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SCUBA Diving Destinations: Asia and the Pacific
We regularly add new areas to the SCUBA Travel site. If you want to be notified of updates to the site, along with other SCUBA diving news and discussion, please subscribe to our newsletter: SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). Other SCUBA Diving DestinationsCaribbean • Central America • Europe • The Gulfs • Mediterranean • North America • Red Sea • South America Diving New Zealand
Poor Knights "Just as many fish as any tropical site in the world but they are all 10 times the size. Tropical and temperate currents combine to create one of the most unique sites in the world. Caves, rare species, pelagics: you name it. " Milford Sound "Dives here are limited to one dive company operating on the sound - only 3 people dived the day I dived. Milford sound is probally the most unique place in the world I personally have dived. Due to the Fresh Water covering the Sea Water deeper living sea critters can be seen at open water depths due to the darker waters...cold but great Viz: Spiney Sea Dragons, Octipus, Black Coral, Snake Stars, Dwarf Scorpion Fish, plus much much more... " Rainbow Warrior "Marine life cling to this piece of history. " "The famous wreck of the Greenpeace ship sunk by French secret service. Jewel ananomies, are stunning, and the wildlife abundant. " "Incredible assortment of rocks and boulders resulting in swim through heaven with lots of marine life including large rays and often dolphins and sharks. decent vis."
Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkelling New Zealand
. Diving Indonesia
Indonesia now has its own section: click here for Indonesia Diving. Diving East Timor (Timor-Leste)
East Timor is South-East Asia's newest nation and a new destination for diving. Whilst the border region with West Timor may be troublesome, Dili and areas further East are generally safe. "Totally unspoilt diving - couldn't wish for more - sharks, turtles, millions of fish, giant squid, rays, abundance of living coral. Only need to swim out from shore about 5 metres before you hit the drop off round the island - and this slopes gently to about 40 m, and then straight down to about 2 km! Also great diving around 10 m mark - so air lasts for ages. More fish species here than anywhere else in the world. Living coral like I have never seen. Divers paradise. " Dili Rock "Shore Dive. Slope to drop off.. garden eals, Frog fish, leaf scorpian fish and more.... one of the closer dive sites to Dili. " "Closest of all dive site. I was told this was the training dive site. Although not as fantastic as the rest of Timor with a good guide this is a great close dive. " Secret Garden, Dili "Fantastic dive when the tide is in as there is a 40 m surface swim. With the tide out its a little harder in the shallows. But well worth the effort. Another great Site in Timor...Has to be visited. " "A lovely gentle dive. You should only dive this site at high tide as you may damage coral at low tide. " Cave, Dili "30 m Cave on 100 m wall...Everything everywhere...got to see it to believe it. " Big Fish, Atauro Island "Great fast deep dive. Thousands of pelagics and sharks. One wild ride. " "Deep Dive on Atauro island. Great dive with strong current. The highlight is the large schools of pelagics and sharks. Great thrill rush dive. Good guides and safety needed. " Manta Cove "Cove dive in smooth waters. Huge 80 m wall with great overhangs and amazing reef and marine life. " "Calm wall dive with great reef and wild over hangs. Best time to dive around 2 pm as the shadows make for a great effect for photos. No mantas on my dive but everything else. " "Bite in the corner of a cliff. Great wall dive with many over hangs and no current. Deep or shallow this wall dive has it all. Must dive from boat. " Bar Stool "Great wall dive with huge amount of fish and Jurassic size corals. Can have a wicked current too. " North Point, Atauro Island "Wall dive that ends on a sand flat bottom with sharks gallore. Great dive with the best vis i have seen (40 m easy). " "Great clear water dive at the tip of Atauro Island. Great wall dive that opens up to flat sand bottom with small coral outcrops. Great for sharks. " Atauro Island " A whole island of walls, currents, pelagics and critters. Untouched for thousands of years " Jako Island "Small island at the east end of the country. The best diving I have ever seen. Clear calm water with so many fish and untouched reefs. " East of Dili "20 dive site within 40 km of the capital. From wall to muck to amazing reefs. Easy access via car. " One Tree "Easy dive, swimming along sloped dive wall, huge turtle, great scorpion fish, "anenome city", good sandy patch to hover and watch the world swim by."
