The surrounding crystal clear turquoise Ocean of Mataking offers a chance for sensational underwater exploration. Gear up and explore 30+ dive sites around the isle; including the nearby Pandanan, Timba-Timba, Bohayan, Kalapuan, Baturua, and Mantabuan islands, as well as Tun Sakaran Marina Park of Bohey Dulang. Various sea animals, vibrant reefs, and gorgeous fishes enriched the rugger natural marine life beneath Mataking's surrounding Ocean. Prepare to encounter some rarity; from charming species of shrimps, pygmy seahorses, enormous barracuda, ribbon eel, to 'Orang Utan' crab which can be occasionally spotted lurking calmly around the depth. With strategic location away from the bustle of city vibe, Mataking's surrounding dive sites are truly matchless in novelty and beauty. From the Mataking Besar Island where the resort is conveniently tucked, or the smallest, uninhabited Mataking Kecil islet, the underwater playground is rich with life, vibrant and definitely worthwhile to explore. Just on the Southern side of Besar's, a place aptly named Garden of Eden offers a sight of gorgeous soft corals, anemones and featherstars, while D'Wall dive site of Mataking Kecil offers a chance for memorable drift dives; containing some of the island's most colorful fishes and marine life. Those are just two of many mores to go! Our driving instructors are certified OWSI (Open-Water Scuba Instructor) by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors); and qualified to host you with several fascinating activities, from discover scuba diving for 2 hours to engaging ‘bubble maker’ program for children. They are fluent in Malay, Chinese, and English as well, so don’t hesitate to bring a non-English speaker and enjoy the immaculate underwater scenery around Mataking! Experience Programs (Including. Equipment) Discover Snorkeling Bubblemaker Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) Additional DSD Dive Courses (Including Equipment, Manual & Certification) Scuba Diver Open Water Diver Referral Adventure Diver Advanced Open Water 1 Adventure Dive (no manual/certification) Emergency First Responder (non-diving course) Rescue Diver Please visit https://www.padi.com/au for course details 

A five-star PADI-approved facility to ensure the convenience of all diver enthusiast, our Dive Center provides good quality rental equipment and licenses with professionally trained instructors, who can fluently speak various languages to accommodate non-English speakers. Visit the center’s Gypsy Café to enjoy a cup of hot drinks or some afternoon snack before hopping in to our comfortable dive boats to enjoy your scenic underwater trip!

Garden of Eden Drawing attention of divers and ‘scuba junkie’ around the globe on regular occasion, Garden of Eden held its reputation as one of the most gorgeous diving sites on Celebes Sea, and all for the right reasons. The bottom side of this sites is lush with vibrant corals; soft and hard alike, resembling a verdant garden of many colors. Arrays of wonderful marine creatures calls this place a home; from morays, barracudas, (lots of) turtles, eagle ray, black tip shark and many more. Exploring Garden of Eden is not only a mere activity, but a privilege and achievement all by itself. Don't miss this one during your blissful getaway at Mataking Resort. Turtle Playground Considered as one of the most fascinating dive spots in Mataking, Turtle Playground—as the name heavily implies, is a place where you can have a memorable experience of swimming along with a gang of green turtles. The depth of this site is varied between 5 to 30 meters, but the moderate level of current make it easy and safe to explore. Expect to see other magnificent fishes, shrimp, eels and astonishing hard corals on your visit as well. Shipwreck Offering a unique exploration point for underwater enthusiast, The Wreck draws the attention of marine creatures to gather and nest upon the glorious wooden ruins. Dive deeper around the area to discover large groupers, parrotfish, sweet lips, lionfish, clownfish, wrasses, nudibranch, gobies, sea turtles, or stick on the shallower part to play around with a school of magnificent damsel. House Reef Also known as ‘Jetty’, House Reef is a favorite spot for marine 'cool kids' to hang out and about: mullets, goatfish and big resident barracuda called 'Charlie', which can be frequently seen chilling above a school of jacks. Finding Nemo's famous clown fish also casually drop in every now and then between its vibrant and healthy coral fields, as well as several basslet, dottyback, anthias and eels. Introduce yourself to all of them! Stingray City (Timba Timba) Situated just few clicks away from Mataking islets, the island of Timba-Timba is known for its pristine beach and vibrant ecosystem underneath its surrounding waterworld. Dive in to encounter some of the rarest marine life on the area; enormous cuttlefish, sea snakes, nurse shark, lobster, colorful coral trout and moray eels. Turtle sighting are guaranteed on each visit. Dive deeper and you may bump into a wonderfully-named Stingray City; where you can witness a school of majestic stingrays gliding effortlessly around the blue. Frog Fish Farm (Pandanan) For those who crave for shallow dive experience, the area around Pandanan Island would be a perfect spot to go. You may witness lines of amazing corals on its shallow reef, as well as good macro life like sea slugs and nudibranch, gobies, crabs and shrimps and jaw fish. This spot is also known as a habitat for the elusive frog fish, which blends really well with the environment on the sandy bottom. Try to tag and snap their picture for your precious collection!    

