Malaysia
Best Time to Dive in Mabul / Kapalai
4.26°N 118.65°E
The best conditions run February to May, when the downpours ease — 5 days a month of heavy rain instead of 8. The marine life holds steady all year, so the weather picks the month.
- Best time
- Feb–May
- Water
- 29–30 °C
- Visibility
- 10–25 m
- Dived from
- day boat
- Tidal range
- 0.9–2.3 m
- Species logged
- 12
Worth knowing: 7 days a month of heavy rain.
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Mabul / Kapalai — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Poor | Good | Good | Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | Good | Moderate | Poor | Moderate | Poor |
| Water temp (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Visibility (m) | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 |
| Marine life | Busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Steady | Busy | Busy | Steady | Busy | Busy |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Feb–May
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Mabul / Kapalai diving season
February to May · Peak season
4 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 29–30 °C
- Visibility
- 10–20 m
- Rain
- 22 days a month
Diving conditionsThe sea is calmer. The wind is up.
Marine lifeGiant devil ray (hit-or-miss) peaks at Mabul / Kapalai in these months.
June to October · Shoulder season
5 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 30–30 °C
- Visibility
- 10–20 m
- Rain
- 26 days a month
Diving conditionsThe sea is rougher. The wind eases.
Marine lifeGiant devil ray (hit-or-miss) peaks at Mabul / Kapalai in these months.
November to January · Off season
3 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 29–30 °C
- Visibility
- 10–20 m
- Rain
- 26 days a month
Diving conditionsThe sea is calmer. The wind eases.
Marine lifeGiant devil ray (hit-or-miss) peaks at Mabul / Kapalai in these months.
- Spring tides run 2.3 m against 0.9 m on neaps, so currents build around the full and new moon.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Mabul / Kapalai water temperature and weather
725 underwater observation records · 23 surveyed years of ocean data · 10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Mabul / Kapalai water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
Rarely
rough enough to cancel
Seas top 1.5 m on under 1% of days. Enough to cancel a day boat
0
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
25
wet days a month
7 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.6 m | 0% | 24 | 7 | 28 °C | 11.8 h |
| February | 0.6 m | 0% | 19 | 5 | 28 °C | 11.9 h |
| March | 0.5 m | 0% | 22 | 5 | 29 °C | 12.0 h |
| April | 0.4 m | 0% | 21 | 5 | 29 °C | 12.1 h |
| May | 0.4 m | 0% | 27 | 7 | 29 °C | 12.2 h |
| June | 0.5 m | 0% | 26 | 7 | 29 °C | 12.2 h |
| July | 0.8 m | 0% | 25 | 7 | 29 °C | 12.2 h |
| August | 0.6 m | 0% | 27 | 6 | 29 °C | 12.1 h |
| September | 0.7 m | 0% | 25 | 7 | 29 °C | 12.0 h |
| October | 0.8 m | 0% | 26 | 9 | 29 °C | 11.9 h |
| November | 0.5 m | 0% | 27 | 8 | 29 °C | 11.8 h |
| December | 0.4 m | 0% | 28 | 10 | 29 °C | 11.8 h |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 4.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Moderate | February week 1: Good | March week 1: Moderate | April week 1: Good | May week 1: Good | June week 1: Moderate | July week 1: Moderate | August week 1: Moderate | September week 1: Good | October week 1: Moderate | November week 1: Poor | December week 1: Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Poor | February week 2: Good | March week 2: Moderate | April week 2: Good | May week 2: Good | June week 2: Good | July week 2: Moderate | August week 2: Good | September week 2: Poor | October week 2: Moderate | November week 2: Poor | December week 2: Poor |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Poor | February week 3: Good | March week 3: Good | April week 3: Excellent | May week 3: Good | June week 3: Moderate | July week 3: Poor | August week 3: Good | September week 3: Poor | October week 3: Poor | November week 3: Good | December week 3: Poor |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Poor | February week 4: Good | March week 4: Excellent | April week 4: Excellent | May week 4: Moderate | June week 4: Poor | July week 4: Poor | August week 4: Good | September week 4: Good | October week 4: Poor | November week 4: Good | December week 4: Poor |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: fourth of April
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 22 km/h | 84% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 22 km/h | 82% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 22 km/h | 78% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 24 km/h | 68% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 25 km/h | 67% |
| Week 2 | Good | 29 °C | 0.7 m | 25 km/h | 66% |
| Week 3 | Good | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 25 km/h | 59% |
| Week 4 | Good | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 26 km/h | 62% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 25 km/h | 67% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 24 km/h | 64% |
| Week 3 | Good | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 22 km/h | 69% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 21 km/h | 78% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 20 km/h | 71% |
