Mataking Island and Pom Pom Island Trip, Semporna

Semporna has getting famous every single day and you would not be surprised to find all the Chinese tourists flooding the entire small town. The recent news about the kidnapping case by Abu Sayyaf (Philippines Extremists) did make an impact to scare off some of the tourists but what have known from some of the Chinese tourists, they were afraid but the islands are just too beautiful for them to ignore the possible threat. Frankly speaking, Malaysia did a very good job by having a lot of marine forces around the tourist islands. They have built camps on every each of the famous islands such as Sipadan, Pom Pom Island, Boheydulang Island, Mantabuan Island, Sibuan Island, Mabul Island, Kapalai Island and Mataking Island. All these islands are heavily defended compared with my previous visit in 2013. As you can see from the above picture, you will see this Mataking Besar Island is defended by 2 high power marine boats. The most heavily defended island is Mabul Island since that island is the biggest and with locals living on that island. So as a Malaysian, please stop spreading negative rumors about how dangerous is Semporna when you haven't even been here to witness it yourself. Shame on you as a Malaysian.

Mataking is land is divide into 2 islands which are Mataking Besar and Mataking Kecil. They are connected by a beautiful sand bank. You definitely wouldn't want to miss this amazing Island. The resort is only available at Mataking Besar. I highly recommend this island if you have extra budget for your holiday. Otherwise, just opt for a day trip like me. RM350/pax for an island hopping experience to Mataking Island and Pom Pom Island. This package comes with lunch and all in equipment for 3 dives. If you are a non-diver, the price is just RM165/pax. You have more time on the island to take some spectacular photos.

For divers, if you want to enjoy a bit of both world which means to enjoy the island and also experience the underwater around the island, choose 2 dives instead of 3 dives. By reducing a dive, you will get 1 hour time to take a stroll around the islands. Not too bad to take 3 dives too, there is more chance for you to see more macro stuffs on this islands.

Do not expect anything big as you would see in Sipadan Island. You only expect small and tiny stuffs. It is not a bad experience too. I got to witness so many different type of nudibranches live in action. You can see more in my video at the bottom of this post.

Scorpion fishes got a lot around the coral bed. So be careful while you are too focus on looking for the macro stuffs.

The biggest thing you would see is the green turtle. Even their close friend, Remora fish is so big. 

If you have seen enough of green turtles at Sipadan Island, maybe you should look for this blue spotted stingray, moray eel or frog fish. Personally, the highlight of this trip is the Mataking Island. It is really so beautiful. I wish I got time to take more pictures on the island. I will definitely be back. As for the diving experience, 2 dives is more than enough.