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SCUBA Diving Destinations: Asia and the Indo-PacificWe 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. " "The only place in 20 years of diving I have had 150ft of vis + saw killer whales. " 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)Dive Sites • Dive Operators • Further Reading
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 GuineaDive Sites • Dive Operators • Further Reading
"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. Inglis shoals "Many hammerheads, silver tip sharks, whale sharks, bait ball etc. schooling jacks etc. 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. "
Lonely Planet: Diving and Snorkeling: Papua New
Guinea" Diving VanuatuDive Sites • Dive Operators • Further Reading
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. Dive Sites • Dive Operators • Further Reading
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 the Maldives
Maldives Dive Sites • Maldives Dive Operators • Maldives Underwater Photos • Maldives Further Reading Diving The Maldives is now in its own section. Please go to the latest Maldives information. Compare Holiday Prices with Kelkoo Diving SeychellesDive Sites • Dive Operators • Further Reading
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 PolynesiaDive Sites • Dive Operators • Further Reading
"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." Awatoru Pass, Rangiroa "Great visibility (60 m at least), different kinds of sharks (from hammer to reef sharks) and hundreds of them, eagle rays, turtles, moray eels, very nice current (approxm. 2-3 m/s!!) and dolphins on surface before jump - experience for all my life!" Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa "Similar to Awatoru pass. We dived five days in these two sites and even during all those dives we could jump and jump in again - it's difficult to imagine something better. " "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." Tumakohua Pass, Fakarava "Magnificent drift dive and over benches of several dozens of grey sharks." Fitii's Pass, Huahine "Grey sharks, leopards rays, tortoise and big napoleons."
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 the Cook IslandsDive Sites • Dive Operators • Accommodation • Further Reading
"We dived the Cook Islands last November, and we dived both on the main island of Rarotonga and the next largest island of Aitutaki (Pacific Divers on the former and Bubbles Below on the latter). Both islands were fantastic, but I would strongly recommend taking the short 'internal' flight to Aitutaki as it's far more spectacular and 'desert islandy' than the main island. It's also a lot quieter and the beaches are far better, but the BIG selling point is the huge lagoon in the centre of Aitutaki, and I would VERY strongly suggest doing the lagoon snorkel day trip with Mike (all the hotels etc know about Mike's lagoon tour). He takes you to some of the most fascinting spots in the lagoon, and you can see the most amazing marine life, including a giant clam farm! He then takes you to a deserted atol shows you how to open a coconut, and cooks the most amazing BBQ on the beach. An excellent day out, and certainly the highlight of our trip...But back to the diving: it is first rate. Good reefs, warm water, huge viz, some big life. We saw giant turtles, eagle rays, reef sharks, plenty of fish, etc etc etc... and there's something very cool about knowing you're the only divers in the ocean for 2000 miles (if you time your days right)." "The Cooks have good travel infrastructure, and good diving operators, but crown of thorns infestations have destroyed a lot of coral. " "I visited the Cook Islands in July 2007 and made a two tank dive with Bubbles Below on Aitutaki, and again with Pacific Divers (Muri beach) and The Dive Centre (Aroa beach) on Rarotonga. I encountered one white tip reef shark, several moray eel, napoleon wrasse, turtle, unicorn fish and eagle rays. Diving was fantastic in the blue ocean and all three the operators very professional. I preferred the first two mentioned before, as they had a person extra on the boat for safety measure."
Bubbles Below - PO Box 105, Aratea, Aitutaki, Cook Islands. Tel/Fax +682 31537, E-mail: bubblesbelow@aitutaki.net.ck Pacific Divers - Main Road of Rarotonga, in the village of Muri, Cook Islands. Tel: +682 22450, Skype user ID : pacific.divers, E-mail: dive@pacificdivers.co.ck The Dive Centre - Aroa Beach, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Postal address: PO BOX 142, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Tel/fax: +682 20238, Mobile: +682 55238, E-mail: info@thedivecentre-rarotonga.com
Pacific Resort Aitutaki: 5 star, 27 villas, suites and bungalows.
Rarotonga and the Cook Islands, Lonely Planet, 2006. 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 PalauThe diving at Palau is so good we have given it its own page. Please go to our new Palau Diving section. 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." Uepi, Solomon Islands "Tiny Island on the edge of the worlds largest lagoon. Clearest water, best visibility, friendliest staff. Highlight was diving with hammerheads." Further Reading Solomon Islands... Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana IslandsA commonwealth in political union with the United States, comprises 15 islands.
Wing Beach, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands "The best shore dive you'll ever make. Deep cut gorges, giant moai-shaped pillars, giant arches. An amazing dive, only feet from the shoreline. " Diving CambodiaDive Sites • Dive Operators • Accommodation • Further Reading
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. " Diving in cambodia was wonderful, its not as awe inspiring as some places as the viz was not so good, but I love macro and I've never seen so much on one dive before. " 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. " The Dive Shop, Serendipity Beach Rd, Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Tel: +855(0) 92749772, E-mail: ScubaDiving@DiveShopCambodia.com " I had the best time diving with these guys, they promised me some special creatures on every dive, and every time they delivered, the dwarf sea horses were the best. We were all asked not to talk so much about the sites themselves as they are well kept secrets, one of the reasons we had such great dives was no other boats or divers, I hope they keep them safe for others too. Great value for money: 2 dives for $59. Paul the two instructors were wonderful even though I was not taking a course, they helped me out with hints and tips, and I felt more confident as a diver by the end of the trip. " Diving VietnamDive Sites • Dive Operators • Accommodation • Further Reading
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. Rating: " Dived with Rainbow Divers in Vietnam; excellent dive operator. International dive safety awareness. Very Professional. They have centres throughout the country. " " Rainbow Divers, Nha Trang, Vietnam. I dived with a few different shops while I was in Vietnam, and while Rainbow was probably the most expensive dive shop in Vietnam it is still really good value for money. The equipment is well maintained and in great condition, the instructures and dive guides are knowledgeable, sensible and aware. This dive shop stands head and shoulders above its "competitors" in Nha Trang - I would not dive with anyone else in Vietnam. I also did a day with their Hoi An shop which I found to be of equal standards in service (however the diving in Nha Trang is much better). " 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 Pakistan
Charna "It's an Island which is a great diving spot for divers who would like to see different species of corals and well as marina line such as Green Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, Barracuda and many more. Each dive spot around the Island is different and the landscape is beautiful. Some of the life that had been found is White sharks, Barracuda, Swordfish, Sailfish, Great Hammerhead Shark, Black Marlin, Green Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, Dolphins as well as Blind River Dolphins and many many more. It's a great place to dive, but if one wants to dive the window of opportunity is from end of September till the end of March. In the off season the dive site can not be accessed as the sea get very rough and the viz becomes nill. "
Indus Scuba
Coral Reef Fishes, Indo-Pacific and Caribbean , by Ewald Lieske and Robert Myers Diving IndiaFor more on diving India please see our new India Diving Section.
Lacadives, Lakshadweep 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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