Hi,
My partner and I are wanting to travel to Mayaysia on Boxing Day of this year!!
We are really unsure of where to go as we have heard so many different reports.
Basically, we want fabulous beaches and diving, things to do in the day and nightlife!!!! We will be going for about three weeks and don't really want to travel around much!!
Many thanks in advance for your help!
x


Langkawi may suit your requirement : good beaches, places to dive, things to do during the day and nightlife..

Langkawi is pretty bereft of things to do really - if you just want to relax and eat/drink in the evening it might work for you. It's developed for tourists so lacking in anything to do except lie on the beach

the best i have ever dived in = Sipadan Island on The Celebes Sea, Sabah, East Malaysia
imagine beeing circled by a school of barracudas, schoolbig eyes trevally, school of bumpheads, meeting with not one but 5 turtles at one go, leopard sharks, and if you are lucky - mantas!
Mabul Island nearby is the heaven for muck diving - pgymy seahorse, flamboyant,gobies,etc
Simply the best in Malaysia!

Sipidan is the best dive locale in Malaysia, hands down. But the nightlife in Semporna, where you'll likely stay, is non-existant...unless watching videos and attending dive-school trivia-contests in bars is your idea of entertainment. No phenomenal restaurants, despite the wealth of sea-life, and people mainly sit about and talk about what they saw on their dives. And the beaches are only fair to middling...and they are out on the islands (none in town). Not much to do in the day, either. Maybe take a day trip to Bukit Tingkorak (an archeological site) or the Madai Caves. Everything else is more than a days journey away (e.g. the Kinabatangan River for orangutans).
Perhentians would be better for nightlife...no discos, though. And Beaches...but the diving quality is lowe, but people who have been there still rave about it until they go to Sipidan, that isr.
Langkawi is more of a resort spot, with lots to do at day and night mainly because it isn't a top dive spot.

I am also looking for the same things as this poster e.g. diving, night life, things to do etc. I am wondering whether the weather will be OK in Sipadan in December ? I was thinking that maybe we could see the orangutans in Sandakarn and do a tree top walk during the day - but I don't know if this area will be effected by the monsoon?
Also which is the best dive site: Sipadan (Sabah) or the Similians (Thailand)?