags as far along your itinerary as possible. Be careful about all of the new changes and new rules regarding which airlines will transfer bags to other airlines! If the airlines do not transfer bags be sure to schedule a sufficient layover to allow enough time to collect bags and get to the next ticket counter to check the bags again! Immigration No visa is required for entry into Malaysia. Immigration is cleared at your first point of entry into Malaysia. This is generally in either Kuala Lumpur (KL) or Kota Kinabalu (KK). The airline should give each person an immigration card to complete prior to arrival. This card needs to be completed and presented to the immigration officer upon arrival. The officer will keep part of it and return the other part to you. Be sure to keep track of this, as you will need to present it to the immigration officer when you are departing Malaysia. Getting to Tawau Tawau is your final airport destination when traveling to Sipadan Water Village. You need to arrive into Tawau NO LATER than 3pm in order to be transported to the resort on the same day. Arrivals after 3pm will require that you spend the night in Tawau prior to being transferred to the resort. When flying out of Tawau, do not schedule a flight that departs prior to 10am. You will not be able to get to the airport in time for the departure. You would be required to spend the night in Tawau prior to departure. Getting to the Resort You will be met at the airport in Tawau (unless other arrangements have been made) and assisted with your luggage. From Tawau, there is a one-hour drive to Semporna. And, from Semporna there is a 45-minute boat ride to the resort. There are bathrooms and a place to get something to drink in the Tawau airport and also in Semporna. There are three scheduled transfers from Semporna to the resort. They depart at 930am, noon and 4pm. There are also three scheduled transfers from the resort to Semporna. They are at 630am, 10am and 1pm. You cannot get a transfer to the resort after 4pm. And, you cannot get a transfer from the resort prior to 630am. Please schedule flights accordingly! Arrival Orientation Upon arrival at the resort, you will be greeted with a cold towel and a cold drink. They will tell you about the resort, the hours, the rooms, the layout, etc and give you a room key. Someone will take your bags to your room or the dive shop. If you already completed the Registration Form and Dive Application prior to

2 arrival, they will present these forms to you for your signature. If you have not completed them, they will ask you to fill out the forms when you arrive. You will be asked to give them your passport upon arrival. The passport is kept in a safe and will be returned to you when you check out of the resort at the end of your stay. Check In / Check Out - Check in time is at 2pm. If you arrive earlier and the room is available, you will be allowed to check in early. Otherwise, you may store your baggage at the front desk and enjoy the facilities of the resort until your room is ready. Check out time is 1 hour prior to your scheduled departure from the resort. Language Most of the staff at Sipadan Water Village speak English (on some level!). It s always easy to find someone in the front office, the gift shop, the restaurant, the lobby bar and the dive shop that speak English. You will also find staff speaking Malaysian, Japanese and Filipino. And, don t be surprised if you have a few words in Italian, Spanish or French thrown in for good measure! Health there are not any shots required for entry to Malaysia. However, the CDC has some shots that they recommend. These shots are actually recommended in general if you leave the US! This is a list of the shots that are recommended but be sure to check out the website to be sure that have not been any changes to the recommendation. Tetanus Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B Typhoid Japanese Encephalitis only if you will be visiting any farms or if there is an outbreak during the time of your visit. Electricity the electricity throughout Malaysia is 220V. However, there are some small rooms near the dive shop at Sipadan Water Village (SWV) that have 110V outlets. All of the cottages have 220V in them. If you must have 110V then you will want to rent one of these rooms near the dive shop to use for charging 110V accessories. Several people can easily share these rooms if you are traveling with friends/family.

3 Water do not drink the water from the faucets or showers. Water bottles are provided in the rooms. When you have used those, you can refill them (for free) at the lobby bar, the restaurant or the dive shop. Additional water bottles are also available for purchase in the gift shop or at the lobby bar. Water is served with meals in the restaurant. It is purified water and safe to drink. Ice is made from purified water and is safe to eat at the resort. Food the resort offers a variety of food at each meal. If you have any particular dietary requirements, please notify the resort in advance and they will do their best to accommodate you. The Bar there is a lovely and popular bar in the lobby at the resort! It s the social center in the evenings when guests and divemasters can enjoy each other s company and share tales of their UW adventures. There is a TV in the lobby that you can use to show your photos/videos if you wish. The bar has a fair assortment of liquor and beer. Please do not bring alcohol to the resort. There will be a charge if you wish to bring your own. Time Zone all of Malaysia is in UTC +8. Texas (for example) is UTC -6 (or -5 during daylight savings time). The time difference between Malaysia and Texas is 14 hours (or 13 hours during daylight savings time). If it is noon on Monday in Texas, it will be 1am on Tuesday in Malaysia (or 2am during daylight savings time!). Currency the Malaysian currency is the ringgit and is denoted by RM or MYR. A ringgit is divided into 100 sen (cents). You can check a variety of websites online to determine the most current exchange rate. If you use ATM machines, you will find them at the airports in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. The money exchange facilities at the airports are generally your best bet for making currency exchanges. Hotels will generally have a lower rate and are not able to exchange much money at any one time. If you are getting money exchanged at a bank or kiosk, they can only accept clean, current (after 2009) bills with NO marks or tears or that are too worn. Please do not give this type of currency for tips as the recipient will NOT be able to exchange it.