| Week 2 | Good | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 19 km/h | 68% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 73% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 17 km/h | 77% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 17 km/h | 82% |
| Week 2 | Good | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 16 km/h | 85% |
| Week 3 | Good | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 17 km/h | 88% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 17 km/h | 85% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 18 km/h | 83% |
| Week 2 | Good | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 17 km/h | 86% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 18 km/h | 88% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.6 m | 18 km/h | 88% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.6 m | 18 km/h | 85% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 29 °C | 0.7 m | 20 km/h | 84% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.9 m | 22 km/h | 82% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.9 m | 23 km/h | 80% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 29 °C | 0.7 m | 22 km/h | 77% |
| Week 2 | Good | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 20 km/h | 83% |
| Week 3 | Good | 29 °C | 0.6 m | 20 km/h | 88% |
| Week 4 | Good | 30 °C | 0.7 m | 20 km/h | 90% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 30 °C | 0.8 m | 19 km/h | 89% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 1.0 m | 20 km/h | 86% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 1.0 m | 20 km/h | 80% |
| Week 4 | Good | 30 °C | 0.6 m | 18 km/h | 75% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.6 m | 18 km/h | 79% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 18 km/h | 81% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.8 m | 19 km/h | 85% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 1.1 m | 18 km/h | 89% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.9 m | 18 km/h | 91% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.7 m | 18 km/h | 88% |
| Week 3 | Good | 30 °C | 0.6 m | 18 km/h | 87% |
| Week 4 | Good | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 19 km/h | 92% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.4 m | 19 km/h | 90% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.4 m | 20 km/h | 89% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 21 km/h | 90% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 29 °C | 0.5 m | 21 km/h | 90% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: skin | February: skin | March: skin | April: skin | May: skin | June: skin | July: skin | August: skin | September: skin | October: skin | November: skin | December: skin |
One suit covers the whole year: a skin or 3 mm shorty.
Swell through the year
The rough end of each month — nine days in ten come in under it.
Amber is over 1.5 m.
Tides
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Mabul / Kapalai marine life — what you'll see diving
| Species | When | Observed window | Reliability | Evidence | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green turtle | All year | Near-guaranteed | 257 | ||
| Whitetip reef shark | All year | Near-guaranteed | 72 | ||
| Bumphead parrotfish | All year | Near-guaranteed | 68 | ||
| Bluespotted ribbontail ray | All year | Near-guaranteed | 73 | ||
| Bigeye trevally | All year | Near-guaranteed | 57 | ||
| Hawksbill turtle | All year | Near-guaranteed | 39 | ||
| Blackfin barracuda | All year | Near-guaranteed | 25 | ||
| Ocellated eagle ray | All year | Hit-or-miss | 20 | ||
| Napoleon wrasse | Apr–May, Sep, Dec | Likely | 35 | ||
| Grey reef shark | Nov–Jan, Jun | Likely | 21 | ||
| Giant devil ray | Mar, Aug, Nov | Hit-or-miss | 17 | ||
| Zebra shark | Jan–Feb, May | Likely | 10 |
Peak Present
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Mabul / Kapalai — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Mabul / Kapalai?
- The best conditions run February to May, when the downpours ease — 5 days a month of heavy rain instead of 8. The marine life holds steady all year, so the weather picks the month.
- When is the diving season in Mabul / Kapalai?
- The diving season in Mabul / Kapalai runs February to May.
- Is the diving in Mabul / Kapalai good for beginners?
- Yes. It suits Open Water divers, so it works for a first trip after certification.
- How warm is the water in Mabul / Kapalai?
- Between 29 and 30 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in February and warmest in May. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Mabul / Kapalai?
- A skin or 3 mm shorty covers the coldest water of the year. The same suit works all year.
- What is the visibility like in Mabul / Kapalai?
- Roughly 10 to 25 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- What will I see diving Mabul / Kapalai?
- The most consistently recorded species are Green turtle (near-guaranteed), Whitetip reef shark (near-guaranteed) and Bumphead parrotfish (near-guaranteed), from 725 records within 60 km.
- Does Mabul / Kapalai get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- Is there current in Mabul / Kapalai?
- The tide rises and falls 2.3 m around the full and new moon, against 0.9 m in between. How much of that becomes current depends on the shape of the channel.
- When should I avoid Mabul / Kapalai?
- October, December are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive Mabul / Kapalai?
- Mostly from day boats. Trips run through the season, Feb–May.