Dive Timor Lorosae, Dili, East Timor. Tel: (+670) 7237092, E-mail: dive@divetimor.com, Web: http://www.divetimor.com/ "Dive Timor Lorosae has to be Timor's premier dive centre. With purpose built dive vessels (with seats) full time staff (rare in Timor) and professional and friendly staff, it's easy to see why Dive Timor Lorosae has established themselves as the leaders in this undiscovered country. Their boat is a purposed built dive vessel that is made especially for Timor. The hour trips in Timor mean you need a seat on the trip. Worth the price at around 125 USD you get your money's worth. Best diving I have seen to date. Will be coming back in the new year. " "Dive Timor Lorosae is without doubt the premier dive centre in East Timor. Located right on the beach (and having two dive centres) these guys are the friendly, professionals you expect to find in the diving game. I would dive with these guys every time. The boat is great. Heaps of room and with seats. All boat dives take about 1 hour to get to so comfort is needed. Be careful the other dive operators (if they have boats) don't have seats! I stayed next to the dive centre is these massive rooms that cost about 30 USD a night. Great value and location. Boat dives are around 125 USD with everything included. Gear, lunch, drinks and guides. The day is from 9am till 5pm with whale watching dolphin watching and heaps of other water activities. Well worth the cash - but ask for a discount! The diving would have to be the best I have seen. So untouched and remote. These guys have been doing it for 5 years so they really know how to look after you. " "Dive Timor Lorosae is by far the most experienced and professional company within in this new dive destination. With the only fleet of dive vessels that are comfortable and safe DTL is the way to go if diving in East Timor. A twin dive was 100 USD including everything, gear, tanks, lunch, drinks and whale/dolphin watching. Good price for what you get. Probably one of the best dive areas i have been to. Lots to see and so close. More fish than divers. The night life is a little slower but great food. " Explore Timor, Dili - Tel: (+670) 725 5382, E-mail: info@exploretimor.com "Explore Timor are a new operation in Dili East Timor. All the equipment is brand new from the ground up...A refreshing change, need I say more...I would dive with them again. Very well run and great attitude from all the staff. Very good value for money. different packages for different people...the more we dived the cheaper it got. And it was cheap with the FREE rooms. They are basic with A/C but it is all i needed. The staff there would do anything. Carry tanks wash your gear...you name it...Some places in my experience in Timor will not even help you off load your car after a days diving. " FreeFlow Diving, Dili - Tel: (+670) 332 1187, E-mail: dive@freeflowdiving.com "FreeFlow Diving were excellent. The owner/divemaster knew the dive sites very well. He has done over 3000 dives in East Timor already! The cost was very competitive compared to the rest of Asia. I would definately dive with FreeFlow again. And I didn't have to carry my equipment from the car afterwards. FreeFlow arranged all my accommodation for me and my party. Very efficient. The food provided by FreeFlow was outstanding. My girlfriend is vegan and she said the meal was better than she could have prepared herself. "
Diving Brunei
Cement Wreck "A fabulous wreck dive with mostly great visibility. The bottom being at 30 m you can on a good day see the wreck from the surface. Fabulous to 'fly' through the bridge etc. " Brunei in General " Poor viz from river run off in close dive sites. The one dive shop there was not good - saw the instructor (who owned the shop) stand on coral to demonstrate mask clearing. The owner also anchored straight onto pristine coral with no care. Few diving facilities and not really a place for a full on diving holiday. " Diving Papua New Guinea
"I have lived in New Guinea for 15 years. 3 of those years I have spent diving in the waters around New Guinea, in the that short time I have seen 5 major ship wreaks 7 WWII bombers fully intact and enough coral and wildlife to fill up the continent of Asia. Rabaul "Rabaul has a reputation for wrecks, particulalry WW2 wrecks. Well, I just wanted to let people know that I have recently come back from a trip to Rabaul and found it a little disappointing. To put this into context, whilst I have not dived Truk, I have dived a fair few of the WW2 wrecks in the Solomon Islands and Coron, Philippines. Back to Rabaul: because the volcano is still smoking, it is dropping ash into the harbour which is close by, so many of the wrecks are quite silty and vis can be poor. In addition, because of seismic activity, it is inadvisable to penetrate many of the wrecks in the harbour. This is a great shame, because there are many good sized wrecks around. My vote for best wreck goes to the Manko Maru, followed by the Italy Maru, both of which are a short boat ride in the harbour. Outside the harbour, George's wreck was not bad either. Hope this helps divers thinking about their next wreck diving foray. Albatross Passage, Kavieng "This is a great and relatively shallow drift dive - around 23m. When the current is running, this attracts lots of sharks, from white and black tipped reef sharks to the bulkier grey reef sharks. You have to be careful not to get swept down the passage, which would be a bit annoying, but there is a permanent mooring line to latch on to when ascending and doing safety stops. This really is a shark divers dream - I was totally "sharked out" after three dives here. " Echuca Patch, Kavieng "A real adrenaline dive. You can get 2 dives in one, depending on how vicious the current is and so where yoou jump in: there is a ship wreck at the edge of a finger shaped piece of coral. You can descend to see the boat first and then head for this area of coral where there is usually a fast running current. Here you usually see lots and lots of BIG fish, ranging from Spanish Mackerel, tuna, trevally, to all the usual reef sharks. You do need to hunt out a piece of dead coral to hold on to as the current here can be pretty racy, but is at least one permenent mooring line to help with descents and ascents. " Joel's, New Britain " Diving off the coast of New Britain, this reef has something for everyone who likes reef diving. A wall, large sponges, anenomes/anenome fish, unicorn fish, plenty of cleaning stations, sharks in the large variety, blind shrimp and gobies, soft coral and a plethra of reef usuals for PNG. " Kilibob's, Fathers Reef Area, New Britain "Resident sharks, clams, anenomes,cuttle fish, ocotpus, eels, stone fish, scorpion fish, hard and sort corals, feather stars, anthias and PNG reef usuals like pyramids, triggers, batfish, angels, ect. "