In March 2006, the resort sank an old cargo ship as part of our conservation program. There are only 5 similar underwater post offices in the world. This is the First and only one in Malaysia. The “MATAKING 1” is an old 40 foot wooden cargo ship used at the resort during the early days. The ship has not been used since and the owner decided to sink it at their famous house reef in front of the resort. This will create an artificial reef, which will attract many tropical reef fishes. The wreck will become a home for other incredible marine creatures, which are plentiful abound, in the clear tropical waters surrounding the spectacular island. A mail box was placed on the front section of the shipwreck wheel. Divers can buy a postcard at the resort’s gift shoppe and place it in a special sealed waterproof plastic postal bag. Divers can now post their letter underwater. A special rubber stamp was designed to depict this unique postal service. The mail box will be cleared twice a week for delivery.

A special program for snorkeling activity, Marine Bio Adventure of Mataking Resort will allow you to safely explore the underwater beauty accompanied by a Marine Bio Expert, who would more than happy to provide you with live information about the Ocean inhabitant you’ve come across during your exploration. Gain an adventurous holiday moment and precious knowledge all at once!

For the true big fish fan, dive trips to world-renowned Sipadan Island can be arranged. A day trip excursion from Mataking with 3 dives on Sipadan’s reefs will explain to you why the island has been rated as one of the top dive sites in the world. Find unique attractions from the Green and Hawksbill Turtles in Sipadan. Seen literally on every dive and very used to divers, they will just ignore you and let you take their photographs even at the closest distance. A day trip visit to the world renowned island- Sipadan Island. Both Snorkelers and Divers are welcome. With 80 minutes boat ride from Mataking Island, you will truly amazed by the diversity and quantity of fish in this Marine Park. (i) Sipadan trip is available for our guests with a minimum of stay of 4 days and 3 nights as well the Sipadan permits are subject to availability. (ii) This boat fee can be shared with other guests (if any) upon permit approval (maximum of 6 guests in one boat because we only provide 6 permits per day). (iii) Minimum diving certification required to dive at Sipadan Island: Advanced Open Water (AOW).           Boat Fee:   + Permit Fee:   No. of Person Price Per Guest Particular Price Per Guest 1 Guest RM 1,200 per person (i) Local Snorkeler RM50 per person 2 Guests RM 600 per person (ii) Local Diver RM300 per person 3 Guests RM 400 per person (iii) International Snorkeler RM100 per person 4 Guests RM 300 per person (iv) International Diver RM450 per person 5 Guests RM 260 per person     6 Guests RM 230 per person       * All prices will be subjected to 8% Sales & Services Tax (SST) * Example calculation on Sipadan fee with 2 pax participant for the trip of the day:    -1 pax International snorkeler: RM 600 (boat fee) + RM100 (permit fee) = RM700 per person    -1 pax International diver: RM600 (boat fee) + RM450 (permit fee) = RM1,050 per person   Trip Schedule (2 dives @ Sipadan Island per day) 07:00hrs - Breakfast at Restaurant 07:30hrs - Boat transfer to Sipadan Island 09:00hrs - Expected arrival at Sipadan Island and report to Sabah Park. 1st dive / boat snorkelling10:30hrs - Estimated 2nd dive / boat snorkeling 12:00hrs - Lunch (packed from resort) 13:30hrs - Estimated 3rd dive / boat snorkeling at Mabul Island 15:00hrs - Boat transfer back to Mataking Resort 16:30hrs - Expected arrival back to Mataking Resort *Kindly contact Sales Office for permits availability   Cancellation for Sipadan Day Trip/Excursion In the event of cancellation, the following cancellation shall applies: (i)   5 days before guests' arrival/check-in date: Free of charge (ii)  4 days to arrival date: Permit fee shall be charged (iii) Upon signing of the Sipadan Agreement Form upon