help with Singapore

[diverrick]

Hi
I was offered a chance to go work in Singapore for a few months this summer, and I figured I would take my dive gear, but after a brief internet search, it looked like Vis was all but non existant, and I never found out what the water temp is that time of year. I also noticed that it seemed to involve alot of air travel to go diving from Singapore. I will only have weekends off, so flying might be a bit of a tight squeeze, with only two days off, not to mention costs involved with that kind of diviing. Can anyone tell me the water temps around April,trhough June, in Singapore region, and where I might be able to shore/boat dive neaarby Singapore, what kind of conditions might I expect, Etc? Thanks

 

[Vie]

Most people in Singapore travel to Malaysia (usually Tioman) or Indonesia to dive.

It’s not quite the same as real open water diving, but you could try an aquarium dive at Underwater World Singapore.

http://www.underwaterworld.com.sg/home.html

My gf and I tried it last year and had a great time—being able to interact with a dugong was an amazing experience; we also fed a group of very pushy eagle rays.

 

[isurus]

Most people in Singapore travel to Malaysia (usually Tioman) or Indonesia to dive.

It’s not quite the same as real open water diving, but you could try an aquarium dive at Underwater World Singapore.

http://www.underwaterworld.com.sg/home.html

My gf and I tried it last year and had a great time—being able to interact with a dugong was an amazing experience; we also fed a group of very pushy eagle rays.

absolutely take your dive gear - weekends diving in redang, perhentian pulau aur and tioman are all easily available and fantastic.

 

[chuck e]

Hi
I was offered a chance to go work in Singapore for a few months this summer, and I figured I would take my dive gear, but after a brief internet search, it looked like Vis was all but non existant, and I never found out what the water temp is that time of year. I also noticed that it seemed to involve alot of air travel to go diving from Singapore. I will only have weekends off, so flying might be a bit of a tight squeeze, with only two days off, not to mention costs involved with that kind of diviing. Can anyone tell me the water temps around April,trhough June, in Singapore region, and where I might be able to shore/boat dive neaarby Singapore, what kind of conditions might I expect, Etc? Thanks

You can ferry over to Bintan Island, Indonesia to

Mana Mana Beach Club S-6235
Jl. Lot A1 Lagoi Bintan Utara
Riau
INDONESIA
Phone: (65) 63398878

A decent resort, cheap, and a PADI operation, very doable on a weekend. Water temp should be mid 80's, you are on the equator. Good luck!

 

[SangP]

Hi there,

I'm from Singapore and you could do some diving in Malaysia, 2 hrs drive and then a boat ride to a nice island.

If I were you, tomorrow's good friday, grab your gear and fly to thailand for the weekend on tiger air or the other value air fairs LOL!

redang, perhentian pulau aur take a bit more time to drive over then and to grab a boat... maybe 10 hrs by coach then the boat ride.

SangP

 

[isurus]

Hi there,

I'm from Singapore and you could do some diving in Malaysia, 2 hrs drive and then a boat ride to a nice island.

If I were you, tomorrow's good friday, grab your gear and fly to thailand for the weekend on tiger air or the other value air fairs LOL!

redang, perhentian pulau aur take a bit more time to drive over then and to grab a boat... maybe 10 hrs by coach then the boat ride.

SangP

yep Tioman and Aur and Bintan are good for normal weekends. I rated perhentian as having the best of the malaysian east coast diving and its just about do-able on a weekend if you're willing to overnight friday and sunday to get there and back, a long weekend is much better though. Otherwise theres ton's of places within very short cheap flights for hols: bali, manado, philippines, thailand.....

 

[AC Boy]

Hi
I was offered a chance to go work in Singapore for a few months this summer, and I figured I would take my dive gear, but after a brief internet search, it looked like Vis was all but non existant, and I never found out what the water temp is that time of year. I also noticed that it seemed to involve alot of air travel to go diving from Singapore. I will only have weekends off, so flying might be a bit of a tight squeeze, with only two days off, not to mention costs involved with that kind of diviing. Can anyone tell me the water temps around April,trhough June, in Singapore region, and where I might be able to shore/boat dive neaarby Singapore, what kind of conditions might I expect, Etc? Thanks

Hi diverrick,

Like everyone else, I'd say def bring your dive gear along. Singapore's a great launchpad to many dive sites around the Southeast Asia region e.g. Malaysia and Indonesia.

Your predicament's no different from many local divers... they often hold day jobs and can only afford to dive during weekends. As such, most (if not all) dive operators in Singapore offer such weekend trips (usually 3D/2N) mostly to Pulau Tioman or Pulau Dayang/Aur. On these trips costing abt S$300-400+, you'll leave on a chartered bus/coach on Fri evening and arrive on the island in the early hours of Sat. Then it's back in Singapore by Sun night. All in all, you can prob expect to log abt 5 dives during such trips.

If there's a public holiday just before/after a weekend (of which there're many in Singapore this year), many divers take the chance to travel to further destinations such as Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian. Of course, travelling time is much longer and you can expect to be caught in a massive jam at the immigration checkpoints on the way back! Such trips will prob set you back by more than S$400+.

Back to your original question, it's a tropical climate all year round, and a 3mm wetsuit usually suffices. Most dive sites in mentioned above offer easy diving. However, the area is affected by monsoons and if you plan to dive anywhere east of Peninsular Malaysia, dive season's usually from Mar to Oct. Dive season for Thailand (west of Peninsular Malaysia) usually lasts from Oct/Nov to Mar.

Hope you'll decide to dive here in Southeast Asia!

 

[Zippsy]

Agreed! Singapore has to be one of the relatively few large cities in the world that offers such excellent and inexpensive weekend diving so close by. For about US$300, you can have six very good dives with decent (25' - 50') viz., all meals from Friday night to Sunday night, accommodations and transport, tanks & weights. The only thing you'll pay extra for is drinks and rental gear.

BTW, in that 25-50' viz, you'll see a lot more marine life than you would in most places in the Caribbean where the viz is double that.

 

[davidlkh]

Water temperatures are very warm. If diving in Tioman area, I just jump in with my neoprene vest and shorts. Some may wear a lycra suit for protection.

At the end of your work assignment, you should take the oppurtunity and travel around asia and do some diving. Perhaps go to Sipadan, Sangalaki, Bali... the diving is very very very fantastic if going at the right time.

 

[Ed_Dman]

I would also suggest that you bring along your gears, since you're gonna be there for a few months. You will definitely get a few diving trips during your stay there. Tioman is only a couple hours away and in April through June, there are quite a number of public holidays, maybe you can travel further up north to Redang or Tenggol.

Water temp is relatively warm (27-28 degrees).

Happy Diving & Keep Those Bubbles Flowing!

Ed.