Diving Tufi, PNG
Diving Vanuatu
The President Coolidge "The best wreck dive - fantastic! The President Coolidge off Santo, northern Vanuatu, was a WW2 luxury liner. It was commandeered by the US navy and fitted out as a naval ship. Unfortunately, it bumped into one of its own mines and now we dive it. (There was no loss of life.) I dived with Alan Powers December 2001 - there are 3 dive operators, Alan Powers and Aquamarine plus 1 other Pro Dive?? Safety is hugely important as it is such a deep dive. First dive is a check out dive to see how you are to around 30 m. If you are comfortable, then it's 2 dives a day and deeper and deeper if that is what you want. The engine room and one of the dining rooms are about 47 m, the promenade deck is about 33 m, the mosaic lined swimming pool - weird -is about 50 m It's a fabulous dive, as, if you are suitably qualified, you can penetrate certain parts of the wreck - the best wreck! There are long deco stops, which if you dive with Alan Powers you can spend in their transplanted coral garden and try and blow better bubbles than Twami. Mind you, this is not a good dive site if you are heavy on air! " "The world's largest accesible wreck. Even as a shore dive! Starts at 8 metres dropping off to 70 metres. Total penetration. Swim through the holds to see American WWII jeeps still in their crates! " "Especially a night dive with the flashlight fish with no lights - one of the most other worldy experiences on the planet - beats drugs hands down!! What a beautiful beast the old girl is looming up out of the sand. " "Awsome, I cant give it justice by writting about it, Just do it :) " "Especially a night dive with the flashlight fish with no lights - one of the most other worldy experiences on the planet - beats drugs hands down!! What a beautiful beast the old girl is looming up out of the sand." "Full penetration, deep deco diving, historical artifacts, easy access shore dive. "
Diving FijiThe dry season is from June to October. The visibility is best then but the water is colder and it can be windy. December to March is the hurricane season. Some resorts close in February and March. April and May are calm and warm with plankton blooms: poor vis but a chance of seeing large pelagic plankton-eaters. Find a flight to or accomodation in Fiji.
Fish Factory, Vuna Reef, Taveuni "Just amazing...I saw pilot whales up so close I looked them in the eye...so surreal, heaps of huge fish coming right past my mask! The soft corals on Vuna Reef, especially in the site wonderland were a tantalising sight: a true vision that seemed magic! I also saw a school of baracuda which I will never forget! Totally immense experience! Orgasm Reef, Vuna Lagoon, Taveuni "Great open ocean diving on the outer edge of the Vuna Lagoon. Lots of pelagics, sharks, schools of barracuda, plus the whole local selection of soft and hard corals. Only accessible in calm ocean conditions, the swells, and surge underwater, make diving out here impossible on many days." Shark Fin Point "This site is a magnet for some large marine life. Expect to see several eagle-rays amongst the hundreds of barracuda that gather around a point in the reef that shoots out into the Koro Sea. Also in the area are dogtooth tuna, grey reef sharks and hammerhead sharks. If you can take your eyes off the big fish for a moment you will be rewarded by lush soft corals, crinoids and gorgonia fans along the reef." Great White Wall, Somosomo Straits "Renowned as one of Fiji’s top dive sites. Prepare to be awestruck by a steep wall that descends endlessly to the bottom, completely smothered in lush white soft coral. Off the deep edge of the wall you will find some pelagics. Often schools of batfish stop by to greet us while we drift along the wall. At the end of the dive is a deep swim-through cavern providing an exciting exit to an amazing dive." "Everything about it is top class " " Great white coral on wall. Only one of four places in the world to see it. High speed current but beautiful scenary." Beqa Lagoon "Biggest Tiger shark ever." Robinson Crusoe Island "One of best dives ever, saw everything from turtles to manta rays (swimming round us!) to sharks, rolling beds of blue and red coral, fab nudibranchs, leaf fish and scorpionfish. Incredible!" Wakaya Passage "Steep wall, deep blue, fast moving sharks everywhere including Great Hammerhead. Total adrenaline dive. " Split rock, Kadavu Isle "Loads of life hovering around these massive limestone rocks, great diving with swim throughs, tunnels, caves (the crystal cavern is awesome). " Astrolabe reef, Fiji "Where to start? Pristine reef, super visibilty, turtles, rays, shark etc...and best of all not another boat in sight!" Rainbow Reef, Taveuni, Fiji "Breathtaking!! Best Soft Coral Diving ever!"
Aboard-a-Dream Dive, Suva, Zentral, Fiji
Fiji, Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Guide Diving New Caledonia
Noumea, Boulari pass "The minimum to be expected to see in South-Pacific can be observed during the first ten minutes: multicolored tropical fishes, huge triggerfishes, tunas, banks of carangs and phosphorescent corals. In the following fifteen minutes, local specialities have been observed in drifting dive: a big mother loach, some small black-tipped and white-tipped sharks (a metre fifty maximum), some grey sharks (two metres fifty maximum) and a big tortoise at a distance within ten metres. With that, one already can be satisfied and it is what Gérald was thinking whereas they were crossing a rather beautiful coral platter but with no more surrounding fauna: "And here we are, it is finished ... Not bad at all!". But suddenly, appearing from the deep blue end of the platter, two manta rays, the biggest one of about three / four metres in width, came quietly on them, swam over them and left. Fantastic! But they turned back and came closer and stay about 10 minutes with them, playing so close that half of the divers have been able to caress them (It is not good! But difficult to refrain from it!). Extraordinary! " New Caledonia is an island to the East of Australia, governed by France. Citizens of the European Union, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the USA can enter without a visa. New Caledonia claims the world's second biggest coral reef. Getting there from Europe means either flying from France, or flying from the UK to Eastern Australia and getting an onward flight from there. North American flights go from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vancouver. All international airlines land at Tontouta International Airport, 45 km north-west of Noumea. From mid-November to mid-April the weather is warm and humid, the coolest months are July and August. Average maximum temperatures vary from 22 oC to 28 oC (71 oF to 82 oF). The cyclone season runs from December to March.
