Scubaholics — Local services in Borneo

Coming from a family of divers, where both my parents are PADI instructors, I have a different perspective on the overly positive feedback here. It seems a bit suspicious when a service provider gets 100% perfect scores.

Here are some things to consider:

Booking and Communication: Initially, the service seemed good. The owner was quick to respond and helped us find my son's PADI certificate. The crew was friendly and helpful.

Booking Agreement: We were a group of six, and we booked snorkeling for some and diving for others for two days. The plan was clear: the first day, we would go to Mataking, and the next day, I would go to Sipadan while the rest had another snorkeling trip.

Unexpected Changes: Upon our arrival, the dive master confirmed our plan for both days and later spoke with the owner, who insisted that my daughters couldn't opt out of any of their snorkeling trips, even if they were feeling sick (note: booking here is fully non-refundable, which is ok if clearly communicated upfront).

Booking Miscommunication: However, the next morning when I arrived for the Sipadan trip, the staff claimed there was no booking for my family. After contacting the owner, he abruptly ended the conversation by saying "this is our last conversation." Thankfully, my family found another dive shop for their second snorkeling trip.

Equipment Issues: The shop didn't provide fins that cover your feet in booties, even for Sipadan, which is known for strong currents. This resulted in painful blisters on both my feet.

Wetsuit Concerns: Initially, they only offered short wetsuits, and I had to insist on getting a long one. The importance when of long suits become obvious when a fellow diver got badly scratched on her leg during a Sipadan dive because of the inadequate protection.

Equipment Maintenance: The equipment appeared to need maintenance. All our first stage regulators were leaking, and one of the dive masters had to make an emergency ascent due to a failing regulator.

In summary: Crucial equipment, like regulators, is not well-maintained. They don't provide bootie fins or long wet suits unless you insist strongly. Communication is a big problem. I'll come back, but I'll definitely choose a...

Planned our first trip to Semporna for 4 days of fun dive. Initially was a bit nervous as we have heard how semporna dive may be challenging for divers due to currents and we are relatively new to diving as well.

Despite my pre-dive nervousness, my heart was settled and calm after I met my dive shop peeps. I really enjoyed every dive with Scubaholics as I am fitted for my gears properly. From BCD, to regulators, shorties to fin sizes, you name it, the dive shop really takes the safety and comfort of their clients seriously.

We also had a sufficient space on our boat for our equipement and personal space. We enjoying the chats and new friends we met on the days of our dives. Sharing stories of the Islands and history of Sabah as well as that of our own countries.

As new AOW divers, our dive guides ken enhanced the diving experience so much. We felt so safe diving with him, getting our pictures taken, seeing how he planned the trips as much as possible and bring us to the dive sites we requested to go as much as possible. He helped us to see the micro and macro things underwaters and really made it like an adventure where we explore all around underwater on our own as long as we stick closed to him. He constanly checks on us and also allow us try out practicing our skills such as deploying of our SMB, playing with buoyancy, drift diving etc.

Overall, the experience was amazing, even though all 4 days was in semporna alone, but everyday is an adventures for me personally and will definitely come back here again to dive again!

Thank you for making my first trip and dives in Semporna such a unforgettable one....

We booked 2 days with Scubaholics and had an incredible experience all round. Ken, the owner, is one of the most experienced divers in Semporna (has been instructing locally since the 90’s) and was professional, friendly and helpful with planning our dives.

Richard, our local guide was calm, kind, funny and made us feel safe in the water - he even took some amazing GoPro footage for us (as we didn’t have an underwater camera), and helped us spot lots of aquatic life, including an octopus! 🐙

What we appreciated most was that Scubaholics are actively against single-use plastic and operate a low-to-no plastic policy. They bring clean reusable cups on board (for a coffee break) and one large canister of clean water for drinking/‘showering’ after each dive (rather than single-use water bottles etc.)

Unfortunately this is not the case for the majority of diving companies in Semporna who use a HUGE amount of single use plastic (bottles, straws etc.) on every diving trip, contributing towards the horrendous plastic problem that you can see as soon as you enter the marine region.

If you are an eco-conscious tourist who cares about the ecosystems that you’re visiting we 110% recommend Scubaholics over the other diving companies in the area.

Thanks Ken & Richard for memories that will last a...