Best Diving places in Asia

[Searcaigh]

Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines are my top three favourite countries to dive.

 

[shakira]

Sipadan island in malaysia, i will be there on 19 Sep and stay for 10 days on mabul island. Sipadan is one of the best dive sites all around the world .

 

[farsidefan1]

Indonesia. then Indonesia some more

 

[Wingy]

Ive noticed Papua New Guinea being lumped in with Asia a few times on these forums.....VASTLY different place - West Papua = Raja Ampat, Cenderwasih Bay that is part of Asia...Papua New Guinea is part of Oceania/Pacifiic Islands Group. Culturally and Ecologically very different to West Papua - (diving may be somewhat similar but at the same time very very different) getting to Raja Ampat is a lot easier and cheaper than getting to Papua New Guinea from europe. Its not semantics - you will find its a whole different ball game trying to get to dive or travel within PNG.
As far as Asia diving, I like both Thailand and Indonesia - different areas of both countries. I personally really dislike bali as an island, many people love it, i like diving Penida and Lembongan but thats about it around bali..I love diving North Sulawesi but have also found really interesting diving in Sumatra. I guess its what your looking for to go along with your diving. Nightclubs and bars, go to Bali or Phuket, Peace and quiet and culture and scenery or wildlife interaction, well, Sulawesi or Sumatra or a mix between the two go to Krabi in Thailand or Sipidan in Malaysia. Diving in Vietnam and Cambodia is a bit ..bland.. I love Cambodia topside, dislike Vietnam top and bottom, but thats just my personal opinion.
Lots of choice depending on what you are looking for.

 

[kaerius]

Having dived Thailand(east side, gulf of Thailand) and Maldives, I can highly recommend Maldives as one of the best, but also expensive, Thailand's merely ok/good on the east side, and from what I hear the best diving on the west side, the similans, have suffered massive coral bleaching and is not what it used to be. Oh and for diving the best parts of thailand: expect very crowded divesites.

The destination I currently most want to go to in asia is indonesia, specifically Raja Ampat, Lembeh, Sulawesi, Komodo, and Sumatra.

 

[Quero]

I would agree, kaerius, that the western side of Thailand offers more variety in terms of diving than the Gulf of Thailand. But I disagree with most of the rest of what you've written about Thailand. I guess that since you haven't dived the western side, you're taking as truth whatever you've heard. In fact, it's not quite right. Yes, there was some beaching, three years ago, and yes, some hard coral forests have been devastated, but mostly these were at shallow snorkeling sites rather than at dive sites. The best Thailand dive sites are just as wonderful as they were before the bleaching episode. I honestly don't get tired of diving in western Thailand, and I've done a lot of dives here! I think Thailand is perfect for people who have never dived in Asia before and who maybe don't have a lot of diving experience. It's a great place for that first liveaboard trip, for example, since the diving is generally accessible to all levels of divers. In addition, for whenever people are not diving, the physical beauty of the the country is stunning. Culturally the country is wonderful. And the food is delicious.