DIVING AT RIMBA RESORT
We, at Hi-Tide Divers, have over 20 years combined diving experience around the Pulau Sibu area, and more than 30 years in the dive industry. We will cater to your individual needs, to ensure you have fun, safe, and comfortable dives every time.
We have ‘fringe’ or ‘sloping reef’ dive sites and are found scattered around the neighbouring islands of Pulau Sibu. We are situated in national marine park and have a great range of dive sites to suit different skill levels.
Shore Diving
We can organise daily shore dives on our house reef. Warm temperatures and calm waters make for a fun, relaxed and memorable diving experience.
With a quick swim down the boat channel, you will reach the house reef within minutes!
It is great for those starting off on their diving adventure or for those who want to dive closer to Rimba Resort.
- Shore Dive: RM 80
- Full set equipment rental: RM 45
- BCD only: RM 20
- Regulator only: RM 25
- Mask, snorkel and fins: no charge for divers (full day rental included)
Boat Diving
Our dive team will either organise single or two tank dives for you. This gives you an opportunity to discover dive sites further away from Rimba Resort.
The two tank dive, as the name suggests, involves two dives and two different dive sites.
These dives are great for those looking for more excitement and more of an adventure!
- Single Tank Boat Dive: RM 150
- Two Tank Boat Dive: RM 250
- Full set equipment rental: RM 45
- BCD only: RM 20
- Regulator only: RM 25
- Mask, snorkel and fins: no charge for divers (full day rental included)
Night Diving
Join us for an unforgettable experience on our house reef as dusk turns to dark
Some divers have been fortunate enough to see sea turtles and a black tip reef shark!
Cover your dive torch to experience the glow and sparkle of phosphorescent plankton!
What ever you see, this is always a memorable dive!
- Night Dive: RM 100 (includes underwater torch)
- Full set equipment rental: RM 45
- BCD only: RM 25
- Regulator only: RM 20
- Mask, snorkel and fins: no charge for divers (full day rental included)
OUR MOST POPULAR DIVE SITES
These are just a few of our most popular dive sites. We have over two dozen dive sites surrounding Sibu Island. Each site is interesting and different from the next. Stop by the Hi-Tide dive centre during your stay. You can also contact us to sign up for a dive course or specialty dive course!
Rimba House Reef
Our beautiful fringing reef starts meters away from the beach, it is ideal for both snorkellers of all ages and divers of any certification – from beginner to advanced! You are likely to see parrotfish, sergeant majors, sting rays, anemones (with little “Nemos” hiding inside) and if you are quiet and calm you might even see one or more black tip reef sharks.
The house reef then begins to gradually slope down to 8 – 10 meters. At these depths, the underwater world really starts to come alive as the coral reef structures get bigger and more colourful the further you swim. You will be able to see fusiliers, damsels, pufferfish, eels, and sea urchins… Batfish will follow you around and you might even see an anglefish. The luckiest of guests will even get to see a sea turtle!
Night divers and snorkellers will enjoy discovering the beauty of phosphorescence that glows as you swim around in the water!
In general we experience calm seas and warm waters, but there can be a current when the tide is on its way out. Check in with the dive team who will be able to give you the best advice!
- Maximum Depth: 10 meters
- Minimum Certification: None
- Site entry: Shore or Boat
Barracuda Point
Aptly named after the many barracudas you can see there, Barracuda Point was only discovered in 2014. As the divers were doing their safety stop, a giant barracuda swam right next to them. However, they soon realised there was no longer just a single one, instead, there were over a hundred barracudas surrounding the divers! Hence forth the site has been known as – Barracuda Point.
The reef here shares the same features as Rimba Resort’s house reef. With a maximum depth of 12 meters, Barracuda Point hosts a large quantity of pufferfish, batfish and schooling fusiliers. Barracuda Point is also a muck diving playground, with flatworms, nudibranchs and gobies protecting their blind pistol shrimp mates.
- Maximum Depth: 12 meters
- Minimum Certification: Open Water
- Site entry: Boat
Jefferies Rock
Located just around the north eastern corner of Rimba Resort is a rock that can only be seen during low tides. Divers need to be aware of the strong currents can be found at this dive site.
That being said, it is also a highly rewarding dive. We drop into the shallow waters around the site and work our way down to the deepest point, all the while passing through schools of fusiliers and damsels. We often times see nudibranchs and flatworms as well. When we have luck on our side we can find the barracuda that lives there too. And finally there is a resident three finned turtle here who can make an appearance when you least expect it, but no guarantees!
This is a great drift and macro dive.
- Maximum depth: 10 meters
- Minimum certification: Open Water
- Site entry: Boat
Lima Besar
Lima Besar means ‘Big Five’ in English, as there are five peaks found on this island. This is also one of islands the snorkelling trips goes to. Lima Besar has a large white sandy beach that opens into a little to mangrove forest. For those who are feeling adventurous, you can climb up to the top to see the magnificent views this island has to offer.
The reef is full of life and is only a short swim from the beach. The depth of the reef starts at 2 meters and gradually sloping down to 12 meters as you swim further out. One of Lima Besar’s most notable feature is the anemone gardens. These vast fields of sea anemones are stunning and peaceful to view. Just beyond that you will find the schools of fusiliers and damsels, but keep your eyes open for urchins, pufferfish, and even tiny harmless jellyfish at times. Lima Besar is also home to a rather large green sea turtle, but he is pretty shy so you have to be either very quiet or very lucky to see him.
