Staying Home Sucks, home
Sea Goldies (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)
Near Lobster Lairs. Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Lobster Lairs

Dive site · Malaysia

Experienced divers only

Is it worth the trip?

80Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

3 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 80 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
29°C

Tue 3 · 81 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
28°C

Wed 4 · 81 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
28°C

Thu 5 · 79 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
28°C

Fri 6 · 80 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
28°C

Sat 7 · 80 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
28°C

Sun 8 · 81 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
28°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 180, good
  2. Mon 280, good
  3. Tue 381, good
  4. Wed 481, good
  5. Thu 579, good
  6. Fri 680, good
  7. Sat 780, good
  8. Sun 881, good
  9. Mon 980, good
  10. Tue 1081, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 30 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Experienced / deepexperienced divers only
  • Water 30 °Crash vest or 1 to 2 mm
  • Faces Sswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. Scored for experienced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Lobster Lairs
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov80, good0.1 mflat4 kn10kn29°C
Mon 2Nov80, good0.1 mflat5 kn8kn29°C
Tue 3Nov81, good0.1 mflat2 kn5kn28°C
Wed 4Nov81, good0.1 mflat2 kn7kn28°C
Thu 5Nov79, good0.1 mflat7 kn12kn28°C
Fri 6Nov80, good0.1 mflat2 kn8kn28°C
Sat 7Nov80, good0.1 mflat1 kn5kn28°C
Sun 8Nov81, good0.1 mflat2 kn8kn28°C
Mon 9Nov80, good0.1 mflat3 kn9kn29°C
Tue 10Nov81, good0.1 mflat0 kn9kn28°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 03:44 −0.7 mHigh 09:25 +0.2 mLow 14:48 −0.5 mHigh 21:43 +0.8 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 05:01 −0.5 mHigh 10:56 +0.1 mLow 16:05 −0.3 mHigh 23:12 +0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 06:50 −0.4 mHigh 13:25 +0.2 mLow 18:53 −0.2 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the site, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

Dive site

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Lobster Lairs

Sea Cucumber (Thelenota anax)
Near Lobster Lairs. Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Lobster Lairs

A wall dive. It goes down to 30 m. You get in from a boat. It suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces S: swell from the S reaches it, and wind from the N blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 15 km away. The sea is about 29°C in January, its coldest month (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm), and 30°C in April, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). No town nearby. Nearest place to stay we found: Tempo at Semporna, Semporna, 1 km. Nearest beds: Tanjung Aru, 351 km. Nearest airport: Tawau Airport (TWU), 60 km. Within 5 km we also list 9 dive sites.

  • What it is Wall.
  • How deep Down to 30 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 15 km away.

Water about 30°C: rash vest or 1 to 2 mm. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Apr (about 20 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,050–US$2,120 each

about US$1,050–US$2,120 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to SDK, estimated from distance and season, changing at HKG and KUL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$878–US$1,820
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$54–US$87
Food7 days eating outabout US$114–US$208
Totalabout US$1,050–US$2,120

No town nearby, so no stay is in it. Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: nearest beds 351 km away

No town nearby

Nearest place to stay we found: Tempo at Semporna, Semporna, 1 km. Nearest beds: Tanjung Aru, 351 km. Nearest airport: Tawau Airport (TWU), 60 km.

See places to stay near Tanjung Aru, 351 km away · Booking.com

Distances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.

Getting there: about 36h 40m

About 36h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → SDK, changing at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), then 3h 55m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

  • Mabul Backpackers 15 km

  • SWV Dive Center 16 km

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 15 m, about usual for the month (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.