Diving holiday specialist, Regaldive, has just introduced an exciting new resort in Borneo to its portfolio. Located 300km off the coast of Kota Kinabalu in the South China Sea, the Layang Layang Island Resort has been specifically designed with divers in mind and has been dubbed ‘shark central’ by the diving holiday specialist. Having gained a well-deserved reputation for its wall diving as well as the quality and quantity of its pelagic life, Layang Layang offers a host of unparalleled dive experiences to qualified divers.
Open seasonally between March and August, Layang Layang is a vastly undiscovered resort which offers exclusive and exploratory dive opportunities, which, up until now, have only been associated with liveaboards. Well off the beaten track for anyone but divers, Regaldive’s new resort is home to pristine reefs, steep plunging walls and abundant marine life. Divers can enjoy the sites in relative isolation and those eager to come face to face with leopard sharks and small white tips can have the opportunity to do so at the remarkable Sharks’ Cave, located close to the resort.
For those looking to explore the walls that Layang Layang may soon be famous for, D’Wall is a sheer, vertical wall which can be accessed from one metre and dived down to 40. The wall is adorned with colour and life and is home to schools of surgeons, jacks, silver fish, bait fish and manta rays, as well as white tips, grey-reef and hammerhead sharks. For a dive-in-a-million, Dogtooth Lair – which can also be easily accessed from Layang Layang, is home to corals of every size, overhangs and ledges as well as turtles, schools of fusiliers, surgeon fish, stingrays, sunfish, white-tip reef sharks and hammerhead sharks.
Those looking for a more relaxing dive can venture to ‘Snapper’ which offers a safe and easy dive to those who want to simply drift along with the current and admire the beautiful marine life and coral. Alternatively, divers can explore the shallows of Gorgonian Forest which gets its name from the dense forest-like formation of gorgonian sea fans that line the drop-off wall. Here, sweet lips can be admired up-close and divers will be accompanied by barracuda who often swim along with them as they explore their domain.
Above the water, the Layang Layang Island Resort is built in the style of a traditional longhouse. The simple yet charming resort is made up of 86 rooms – each with their own balcony, and facilities include a fresh water swimming pool and bar area. The resort’s restaurant serves five daily meals, scheduled around diving, and offers a choice of local and Western cuisine.
Andreas Elia, Managing Director of Regaldive commented “The Layang Layang resort is the ideal offering for experienced divers who want to get away from the crowds. Layang Layang is a vastly undiscovered island and is perfect for wildlife enthusiasts; not only can divers come face to face with iconic sharks and a huge range of diverse marine life, but the resort is also well known for its birdlife – offering plenty to keep guests entertained”.
Seven nights’ at the Layang Layang Island Resort with Regaldive cost from £2,499 per person to include flights, transfers, seven nights’ full board accommodation and six days diving.
For more information, or to book, visit www.regaldive.co.uk or call 01353 659 999.