4 Making purchases any purchases made at Sipadan Water Village can be charged to your room. Cash or credit cards can be used to settle your room bill. Do not bring traveler s checks. The resort does not accept American Express. MasterCard and Visa are the best options. If you are paying with cash, please have current bills (nothing printed earlier than 2009). They cannot accept bills with serial numbers beginning with CB, DB or DF. The bills cannot be torn or have marks on them. If you go onto the island and visit the local shops, you will need to pay with cash. Malaysian ringgits are best for the island shops. Phones There are no phones in the cottages at Sipadan Water Village. If you need to use a phone, they are available in the front lobby. If you are calling to the US, dial 001 (area code) (phone number). If someone is calling to Borneo, dial (phone number). Head Office (in Tawau) (or ) Semporna Office Front office at the resort (or / / ) Internet Wireless internet is available in the lobby, restaurant and dive shop. It is not the most reliable service but it is free and it is available most of the time. Tipping Sipadan Water Village has two divisions for tips. There is Tip Box located in the lobby at the front desk and there is a Tip Box in the dive shop. The tips for the dive shop cover the entire dive staff boatmen, divemasters, etc. The tip box in the lobby is for the entire rest of the staff housekeeping, dining, maintenance, etc. These tips are also divided equally among the staff. If you feel the service was good, tip well. If you feel the service was great, tip even better! If you feel that the service was not very good, you are free to not leave a tip. However, please leave your comments with either the front desk or let your agent know what problems you encounter. If they don t know about a problem, they can t correct it. Medical facilities There are no medical facilities on Mabul, Kapalai or Sipadan! If you become ill, they can bring a doctor from Semporna. Or you can be transported (by speed boat) to Semporna. You can also go to Tawau (by boat and car). Or you can go to Kota Kinabalu and beyond (by boat, car and plane)! There is a hospital in Semporna. The nearest recompression chamber is located at the Naval Base in Semporna. Any suspected DCS cases will be sent to the hospital in Semporna for consultation with the doctors and then taken to the chamber for treatment if necessary. The fee for treatment is RM100 (approx. $35USD) to be paid at time of treatment.

5 Trip Insurance It is strongly advised that you purchase trip insurance! There are no refunds for unused portions of your stay and there are no refunds for missed days due to illness, injury, flight delays or schedules. Water Temperature Mabul and the surrounding dive areas enjoy warm water year round! The water temperature is typically 82 o F-84 o F. Weather The weather patterns around Mabul are quite different than those around Kota Kinabalu. So, if you are looking up weather forecasts and see KK, don t think it will apply to Mabul. KK gets considerably more rain that Mabul. Mabul is in the state of Sabah on Borneo. Sabah means land below the wind, meaning that they are out of the typhoon/monsoon belt. While typhoons or monsoons don t hit the Mabul area, Mabul may have increased wind and/or rain if something is happening in nearby areas like the Philippines or Taipei. The rainy season is generally November to April. The dry season is generally May to October. However, it rains year round. This is a very tropical climate. These seasons are more aptly named rainy and rainier seasons. The rains are typically short lived and pass quickly. There is very little change in air temperature throughout the year. Air temps will range from 86 o F to 89 o F! Humidity is generally 80 85%. The resort is not as humid or muggy as it would be on land. Being on the water calms the temperatures and humidity and creates a much more pleasant experience than staying at a resort that is on the island. There are 10 cottages that have AC. These need to be booked early as there is such limited availability. There is a surcharge of $10pp per night for cottages with AC. Diving The resort offers 3 boat dives daily plus shore diving as part of their dive packages. Tanks, weights, weight belts and air fills are included. Other gear is available for rental if needed. Shore diving is available between 6am and 7:30pm each day. All shore dives need to be completed by 7:30pm. All night dives are done from the shore (6:30pm-7:30pm). There are occasionally additional dives offered that sometimes have an extra fee associated. These are not part the regular diving schedule and will be posted in the dive shop.

6 Nitrox is available at the resort for an additional fee. The rate is 35RM per tank and they do not offer weekly packages. All diving should be no-decompression diving. The nearest chamber is a 45-minute boat ride from the resort. And, any suspected DCS cases must first be presented at the hospital prior to going to the chamber. Beach towels are provided in the dive shop. Please leave them at the dive shop don t take them back to your room. Clothing There is no need to dress up. Casual attire is appropriate throughout the resort. However, if you venture onto the island, it is recommended that you wear modest attire out of respect for the local people. Ladies should not wear anything revealing or see-through. Shoes are not required on the island. Shoes are not required at the resort. But it is advised to wear flip-flops or some sort of foot wear for walking on the sidewalks that connect the entire resort. The wood can get quite hot during the middle of the day! Mosquitoes and bugs The resort is fairly free from bugs! The sea breezes tend to keep the mosquitoes away. However, if you venture onto the island, be sure to apply bug repellent! Room amenities All of the cottages have the following amenities: hairdryer, coffee and tea making facilities, mini-fridge, soap, shampoo, conditioner. Towels are provided. Peak Seasons there are 3 times of the year that always very busy at the resort. There is a 10% surcharge for the following dates - Chinese New Year (Jan 27 - Feb 5, 2017 / February 15-25, 2018 / February 2-10, 2019), Chinese National Day (October 1-7, 2017) and the entire month of August. The resort is likely to be at maximum occupancy during these periods. Government Taxes There is a $3.50 per room per night Tourism tax that will be collected in cash at the resort.