Diving Niue IslandPronounced nyu-way, Niue has less than 2000 inhabitants. It is in the South Pacific, east of Tonga. "Recently visited Niue Island on recommendation from a friend that had previously visited and found the place a treasure. It has the most amazing water visibility and excellent cave dives with a diverse array of marine life. Have already booked for 2008 with a couple of other friends. Check out www.niueisland.com. Not a lot of people have heard of this little island but its worth the trip despite arriving at 3 am in the morning. Have to go thru New Zealand to get there and flights are only once a week. Apparently the island gets less than 2000 visitors a year. " Diving Maldives
Accomodation options from Kelkoo There are 85 resorts in the Maldives, but not all of them cater for divers. On those that don't you should be able to dive from a neighbouring resort. It's best to go full board as everything is very expensive, including equipment hire. July and August are cheaper, but the visibility is not as good. The serious diving resorts include Biyadoo - very good food as they grow their own fruit and vegetables and Elaidoo - popular with Germans and Belgians. There is one international airport in the Maldives, on Male. "Over 60% of visitors to the Maldives participate in Diving of one form or another and 80% in Snorkelling. To the best of my knowledge there is only a small handful of resorts that do not have a Diving Base actually on the Island and on these few your are still able to ScubaDive in connection with neighboring resorts. During my two years there at three different resorts we had at least 30% of the guests who were certified divers and another 10 to 20% who at least tried it during their stay. Snorkellers were a bit more difficult to judge as far as percentages but I would guess at least half of the islands guests participated in such activities. The Maldives Tourist Authority has a few good facts available online. As far as Cost it is comparable to diving in UK waters with Open Water course running between 150 and 350 Pounds depending of course on the grade of the Island. The cheapest being the larger resorts such as Sun Island, Male itslef and Kuredu and the most exspensive being the Hilton Rangali and comparable five plus start resorts. "
Manta Point Manta point is off the tiny island of Baros. Its dive centre is Dutch run. The best time of year to see the mantas is between June and November. "Unbelievable! Dive to about 18 m to a ledge. Then just sit there. The Manta's "fly" all around you, about 5 at any one time, some 3 m across. They are disturbed when you exhale, so you find yourself trying to hold your breath as they approach. But you have to exhale before passing out and they move away again. There is also a resident shoal of yellow fish (sorry, forgot the name) which must number tens of thousands. Once in the middle you are completely disorientated as you can see nothing but these fish! In all, an amazing experience. Have spent a month on the barrier reef, several dives in Thailand, but nothing gets close to Manta Point. " "I dived Manta Point in November 2004. We stayed on Paradise Island which is five minutes from the dive site. I've dived all over the world but this site was amazing. The second time I dived it we had a total of 12 giant mantas circling us, swooping down to the cleaning station then shooting up to the surface. At times as they swoop down you can reach up and stroke their undersides. The currents are quite strong so you have to hold on tight but the photos I got of the Mantas were superb. If you are in the Maldives make a beeline for this site. " "I went in June 2005 and had the most phenomenal experience when we were surrounded by over 10 mantas, of an average tsize of 2 m, for almost 30 minutes. They seem to come right at you, turn just before they hit your face. We were told they like to play with divers' bubbles. The experience made up for the poor water visibility during this time of the year. " Ari Atoll "A one km long rock with plenty of soft coral and all kinds of reef fishes. In the winter you can often see a lot of big manta rays. A difficult dive with strong currents and visibility not always good. You need to reach the bottom very quickly...a small group of divers is suggested. Maaya Thila, Ari Atoll "Best dive in South Ari Atoll, hunting whitetips during nightdive. Small stuff on top of Thila, big stuff at 30 meters. Sharks, rays...; Vilamendhoo "The diving on this island is operated by Werner Lau, and they have good, safe staff. They make all divers do 2 basic skills before they are allowed to dive - namely retrieving their regulator and remving and clearing their mask. You'd be surprised how many qualified divers did not want to do this! You can do shore dives around the island, in and out at well marked exit points. Alternatively you can do boat dives, for which there is a US$ 10 charge per boat trip. Two boats go out each day - one for novices, and a second boat for anyone who has more than 40 logged dives and choses to visit a site that is a little ore advanced. All dives are guided and good briefings are given. The dive boats can get a little crowded, but still not to the point ot being cattle trucks. The majority of guests on Vilamendhoo are British, German or Japanese. We were lucky, we saw whale sharks and