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The Lagoon is also a worth while dive for macro life. Sea hares and a large variety of colorful shrimps and crabs are common. The entry point can be just off the resort pier making it an ideal night dive location. Fin calmly as there is a lot of very fine light silt.

The reef itself is so well preserved in such gin clear waters, it is simply stunning. The resort has great accommodation and food with a very attentive crew. Having the naval base right next to the resort also ensures safety in today's security conscious environment. All this makes for a very memorable and safe dive vacation away from the buzz of modern life.




Rooms are air conditioned and quite well appointed for an "in the middle of nowhere place"; it would be about equivalent to a 3 star hotel. Storage space is very limited, but for divers who bring maximum gear and minimum clothes it is more than adequate.

Left: Layang Layang soft coral.

The bathrooms are small with fresh water shower, there is no bathtub. To conserve fresh water, the water supply is turned off during certain hours of the day. If fresh water is needed, just go to the dive center shower, somehow there always seems to be fresh water there with the best water pressure. If diving has a higher priority over everything else, it would be worth while to ask for rooms closer to the dive center. It is so much easier to shower, change clothes, wash camera and change film in the clean, cool environment of the room. However being close to the dive center, means there will be more noise from traffic and machines.

Being in the Monsoon belt and in the middle of the unprotected South China Sea, Layang Layang is very dependent on the weather. The wet monsoon comes around October and ends in late January. This would not be a good time to visit Layang Layang, in fact, the resort is closed during the heaviest part of the monsoon. Around March, the Hammerheads come up to the shallows to mate, and other pelagics like whale sharks also visit the area. Hence March is the busiest time to be at the resort.

Kota Kinabalu has a modern yet laid back, small town atmosphere. Since the flight to Layang Layang is 6:30 am, an overnight stay is usually required. Kota Kinabalu has big 5 star hotels like ShangriLa (Tanjung Rhu) and Hyatt, both of which are not far from the airport. The ShangriLa is slightly closer. Another nice hotel is the Promenade Hotel in the heart of the city. Right next to the Promenade is a very nice open air seafood restaurant that serves inexpensive local style seafood. Just off shore, there is a group of islands in the Abdul Rahman National Park, diving can also be arranged at these islands. The Layang Layang passenger van arrives around 6:00 am at the hotel.

School of Snappers

At that time of the morning, the airport is only 15 to 20 minutes away. The next stop is at the private plane passenger terminal. This is very close to the International and Domestic Terminals. Being a small twin propeller plane, everything has to be weighed including passengers. Besides loading passengers, food supplies, service spares, consumables… all that is needed to run a resort will also be transported. This is probably the reason why lodging and diving costs are higher here compared to other Malaysian resorts. Not only does everything need to be flown in, the garbage has also to be flown out too.

So when visiting Layang Layang, remember to bring along all that maybe needed. Once there, you will have to "make do" or be at the mercy of the goodwill of your fellow divers for forgotten lost, or broken items.

For more question, please contact Dive Global or visit the Layang Layang Web site.

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