Asia is a diver’s playground, home to some of the most spectacular underwater experiences on the planet. Whether you’re a bubble-blowing scuba diving enthusiast or a naturalist freediver, there’s no shortage of breathtaking diving destinations.
If the ocean had a VIP section, it would be the Coral Triangle. Spanning Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Timor Leste, this biodiversity hotspot is home to 76% of the world’s coral species and bustling marine life. Basically, it’s the Amazon Rainforest of the sea—but wetter and with fish. With thousands to choose from, narrowing down the best dive sites in Asia isn’t easy, but here are the dive spots you absolutely cannot miss!
1. Raja Ampat – This remote paradise boasts an explosion of marine biodiversity, with over 1,500 fish species and 600 coral species offering a dramatic underwater landscape teeming with life. Best explored on a Raja Ampat liveaboard!
2. Best dive sites in Bali – If you dream of drift diving with manta rays at Manta Point or spotting the elusive mola mola (sunfish), diving in Nusa Penida is for you. Diving in Amed is a shore-diving paradise with black volcanic sands, a protected reef-scattered bay, and the legendary USAT Liberty shipwreck.
3. Diving Komodo – The dragons are cool, but the underwater scene is cooler! Expect serene drift dives and encounters with reef sharks, mantas, and macro life. A Komodo liveaboard is the best way to explore it all.
4. Maldives Diving – Whether you’re into Maldives scuba diving or freediving, soak up hammerheads, manta rays, nurse sharks, tiger sharks and whale sharks. Best explored with an all-inclusive dive trip or a Maldives liveaboard.
5. Diving in Timor Leste – A hotspot for whales and dolphins, these waters offer an insane variety and quantity of unique marine mammals including blue whales, beaked, humpbacks, sperm whales, killers/orcas, short-finned pilots and melon-headed.
6. Diving Philippines – From the sardine runs of Moalboal to the WWII wrecks of Coron and the thresher sharks of Malapascua, Philippine diving offers an unforgettable underwater adventure.
7. Diving Sri Lanka – Whale galore; blue, sperms, humpbacks, and Bryde’s whales. Diving with whales is prohibited but you can enjoy the show from a boat. There’s no shortage of scuba and freediving in Sri Lanka with thriving reefs and wrecks.
8. Best Diving in Thailand – From the vibrant reefs of Koh Tao to the dramatic walls of Koh Lanta, scuba diving in Thailand offers everything from relaxed coral gardens to adrenaline-pumping drift dives with manta rays and seasonal whale sharks.
The best time to dive Asia, water temperatures, and visibility:
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