snorkelled with them, plus we did some pretty decent boat dives: some in strong currents which did bring out the larger fish. However, the shore diving was a little disappointing - a large amount of the coral is dead/bleached, which was initially quite shocking to see, although this does not seem to have affected the population of reef fish - as there are plenty, which brings life to the place and colour. The resort itself is ok, not really a party place, there were a few families etc. I'd recommend it. " Madivaru Corner, Lhaviyani Atoll "Strong current, large Napolean Wrasse, reef sharks, shoals of big fish, Stingrays and Eagle Rays. And the chance of an occasional manta or maybe even a hammerhead. " Kuredu Express, Lhaviyani Atoll "Pelagic Heaven" "Amazing dive site from the island of Kuredu in the Maldives. Lots of trigger fish soft corals, saw on two occasions large nurse shark, fast current, an exhillirating dive full of colour and beautiful selection of bright fish at 8 m - fantastic! "
Maldives Oceanic Dreams Pvt Ltd. Tel: +960 786 0513, Fax: +960 331 41 01, E-mail: info@maldivesdivingadventure.com Maldives Travel Cruise Pvt Ltd - M.Seenukarankaage, 4th Floor B Apartment, Tel: +960771052, Fax: +960330933, E-mail: sales@maldivestravelcruises.com.mv Island Safari 1, Manta Point Rating: "The crew was great and I would definitely dive with them again. " Sailing Tours Pvt. Ltd - Abdulla Ibrahim, Ma Uivashaage, Tel: + 960 332 5468, Fax: ++ 960 331 8997, E-mail: sales@sailingmaldives.com Antrac Maldives Pvt Ltd - Mohamed Hameed, 3rd Floor, MA. Rafrafge, Buruzu Magu. Male', Maldives. Tel: 00 960 3310129
E-mail: mhameed@allaincemarine.com.mv Sailing Tours - Tel: + 960 7793898, Fax: + 960 3318997E-mail: info@sailingmaldives.com
Photo Guide to Fishes of the Maldives; Diving Seychelles
Much of the Seychelles information was provided by Illusions Liveaboards. The offshore dive sites of the inner islands have a lot to offer. The topography is a continuation of the beautiful rock formations that have made many Seychelles beaches famous. These granite formations are covered with soft corals and are very dramatic in places. Due to strong currents that may occur, these sights are more suitable for experienced divers. The optimal time for divers is from September to May when the winds are light. Each site has many small reef fish in abundance: oriental sweetlips, butterflies, moorish idols, little glassies, schools of fusiliers. The pelagics include tuna, barracuda and the trevally families: giant trevally, bluefin, bigeye and yellow spotted. Large schools of bumphead parrotfish are found on many sites. Schools of eagle rays, bat rays and large individual stingrays are seen often. Many encounters with Whalesharks have been logged during the migrating season in November. Individuals have also been encountered in April and December. There are also many sightings of green turtles and hawksbill turtles, both of which breed and nest in Seychelles. Reef sharks are a common sight at most divesites: black tip, white tip, grey reef and nurse sharks. Moray eels, geometric eels, ribbon eels, octopuses and scorpionfish are common sights. Ennerdale wreck A British Royal Navy Fleet motor tanker. She was loaded with 40,500 tons gasoil when she sank in 1970 after hitting an uncharted rock, badly holing her starboard side. She now lies in 3 sections at 30 m. The stern section is relatively intact, with the wheelhouse and propeller easily accessible. Marianne island Diving with large numbers of grey reef sharks: the underwater topography of Marianne is exceptional. General "Not as good for diving as the Maldives, but better destination if going with a non-diving partner. The diving is very easy and at certain times of the year you may see whale sharks. They allow a maximum of 2000 tourists and there are huge beaches with very few people.
Illusions Liveaboards Seychelles.
Reef Fishes and Corals: Seychelles, Mauritius, Comores, Madagascar and East Africa Diving French Polynesia
"It helps to understand French - at least enough to understand diving terms and instructions. Not as many fish as in the Red Sea, but lots of Black and White Tip Reef Sharks. However, avoid Tahiti. For serious diving go to Rangiroa - one of the world's largest atolls with loads of sharks." Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa "If you are interested in large pelagic animals, this is THE place. It can be done at various depth. Around 45-50 m there is ALWAYS a large number of big sharks of a variety of species. I dove 3 times there; I had dolphins playing at my side each time (mostly near the surface)." "Drift dives (strong current, 5-6 knots). Grey, blacktip, whitetip, silvertip and hammerhead sharks. Manta rays, eagle rays, napoleon fish, barracudas, jackfish and many others. Water visibility among 60 metres. Fantastic dives! " Garuae Pass, Fakarava "Not as demanding as the Tiputa pass of Rangiroa (and not as amazing), but a great dive. Lots of large schools of big fish; large pelagic animals (tuna, shark, mantas), many very friendly white tips at the ebottom. As in most places in Polynesia, the most amazing thing is how close animals get to you." Fitii's Pass, Huahine "Grey sharks, leopards rays, tortoise and big napoleons." Tumakohua Pass, Fakarava "Magnificent drift dive and over benches of several dozens of grey sharks."
