Last Updated on 07/12/2024

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Having been scuba diving in various countries around Asia, I am often asked where is the best place to scuba dive in South East Asia. Taking into account countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, here are my top scuba dive sites and the marine life you can spot during the dives such as sharks, manta rays, whale sharks and turtles. The following places are the best dive sites in my personal experience and I can’t wait to add more to the list. Consider these top diving destinations when booking your next scuba diving trip for some impressive underwater adventures.

Best Diving in South East Asia: Indonesia  – Scuba Diving in Komodo National Park

To this date, Komodo remains the most exciting and awesome place to scuba dive that I have been so far. Healthy, brightly coloured corals and a whole range of marine life from manta rays, to sharks to turtles and macro life, Komodo has such an incredible underwater world. After a holiday trip here, I decided to do my divemaster course here and enjoyed every dive. There are strong currents so it’s a great place to improve your skills. You will be expected to pay extra national park fees whenever you enter Komodo National Park whether it’s for scuba diving or snorkelling trips.  The most impressive dive sites are probably Batu Balong which is always a clear favourite, and you will see why once you jump in the water, but also the North of Komodo for crazy currents and lots of sharks.

Best Diving in South East Asia – Best place to dive with Manta Rays in Nusa Lembongan

Indonesia is one of the best countries to scuba dive in, both for learning to dive, like doing the Open Water course and also for the diversity of marine life you can see there. Nusa Lembongan boasts manta rays all year round and you would be extremely unlucky not to experience a dive or even a snorkel with a manta ray there. It also has some enjoyable drift dives and some dive sites with fairly healthy coral and a lot of frogfish!

Best diving in the Philippines – Thresher Sharks in Malapascua, Cebu

If, like me, you are a shark addict then definitely head to Malapascua, Cebu in the Philippines to dive with the thresher sharks. There’s an extremely high chance of seeing these 3 metre long sharks at around 25 metres so this is aimed for Advanced divers or those who have completed a deep dive speciality. The tails are so impressive and I’ll never forget the early morning experience of kneeling in the sand at the bottom of the sea being circled by these amazing thresher sharks.

For my more detailed Philippines guide read here

Best diving in the Philippines for coral reefs – Leyte

Leyte in the Philippines has some of the best coral reefs I’ve ever seen in my life – rivalling Komodo in my opinion. It is quite an effort to get there but you are rewarded with views of Sogod Bay, stunning coral reefs, amazing night dives and a high chance of whale shark snorkels in the right season. I definitely recommend checking out Peters Dive Resort if interested.

Best place to see whale sharks in Thailand – Richelieu Rock and Koh Bon, Thailand

Scuba diving Richelieu Rock is arguably one of the best places to dive in Thailand. Not far from the Similan Islands or Koh Similan off the west coast of Thailand, it has lovely purple corals and a fairly good chance of whale sharks when in season. You can only visit during dry season, approximately October to May as this area and the Similan Islands are closed over the monsoon period.

For more Thailand Scuba Diving tips check out this blog post

Best diving in the Gili Islands, Indonesia – “Turtle city”

For those seeking turtles, head to the Gili islands off of Bali and the dive site they nickname ‘turtle city’. I was told by my dive instructor that if I only saw 10 that was considered unlucky!

Scuba diving in Tulamben, Bali – World War 2 Wreck Dive – The Liberty Bell

One of the best wreck dives that I did in Bali is the Liberty Bell in Tulumben, close to Amed and the jumping off point to the Gili Islands. The wreck is a shore dive so I strongly recommend diving at sunrise as there were no other divers around when I did and these huge bumphead/humphead parrotfish circle around the wreck in a school.

Next up, I’m exploring the Maldives so read more here about the best diving in the Maldives/EVER!

For ideas and suggestions of what you should take on a dive boat click here

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