Diving is an upcoming tourist fancy and there are many options and places to suit your fancy for the water world. With old favourites competing with newly discovered destinations, Asia Pacific spoils divers due to the versatile choice they offer when it comes to the next big underwater adventure. We have listed the best diving destinations this region has to offer for you to take your plunge.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, or PNG, has towards its north the Pacific Ocean, to the south it has Australia’s Coral Sea and to the east the Bismark and Solomon Seas. It occupies the eastern half of New Guinea and island it shares with Indonesia. PNG offers the most spectacular marine variety and is a divers’ hub.
Not only diving, it also offers exotic adventures due to fantastic rain forests and crystal clear water that will replenish anyone’s thirst for both jungles and marine environment. This place is also known for its immense culture as it is home to about 800 languages and communities that are not in touch with the outside world even today.
Burma
Burma is certainly something that will not cross your mind while you are planning a vacation as the place has often witnessed violent oppression but this is for real that once you hit the waves here, you will witness more than you expected. Stunning reefs and plenty of big fish action will awe you. The area is dived by Liveaboard from Thailand to the south because there are no dive centres in Burma.
Thailand
If it is scuba diving, it has to be Thailand. It is one of the most popular destinations for scuba diving in the world. It has a well-developed tourist industry and a well-established diving industry. The country offers several dive centers, dive locations and an amazing marine view when you are under water. It is possible to dive on both west and east coasts, as Thailand’s diving is concentrated along the southern peninsula. Monsoons here are unable to affect the coasts at the same time; as a result, it is possible to dive all year round.
Malaysia
Malaysia has two parts, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo Malasysia. Sarawak and Sabah are on Borneo, the world’s largest island to the east, while Peninsular Malaysia is located on mainland between Thailand and Singapore.
Due to the Peninsular Malaysia being developed, it offers comparatively easy diving from its many offshore islands. On Borneo, Sabah offers tremendous diving riches and houses Sipidan Island. This place also has less frequented remote yet spectacular dive destinations.
The Philippines
The Philippines has a coastline, which is over 36,000 km long. It has about 7000 islands and is home to some of the best things nature has to offer. It lies north of Indonesia and east of Vietnam. This country offers endless marine variety because of its coastline that touches the waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the South China Sea, The Celebes Sea and the Sulu Sea.
The largest islands in Philippines are Luzon in the north and Mandanao in the south.
Visayas is a group of islands sitting between Luzon and Mandanao and to the west across the Sulu Sea is the remote island of Palawan. This is a divers’ paradise due to its versatility.
Indonesia
This place tops the list when one intends to explore coral reefs and fish species. Indonesia is the world’s largest Archipelago and houses 17,000 islands. Because it is placed right in the Coral Triangle, it offers some of the most astounding 10-15% of the world’s coral reefs and 25% of the world’s fish species. Every corner of this country has dive sites.
The most famous areas for diving are probably Bali, Sulawesi and Flores, but do not limit yourself to these as there is much more to explore.
Vietnam
One of the most easterly of South-East Asia’s mainland countries is Vietnam. It has a really long coastline, which provides you enough reasons to experience diving. Its entire eastern coastline faces the South China Sea, from the Gulf of Thailand in the south to the Gulf of Tonkin in the north. The country has slightly different climates in north and south and has some extremely beautiful bays and small islands. Due to its versatile climate, it tends to have warmer seas towards south and east and this is where you will find the best diving spots.
If diving is something that you often think about then we have given you enough reasons to take that much-awaited plunge. Diving in South East Asia is at it´s finest!
