Visit Date: September 2009

We spent two nights here and didn't want to leave!

The weather was perfect while we were there so blue skies, white sandy beaches, clear water with tropical fish visible, turtles nesting.... It was idyllic.

The chalets are excellent and right on the beach. As others have said, I guess it would be a 4* standard accommodation in 5* setting. We loved our chalet! The verandahs are great and the hammock outside is a nice touch. We used ours a lot! I do agree with the earlier poster who said that it would be great to have a soft sunlounger as opposed to the wooden slat ones. Our bathroom was very good (maybe due redecorating in the not too distant future but that is really nit-picking) although we had an initial problem with the shower. We reported it and literally within 5 minutes, several (yes, several!!) staff had arrived down and fixed it instantly. You can't get better service than that.. The room was clean, with a fridge which was useful, tea and coffee making facilities etc.

Food was good and plentiful although much more 'international' in feel than we had anywhere else with potatoes, frites, spaghetti etc. They didn't have a big choice for vegetarians although I think you need to say in advance if you want vegetarian food. I got veg spring rolls one night and despite checking with the serving staff that there was just vegetables in them, found that they contained prawns. I heard other people complain about this too. Try some of the local cakes and delicacies which are put in the late afternoon (I think around 4.30/5pm). We loved these! As others have said, soups were good, food plentiful but deserts limited to fresh fruit (melons and watermelons mostly).

We were there primarily for some R&R after a week in the rainforests but also in the hope of seeing turtles and we did! We had signed up to be woken after midnight but as it turned out, we saw a turtle nesting (first night) and hatchlings being released (second night) after dinner. It was an amazing experience. It was really well managed by staff who discreetly went round the dining area/verandah and asked it you wanted to see turtles. No big announcement and so people just quietly drifted out. Everyone was very respectful, standing back, being quiet, switching off flashlights, stopping taking photos when asked. The rangers do a great job there. There is a centre where you can find out about the work of the reef guardians at lankayan. They receive 50-70% of annual expenditure from the conservation fees we pay to stay on the island so it is good to see how tourism is helping conservation. Having spoken to people who visited Turtle island, we heard very mixed reviews about it and were really pleased we had pushed the boat out and opted for Lankayan.

Although we don't dive, I had snorkelled at TAR park and loved it so decided to do the Discover Scuba option at Lankayan. It was excellent. The instructor spent a lot of time with me making sure I was comfortable with breathing (initially I wasn't and found it hard being confident enough to trust the apparatus) and doing the basic safety requirements. I was expecting to stay around the jetty for my second dive in a nice comfort zone but when I returned for the second dive was told that I (and another person) were going out on the boat to a dive site of up to 10m deep. After I got over the fact that this was diving for real and I would be doing the backflip manouevre into the water, I relaxed and just enjoyed it. It was fantastic! the coral was stunning and the fish were beautiful and I saw the lovely little clownfish! For those who don't want to dive/try diving, seakayaking (depending on tides) and snorkelling are available. Other than that, there are limited options for entertainment but in a beautiful place like this, you really just want to be out enjoying the scenery. There is a tv room and internet available (quite expensive and slow but useful nonetheless). there is no mobile coverage!

We booked with divedownbelow and it was extremely easy to book. We were picked up exactly on time and the staff at Lankayan had all our details for our flight back to KK. A free lunch is included at Sepilok Nature Lodge (owned by the same company) if you are on a later flight. You also have the option of a trip to the sanctuary on your way to the airport, flight time permitting. I am sure it doesn't compete with Sipadan but we loved Lankayan and I hope to do my PADI before my next holiday. Would definitely recommend for anyone wanting to try out scuba diving. While we were there, some serious divers were there and they seemed to get some great photos.

A truly fantastic experience!

Visit Date: May 2009

Me and my boyfriend were travelling 3 weeks in Borneo and Bali. This was the first place where we took diving and staff there and all services were the best. Also dive sites there are interesting, we saw many sharks, some turtles,even a leopard shark, plenty of rays, many interesting macro staff and I really loved one dive site with 2 rocks on the top of corals, the view there was magical. What was really excellent was staff there, it was local malaysian guys, we had really fun with them, but under water they are the best professionals. We dived in a small groups and we always had with us 2 divemasters, so it was very comfortable. They were really good in finding interesting staff but also were checking us all the time and gave me some good advices. All dive sites are near the island, so it´s also good you don´t stay on the boat for hours.

And the island is a real tropic paradise, with a white sandy beach, clear water and also great snorkelling. Only with a snorkel by the coast we saw turtles, sharks, rays...I can only recommend it.