Dive Review of Kapalai Water Village in
Malaysia

Other Malaysia reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Kapalai Water Village, Aug, 2008, by Gregg Witkin, CA, USA ( 1 report). Report 4617.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Resort was amazing, safe, friendly and all about diving. There is only one problem that is a glaring one and that is the permit system that is now implemented. We were lucky to have 2 dives per day at Sipidan (I believe Kapalai gets a majority of the permits) while we heard of other divers who had been there for a week and had only one dive. Food was relatively bland, but there were always great breakfast selections to get ready for a full day of diving. One divemaster was not very knowledgeable and took us into a very unsafe current dive (tried to make us swim up current) and we had to hold onto our regs in order not to lose them. At one point, I had to gather very scared other divers and then swim up to the head of the group to tell the DM we were turning around to find shelter behind rocks as teh currents threatened to wash several divers down current and seperate the group. He seemed to not be cognisant of others. We did not see or dive with him at all the rest of our trip (thankfully). One thing they could have done better was to let those who have not dived big walls in on how to not get swallowed up by a big down current (there were several dangerous ones we encountered). But it is the diver's responsiblity to be well trained.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Costa Rica, Channel Island, Monterey
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	75-85°F / 24-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No Deco Diving, no solo diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Dive boats were cramped so all gear must be held in lap, no fresh water tanks on board, but plenty of camera help back at the resort. The only problem we encountered was too many photographers on one dive boat, made the entry exit very very difficult due to all the equipment (I contributed to this clutter though). It was manageable and it worked out alright, but it could be a bit tough for those not lugging cameras.

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 85 dive reviews of Malaysia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

All Malaysia Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Malaysia
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

Want to assemble your own collection of Malaysia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home

Page computed and displayed in 0.12 seconds

Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email. And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent
Get a free monthly email and a sample issue!

Dive Review of Kapalai Water Village in Malaysia

Kapalai Water Village, Aug, 2008,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Kapalai Water Village in
Malaysia