Australia
Western Australia
A narrow tropical reef plunging into a bottomless abyss surrounds Christmas Island, a volcanic atoll 360 km south of Jakarta. Spectacular walls covered with fan corals, pelagics including tuna, trevally, reef sharks and maori wrasse, the occasional hammerhead and whale shark, and underwater caves provide for some exhilarating diving.
| Sea | Indian Ocean |
| Number of Dive Site | 40 |
| Experience Level | Intermediate – Advanced |
| Depth | 5 – 40 m |
| Visibility | 15 – 50 m |
| Currents | Can be strong |
| Surface Conditions | Can be rough |
| Water Temperature | 24 – 30 |
| Good For | Wall diving, caves, big animals and reef life |
| Number of Days | 1 week |
| Available | Resorts and day trips |
| Best Time to Go | Year Round |
The Cocos Keeling Islands, a 1.5-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, are 24 smaller islands forming a U-shaped coral atoll. The diversity of diving is among the best in the world: pristine gardens of hard and soft coral, with the waters around the atoll abundant with pelagics (sharks, giant barracuda, big-eye trevally, dog-tooth tuna, mantas and dolphins) and the shallower reef hosting the smaller marine life and lone dugong. They are Australia’s best-kept holiday destination secret.
| Sea | Indian Ocean |
| Number of Dive Site | 30 |
| Experience Level | Beginner – Advanced |
| Depth | 5 – 40 m |
| Visibility | 15 – 50 m |
| Currents | Can be strong |
| Surface Conditions | Can be rough |
| Water Temperature | 26 – 29 |
| Good For | Reef Life, coral gardens, big animals |
| Number of Days | 1 week |
| Available | Resorts and day trips |
| Best Time to Go | Year Round |
Ningaloo Marine Park is the world’s longest fringing reef stretching over 260 km from Coral Bay to Exmouth and is renowned as the most reliable area for regular visits by Whalesharks. At the start of coral spawning in March, these congregate along the reef to feed. Only snorkeling is allowed with these gentle giants.
| Sea | Indian Ocean |
| Number of Dive Site | - |
| Experience Level | Beginner – Advanced |
| Depth | 3 – 20 m |
| Visibility | 10 – 30 m |
| Currents | - |
| Surface Conditions | - |
| Water Temperature | 22 – 29 |
| Good For | Whale Sharks |
| Number of Days | 3 days |
| Available | Resorts and day trips |
| Best Time to Go | Year Round |
Eastern Australia
The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system consisting of thousands of individual reefs and hundreds of islands, stretches more than 2,000 km along the Queensland coastline. The astonishing diversity of marine life (30 species of dolphins and whales, 6 species of sea turtles, more than 1,500 species of fish and 400 species of coral) leaves you spellbound. To the east of the Great Barrier is the Coral Sea – uninhabited islands, submerged reefs, deep-sea mountains and sand cays. In contrast to the massive shallow Great Barrier Reef, the topography of the Coral Sea formations includes spectacular walls, steep drop-offs and lone seamounts, as well as shallow gardens and gentle gradients.
| Sea | Pacific Ocean |
| Number of Dive Site | 250 + |
| Experience Level | Beginner – Advanced |
| Depth | 3 – 50 m |
| Visibility | 10 – 50 m |
| Currents | Can be strong |
| Surface Conditions | Can be rough |
| Water Temperature | 24 – 29 |
| Good For | Reef life, pelagics, walls, coral, macro |
| Number of Days | 1 – 2 weeks |
| Available | Resorts, day trips and liveaboards |
| Best Time to Go | Year Round |