Lonely Planet: Diving and Snorkelling Tahiti & French Polynesia Diving The Marshall Islands:"Once you get to the Marshall Islands there's nothing to do BUT dive. Regardless, it is the best diving I have EVER experienced, even better than Palau. Reason being that you could go to 4 different atolls have 4 completely different yet equally as amazing dive experiences in each. Jaw dropping coral in Arno, eery WWII wreck dives in Bikini Wotje, massive eagle rays in Rongelap, sea turtles sharks in Ailinglaplap, etc. etc. etc. I lived there for a year, and so, got to experience more than the average vacationer. However, despite the cost time it takes to get there, the RMI is more than worth it. I, personally, was blown away." Jaluit "This place must be the hard coral capital of the world! Enormous corals, anemonies, nudibranchs, WWII wrecks. There used to be lots of sharks, but the Chinese are illegally fishing them. I know because we caught and reported a boat shark fishing inside the atoll. Very hard to visit, no dive operation there. We went on an expedition trip. No tourist facilities. No restaurants. One grocery store which had nearly no merchandise. We brought our food with us. There's only one guest house on the whole atoll which sleeps 8 with 2 bathrooms. No hot water. Hotplate cooking in the kitchen. Very rustic. I'd go back there in a heartbeat. Diving Micronesia:Diving Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
Fujikawa Maru "Picture perfect shipwreck - awash with coral and sea life. Each of the five holds offer exciting finds, however the highlight for me was the massive engine room which occupies the midships area, taking up 3 floors. Nippo Maru "Deepish dive, fully intact upright shipwreck. Water visibility is good and many shark often frequent the ship. Excellent penetration opportunities for the trained diver. "
World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon Diving Palau
Palau (or Belau) is a 100-mile long archipelago, southeast of the Philippines. It has world-class diving with sea walls, sheer drop-offs, caves and an exuberance of marine life. English is one of the official languages. The wet season is May to November. The underwater life of Palau is the best that I've seen anywhere in the world, outdoing Bali, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Bahamas... There's no argument that the diving in Palau is fantastic. The vis was good but the quantity of pelagics really made the dives memorable, and the exceptionally strong currents added a new dimension. "Awesome current swept corner where schools of barracuda and sharks swim along the wall. Divers use "reef hooks" to catch the wall and hold on for a breath taking view of fish and sharks, swimming in the current. Sort of like watching a movie! A must do dive." "Best dive site I know: fantastic currents with schools of sharks and barracudas. " "At this underwater paradise, I finally found peace and solitude while diving. I found myself swimming among countless sharks, barracudas, and many other marine species. The beauty that illumnated from this place cannot be beaten. Of all the dive sites I've been to, this one is truly the best." "Wall dive, schools of snapper, jacks...resident Napoleon Wrasse, eagle rays. Movie theatre of reef sharks! Much much better than Thistlegorm, and told by buddy's that its much better than Yongala!" "Teaming with schools of fish of all kinds, a couple of friendly napolean wrasse, so much action that while you are hooked in you have to keep looking a 360 degrees or you will miss something. " "At the turn of the tide there were so many sharks doing their dandy acts right in front of us. There were small cleaner fish just off the nose of a few and who would dash inside the predator's mouth to clean up then in a flash would scurry out as mr. shark closed his mouth. " "Absolutely stunning. Looked like a drive through at McDonald's for sea life. Turtles, Sharks, Napolean Wrasse, Anemones, etc were everywhere. Best of all, my 11 and 13 year old kids were right there with me. " "Absolutely amazing shark life, schools of baraccuda, turtles, napolean wrasse, bumphead parrot fish. " "An amazing aray of colorful coral and fish. A huge amount of sharks, sleeping and active. It blew Australia out of the water. " "This is less well-known than Blue Corner but equally exciting. It is infrequently dived because it is further to the south of Palau, and many dive operators don't want to take the time or use the gas to get there. But the current will push you along a sloping wall at about 25 meters. You can hook on with a reef hook at the corner, much like Blue Corner. On our dive, we saw a nurse shark, plenty of grey reef sharks, a huge dogtooth tuna, small barracuda and a giant hammerhead, which the grey reef sharks mobbed to chase it away. Amazing. " "I fully agree with Alex McMillan comment on Peleliu (Palau)" "Amazing underwater scenery and shark action." "Better than Blue Corner, ask any dive guide in Palau" "At the turn of the tide there were so many sharks doing their dandy acts right in front of us. There were small cleaner fish just off the nose of a few and who would dash inside the predator's mouth to clean up then in a flash would scurry out as mr. shark closed his mouth. " "Sharks, sharks and more sharks, very fast currents, bait ball of fish being circled and entered by grey sharks - fantastic. " "Channel dive with 5 cleaning stations. Manta's lining up like aeroplanes at cleaning stations. Good dive, if you like Manta's! " "Beatiful entry into holes, head east along the wall towards blue corner and its like an aquarium.... stacked with fish life, corals and lots of sharks! "
Big Blue Explorer liveaboard, Scubaworld, Makati City, Philippines - (MCPO Box 2815, Makati City, Philippines) " I really enjoyed my week on the Big Blue Explorer liveaboard. At around US$1,600 for the week, it is fairly pricey. But diving in Palau is not cheap, with shore-based operators charging US$100 for two dives. The boat includes all food and soft drinks, plus up to five dives a day. A week of diving from shore with two dives a day plus an occasional night dive would probably cost the same (with a lot fewer dives) because accommodation is expensive in Palau.