check-in: Boat fee + permit fee shall be charged (Boat fee will be charged according to the number of persons on that specific date)   Note: (1) Due to the recent ruling management of Sabah Park which has a restricted daily quota, all guests must apply permit in ADVANCE (preferably 1 MONTH before arrival) on a First Come First Serve basis to secure the limited permit being shared by all the resort operators at the same region. (2) Please be informed that the current permit is NON REFUNDABLE (subject to latest permit fee and Sabah Park changes). (3) This special arrangement for charter trip requires an additional boat fees of RM 1,380.00 per boat. This boat fee can be shared with other guests (if any) upon permit approval (maximum 6 guests in one boat). (4) All types of activities being offered by the company on the island especially dive activities / Sipadan trip is subjected to bad sea, weather conditions / poor visibility and also diver's own physical abilities (e.g.: injuries, intoxication, hangovers and etc). Therefore, we reserve the final decision and rights to either proceed or abort any activities / dives for any safety reasons. (5) It takes 80 minutes of speed boat ride to get to Sipadan Island from Mataking Island. (6) The Sipadan Agreement Form will be given out to ALL confirmed Sipadan participants upon arrival at reception hall during registration, the purpose of the agreement form is to verify Sipadan charges (as in permit fee and boat fee).(7) Resort reserve the rights to revise / change / charge the customer for additional costs rendered.   How long a Diver has to wait before flying after diving? Staying at ground level before going to altitude is like doing a decompression stop. Deeper and longer dives will leave with more residual nitrogen, thus requiring a longer pre-flight surface interval. The time the diver should wait relates directly to the pattern of diving completed. We recommend a general practice of allowing a surface interval of 24 hours or more before flying after diving. This should bring reasonable peace of mind and help to provide a buffer for unexpected problems, like a loss of cabin pressurization during flight. Ultimately, it is better safe than sorry and the resort offers other activities to entertain or relax for the final day.

For those non-divers who still wish to enjoy the wonderful marine life around Mataking, our experienced instructors will gladly assist you; just tell our merry team of dive master or dive guides whenever you wish to glide around enjoying the magnificent marine life on the shallower part of the gorgeous water! Some of the most favorite snorkeling spots located on close proximity to Mataking such as The Jetty; which houses school of jacks, barracuda named ‘Charlie’, and variety of turtles.

The diversity of white sandy beaches around Mataking Island calls for an island-hopping exploration. Arrange a full day tour with our staffs and enjoy the scenic vista of tropical haven beyond our lavish resort: the island of Timba-Timba, Pandanan and Bohey Dulang to enjoy its rugged land and sea beauty first-hand before you jump in and explore the vast marine kingdom beneath. Snorkeling activity is possible during this pleasant trip, so feel free to ask for an instructor or dive master to accompany you. We can also arrange a brief hiking trip to the breathtaking Sunken Volcano around Bohey Dulang, so don't forget to bring your hiking shoes and camera along!  Bohey Dulang is the second-largest island among the Tun Sakaran Marine Park archipelago. Once you manage to get up there,  you will be mesmerized by the awesome view and it is thoroughly worth the climb!

Wish to enjoy an adventurous sea activity without getting wet? Mataking Resort also provide a memorable kayak activity; especially for non-divers, elders and little ones alike. Get on the stylish ‘bottomless’ transparent boat—available in one or two pax capacity, and row across the calm Ocean surface as you go on a trip to explore the surrounding sea of the uninhabited, forest-filled Mataking Kecil island.