For divers, the reef on the eastern tip drops to a maximum depth of 18 meters, and this is where you will find the batfish and angelfish (adults and juveniles). You might have to look around for them as they have a tendency to hide. Amongst the schools of damsels and fusiliers, you will also be able to spot pufferfish, stingrays, and nudibranchs.
The beauty of Lima Besar is that no matter where you are or how deep you go, you will be surrounded by all sorts of different fish!
- Maximum depth – 18 meters
- Minimum certification – SCUBA Diver to Open Water
- Site entry – Boat
Mentiggi Island
Like something out of a Malaysian travel magazine, with its white sandy beach and sky blue waters, Mentiggi Island is a hidden gem in the sea. This is the second island the snorkelling trip may go to. You can spend three hours on the island exploring its diverse hard coral reef, or just lying under a tree with a book!
One side of the island is protected by a sand bank creating a sort of natural swimming pool, perfect for kids of any age to play in the shallow water. Since Mentinggi is so small you can actually swim and snorkel all around it. Please be aware there may be a current, but your snorkel guide will be able to tell you all about it. Your guide will also be able to show you where the artificial coral has been planted. The hard coral, which can be found all around the island, is very colourful; and if you are lucky enough you might even spot a few reef sharks. Look for them around the rocky side of the island, as that is where they like to hide!
For divers, Mentiggi’s currents also make for great relaxing drift dives. A resident blacktip reef shark named “Cinder” usually shows her face, but not to fear she is small and shy. Another exciting feature are the old fishing cages, don’t worry the sides are now completely open, and you can usually see a batfish or two hiding in them! These cages are also now home to barracudas, puffer and porcupine fish.
This island is always full of underwater life, and is a favourite with our returning time guests.
- Maximum depth – 7 meters
- Minimum certification – Open Water
- Site entry – Shore or Boat
Nangka Kecil
Found next to Pulau Tinggi, Nangka Kecil is a beautiful display of hard coral reaching its potential. This site is host to massive unscathed coral formations, with a myriad of creatures hiding inside waiting to be discovered.
It is an easy site to dive, and depending on the currents we either dive from the eastern tip drifting westwards or vice versa. Sometimes when timed correctly, there is no current at all.
This site is extremely busy with schools of yellow back and double striped fusiliers. Trevally fish and barracudas can sometimes be spotted prowling above us, while large pufferfish hide under the table corals. If we’re lucky we might get to say hello to a massive black whip tail sting ray which can often times be found lounging on the sandy floor between two coral formations. A dugong has once been spotted on this site, but it has only happened once!
- Maximum depth – 10 meters
- Minimum certification – Open Water
- Site entry – Boat
One Tree Rock
This is a small island on the far eastern side on Pulau Tinggi was creatively named because it has – …well…you guessed it… – only one tree on it!
The island is completely surrounded by hard and soft corals. The closer you are to the island, about 8 meters deep, you will see an abundance of hard coral. As you venture further out, reaching about 15 meters, you will see boulders of hard and soft coral structures teaming with schooling damsels, angelfish, pufferfish, the occasional moray eels and stingrays. As for the macro life, try looking between the vast amounts of colourful soft coral hanging from these structures and you will find up five different species of nudibranchs and flatworms.
The formations you will see around One Tree Rock are truly magnificent. Divers often find themselves stopped in their tracks by a single formation, not wanting to move!
- Maximum depth – 15 meters
- Minimum certification – SCUBA Diver to Open Water
- Site entry – Boat
Sanggol
Sometimes known as “little bay,” because of the small bay on the northern tip of this island where we drop into our dive. From there we descend to 5 meters before swimming our way to the deepest point of 16 meters. From here we either turn east or west to explore the array of soft coral that is layered over the hard coral.
The spectrum of colour found at Sanggol will leave you breathless, from bright yellows, purples, pinks, and even white; it has everything you could wish for. Between these eye-catching structures you can expect to find pufferfish, batfish, eels, cuttlefish, stingrays, angelfish, nudibranchs, and occasionally large bump head parrot fish moving past for a quick snack!
This is a commonly chosen second dive on the two tank trips because of what it has to offer. Towards the end of the dive, you will make your safety stop inside the bay at 5 meters while watching the aquatic life go by until the three minutes are up.
- Maximum depth – 16 meters
- Minimum certification – Open Water
- Site entry – Boat
Pulau Aur
Located 30 nautical miles from Rimba Resort, Pulau Aur is host to some of the best diving in Malaysia. With deeper dives, and great visibility this has become a favourite for all divers. Because of the time it takes to reach Pulau Aur, we only offer this trip as part of a package for groups of 8 or more.
Packages include: food, full set equipment, and the charter boat to Pulau Aur for 3 dives.
Divers must be certified divers, ideally at the level of an Advanced Open Water Diver, as most of the sites are deeper than 18 metres, but a PADI Certified Instructor can be your Dive Buddy for a Deep Adventure Dive so you can experience this adventure even if you do not meet the requirement.
Please contact us for more information and pricing.
- Age: 14+
- Minimum Certification: Advanced Open Water preferred unless accompanied by an Instructor Buddy.
- Please see “Packages Page” for details.
Those with pre-existing medical conditions or over the age of 60+ may need to obtain medical clearance from a physician prior to diving.