Diving Yap
The Pathways Hotel, 718 Pathways Lane, Colonia Yap FM 96943. Tel: 691-350-3310 or 3309, Fax: 691-350-2066, E-mail: PathwaysRes@mail.fm
Diving the Pacific: Volume 1: Micronesia and the Western Pacific Islands Diving Solomon Islands
Grand Central Station, Solomon Islands "Loads of fish, sharks, tuna, everything all at once - couldn't see the surface of the water there were so many fish. " Gizo, Solomon Islands "This area has got the best all-round diving I've ever done. Walls, pelagics, lots of big stuff - sharks, mantas, schools of eagle rays, a great wreck, several plane wrecks and no crowds . " Shark Point, Solomon Islands "Enter in what seems like open sea to hit a 1 km deep wall and cruise along in the company of giant leatherbacks, huge pelagics, black, white and grey tips, plus a few oceanic white tips and hammerheads. The best feeling I've ever had." Hot Spot, Solomon Islands "More fish species than I realised existed, let alone had ever seen." Diving Cambodia
Many of the dive sites around Cambodia are as yet completely undived. New ones are found virtually every week. There is a lot of hard and soft coral virtually untouched, the usual collection of reef fishes and an enormous variety of macro-life. The diving around the islands closer to shore (2 hours) reflects this and tends to be fairly shallow (10-15 m max). Further out there are deeper pinnacles, wrecks and a greater number of pelagics and larger fish. The cost for diving is around US$70 per day (2 dives) for a day trip, including equipment and food. A two-day liveaboard with 5 dives, costs around US$195. Corner Bar " Lots of fish and make this a great dive. Average dive time 60 to 70 min. " Koh Tang Virgin Reef " Very beautiful coral garden to 18 meters. Vis is ussualy in the 15 to 20 meter range Sometimes better in the rainy season up to 40 meters."
Scuba Nation Diving Centre, 18 Eo Sothearos Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tel: +855 (0) 23 211850, Mob: + 855 (0) 12 715785, Fax: +855 (0) 23 211850, E-mail : scubanation@yahoo.com EcoSea Dive, TownCenter, Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Tel: 012 654 104, International 855 12 654 104, E-mail: DiveCambodia@EcoSea.com " EcoSea Dive: Converted 2 deck Khmer Boat comfortable with room to walk around. Lots of sun and shade with western style facilities. Best value for the money in Cambodia only $59 this includes professional dive guides, small groups and everything you will need including name brand scuba diving equipemnt. Your best bet to go out diving. Singles are not a problemn. One diver and they go. There are no divable wrecks in Cambodia, they have all been chopped up and sold as scrap iron. " Diving Vietnam
Hon Tai " Nice swim throughs leading out to a beautiful soft coral garden. Loads of exotic fish that I thought I would never see. Brilliant " Ram Man " Huge area site starting at about 22 m going all the way to 5 m. schools of big fish too numerous to name; shrimp and hermit crabs abundant. Can't wait to go again. " Madonna Rock " Nice dive site. Many colorful fishes. " Moray Beach " Good site with big moray and many corals. " Fisherman Bay " Excellent for diving and snorkelling. " Cham Island " Dived in cham islands with Cham island diving center; great potential and underwatermarine life; still lots of undiscovered sites. "
Cham Island Diving Centre,
98 Bach Dang St, Hoi An, Vietnam. Rating: " Around 50 usd (2005) for two dives, excellent day out, very relaxeing and professional staff. " " The equipment of the diving center is brand new, the people friendly and professional. Non divers activities also available. " Rainbow Divers,
The Rainbow Bar, 90a Hung Vuong Street. Tel: +84-58-524351, Fax: +84-58-524714, E-mail: info@divevietnam.com. " Dived with Rainbow Divers in Vietnam; excellent dive operator. International dive safety awareness. Very Professional. They have centres throughout the country. " Blue Diving Club, 98 Bach Dang St, Hoi An, Vietnam.
Vietnam Paradise Travel, Indochina Quest Tel: (849) 383639, Fax: (849) 383639, e-mail: support@IndochinaQuest.com
The Rough Guide to Vietnam, by Jan Dodd, Mark Lewis, Ron Emmons , 2006. Diving Sri Lanka
Hikkaduwa "I dived in Hikkaduwa with Poseidon Diving Station and would definitely recommend the area and the centre. There are some great wrecks, ranging from 1750-1900's, a mixture of steam and sail boats. There is also a chance to see intact soft corals on some of the deeper dives. Sri Lanka is a beautiful and friendly country with some great places to visit and tasty food. "
Diving India
Goa "I have just completed my open water diver course in Goa, south India with the Goa Diving School. The dives all focused on an area called Grande Island, where there is a shipwreck called the SS Mary. The site is abundant with beautiful fish, corals, large rock formations and the visibility is great. The dive school also organises trips to Pigeon Island off the coast of Kanartaka, where you'll see Manta Rays, Grouper and much more. Goa is a great location, cheap, fabulous weather, lots of interesting places to visit and great food...highly recommended - I'll be returning next year! Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 36 islands, 200-300 miles off the west coast of India in the Arabian Sea. Only two islands - Bangaram and Kadmat - are open to foreign tourists. Kadmat is more isolated than Bangaram. There is only one resort there: the Kadmat Island Beach Resort. The Lakshadweep Islands has one airport, on Agatti Island. There are Kingfisher flights five times a week from Cochin to Agatti, and from Bombay to Agatti via Bangalore. Indian Airlines also flies to Agatti Diving at Kadmat is provided by Lacadives and at Bangaram by the Casino Resort. You can get from the airport to Kadmat either by the inter-island boat, or by booking speedboat collection by Lacadives. The journey will take you one to two hours by speedboat, and three and a half hours by the inter-island boat. The cost of both speedboat and inter-island boat is shared by its passengers. Kadmat has no bar or Internet access. If you plan to learn to dive at Lakshadweep, take a doctor's certificate with you stating that you are fit to dive. Certified divers just need their certification and log books. Average visibility in the Lakshadweep Sea during the season ranges from 25 to 40 meters. The dive centers are closed during the monsoons (May to September). "The same gorgeous marine life and great visibility as the Maldives, only for much cheaper. I just got back from doing my CMAS 1-star there, and the dive centre (Lacadives) had a great student-to-teacher ratio - I was the only student!" Kadmat Island, Lakshadweep "The remoteness of the location (Kadmat island) really gives you a feeling of "getting away from it all" - but this comes at a price, either in terms of money or time. Staying at the resort and paying for the dives are not expensive (in fact, comparatively cheap), but getting to Kadmat is. "Diving in the Andamans is slightly more expensive than other places in the world - I guess because its just getting popular and I guess its tough operating in such places. Better than Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka. Not as good as some places in Maldives or Manado. But then as I see it, the islands are still being discovered. My girlfriend and I went diving in February after the tsunami and I am happy to report that the coral reefs in these islands escaped without any harm. " Havelock Island - The Wall (Andaman Islands) " Outside the island jetty. Lots of fish action, mid to strong currents. " "Saw a Manta, Turtles and napoleon fish all in the same dive! Slight current, but great vis. " Havelock Island - Dugong Reef (Andaman Islands) "Saw a rare duging. Fantastic!! " Havelock Island - Radhanagar beach (Andaman Islands) " Unfortunately I did not get to dive this time and even while snorkling the visibility was was very low 8' max thanks to the high winds but I vouch for Wild Orchid and its service. I just snorkled off the Isle of Havelok closer to Peal Isle which are off the mainland of Nicobar (Andaman & Nicobar). However the waters were clearer on the west coast of Havelok in Radhanagar beach. You need to watch out for the one rougue current here which kind of at times take you a bit too deep if you are not a reasonably good swimmer and hits at its own whim and fancy. " Minerva Ledge (Andaman Islands) "Simply superb - nearly 5-6 different dives possible. Offshore and lots of pelagics. " "Very good diving: plenty of fish. I'd like to dive the site called Minerva Ledge again, better than the Similan Islands in Thailand. It is cheaper to stay on the island of Havelock - the diving is superb if you manage to go to the right sites. Beware of inexperienced people though. " "Worthy of multiple dives " "A massive garden of beautiful coral teeming with fish life. It was surreal! " South Button Island (Andaman Islands) "Fabulous coral gardens - have not seen such diversity in hard coral elsewhere. Gin-clear water and great for snorkelling also. The Button Islands are part of a protected marine national park. " "Amazing coral diversity. lots of fish life. saw turtles and a nurse shark as well "
Lacadives, Lakshadweep Barefoot Diving, Andaman Islands -
Rating: "Diving Costs: US $80 for 2 dives inclusive of all equipment (2005). Barefoot Diving is run by Herbert Burri, a Swiss dive instructor with over 10 years of dive experience in the Andaman Islands alone. He runs a very smooth, well organised, and efficient dive operation with the help of a few sturdy Karen (Burmese) assistants. "Swiss dive instructor, very meticulous. Three boats ranging from local fishing boat to fast motor launches. Good value for money and better than anything in Thailand, by far! " Andaman Dive Club, Andaman Islands -
Rating: "Andaman Dive Club have a fairly good boat, a fishing trawler converted to a dive boat with an inboard engine which can do 12 knots. A lot of room for divers. Excellent value for money. " DiveIndia, Andaman Islands -
Rating: "Friends and I went diving in the Andamans last December. It was incredible. We dived with DiveIndia, a PADI centre located on Havelock Island at The Wild Orchid Resort. They definitely gave us an incredible diving expreience with their knowledge of the local waters, very friendly and experienced staff (both locals from the Karen tribe and Europeans) and superb customer service. (Not once did I feel rushed during my OW course. My friend took over a week for her OW course and they did not rush her or charge her extra.) I definitely recommend them: we made some good friends at diveIndia. Seimoa, Andaman Islands Anugama Resort, Andaman Islands Goa Aquatic Sports, Goa Diving Malaysia
Diving TaiwanTaiwan Dive Sites | Taiwan Dive Operators | Further Reading
Green Island "Green Island rivals any dive site in the Asia area. A bit of a secret." "Schooling Scalloped hammerhead sharks during winter and 30m vis + a couple of great wrecks" Orchid Island "Orchid Island down from Green Island is just like Green Island." "40 m vis all year round with abundant marine life, outstanding corals and a great wreck dive." Kenting "Kenting in the south has over 40 shore and boat dives" Flower Garden Kenting "Beautiful site filled with an abundance of soft corals in very good shape." NE Coast "Has excellent diving including an U/W volcano [near Hualien], one of only 2 sites in the world."
Fu-dog U-Dive Scuba Taiwan Taiwan Scuba Taiwan Dive
Taiwan (Lonely Planet Regional Guides S.) Your CommentsWe endeavour to keep this site as informative and current as possible. If you would like to recommend, or warn about, a particular dive or diving location we'd love to hear from you. Books of the World's Best SCUBA Diving
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