Singapore: closest diving sites on a budget

[Scubi]

Hello All

My name is Karl from UK, looking for some help and advice please .

I have a cheap ticket to Singapore arriving 28 June 2009 (which I cannot change). I would welcome recommendations of diving sites (where I can get tanks and weights) close to Singapore (access via ferry short flight).

 

[vladimir]

Pulau Tioman and Aur are the usual sites within ferry distance. Also Babi Besar, Babi Tengah, and Rawa. Pulau Hantu is not worth diving. I used to take a prop flight from Seletar Airport to Tioman, but it's been a while, so I'm not sure that's still an option. The ferries leave from Tanah Merah Terminal, near Changi. (I remember this because I instead went to the World Trade Center to catch the ferry to my Advanced Nitrox and Deco dives, and I missed them.) Hopefully a native Singaporean can confirm or correct my dated information.

 

[Scubi]

The ferries leave from Tanah Merah Terminal, near Changi.

Thanks for the info...

Where do these ferries go to and what diving is at the end of the journey please

 

[timewalker]

All those places listed by Vladimar are not located in Singapore but in Malaysia. Its another country altogether. So there's immigration and customs to clear. Talk to the local LDS as they organize such trips, they usually depart only Friday and return by Sunday , you might wanna take that into consideration with your travel arrangement.

Try the local yellow pages for a listing of local LDS. You may enquire about Pulau Redang as well while you're at it. Dived there numerous times and enjoyed my time there.

Cheers,
Timewalker

 

[timewalker]

All those places listed by Vladimar are not located in Singapore but in Malaysia. Its another country altogether. So there's immigration and customs to clear. Talk to the local LDS as they organize such trips, they usually depart only Friday and return by Sunday , you might wanna take that into consideration with your travel arrangement.

Try the local yellow pages for a listing of local LDS. You may enquire about Pulau Redang as well while you're at it. Dived there numerous times and enjoyed my time there.

Cheers,
Timewalker

 

[vladimir]

All those places listed by Vladimar are not located in Singapore but in Malaysia. Its another country altogether. So there's immigration and customs to clear. Talk to the local LDS as they organize such trips, they usually depart only Friday and return by Sunday , you might wanna take that into consideration with your travel arrangement.

Try the local yellow pages for a listing of local LDS. You may enquire about Pulau Redang as well while you're at it. Dived there numerous times and enjoyed my time there.

Cheers,
Timewalker

Yes, they are all Malaysian islands. Redang is nice too, but harder to get to. I flew to KL, then to Trengganu, then took a bus and a ferry and stayed at the Berjaya. You could get to Lembeh or Bali more easily and more cheaply, I think. Diving in Singapore waters sucks; don't waste your time. The ferry to Tioman probably takes 4-5 hours (I have always flown) and the immigration procedures are generally pretty efficient. If you are taking the ferry to dive sites it's because money is more of an issue than time. There is much better diving within 5 hours of Singapore, but it will cost more. Again, hopefully somebody with more current and specific information will post. (I left Singapore in 2001.)

 

[Dreamdivegirl]

Hi, if you are interested in getting a short, cheap flight then ou should consider flying to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Bornean Malaysia. The flight is approx 2 hours and you can get really good deals on flights with Air Asia, JetStart at the moment. There's some good diving accessible from Kota Kinabalu (Pulau Tiga, Mayne Rock, Wrecks, Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park). If you felt up for it you could also consider diving some more famous dive sites in Sabah - Sipadan, Mabul, Lankayan. Depends on how much time you have and how much you want to spend. Good luck!

 

[Zippsy]

I missed this one.... The ferry from Singapore to Tioman stopped running several years ago. Every dive shop in town runs trips up to Tioman or Aur for the weekend but if you have longer and are on a budget, it's easy and cheap to get a bus to Mersing and a ferry to Tioman. Cheap accomodation and diving can be had there. That's a 3-4 hour bus and 1.5-3 hour ferry ride. Search on the forum for dive shop / "resort" recommendations.

 

[kathydee]

Hi, if you are interested in getting a short, cheap flight then ou should consider flying to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Bornean Malaysia. The flight is approx 2 hours and you can get really good deals on flights with Air Asia, JetStart at the moment. There's some good diving accessible from Kota Kinabalu (Pulau Tiga, Mayne Rock, Wrecks, Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park). If you felt up for it you could also consider diving some more famous dive sites in Sabah - Sipadan, Mabul, Lankayan. Depends on how much time you have and how much you want to spend. Good luck!

If you just cross the border from singapore into Malaysa (piece of cake). You can fly to Kota Kinabalu from Johar Baru (sp?) on airasia.com for very cheap. It is worth your time to try to get to Sipdan but book reservations for diving!!! There are budget diving joints in sipadan but permits are tight so you must get a guarantee for diving sipadan before you go. I'm traveling in SE asia now so on/off scubaboard and not really following posts but feel free to PM me if you would like more detailed info.

 

[MartianBeerPig]

Cheapest and closest to Sing are Tioman, Aur and Rawa. I've never dived Aur and Rawa but have Tioman and the diving there is ok.

Three options to Tioman are to fly (depart Sing) via Berjaya Air, catch a bus (can depart either Sing or Johor Baru) or rent a car in JB and drive. Cheapest is the bus. You can even get a taxi in JB to drive you to Mersing. Once you get to Mersing you can get the ferry over to Tioman (or Aur or Rawa if you prefer). If you need to stay in Mersing overnight, then you can stay in one of the backpackers. I recommend Eastcoast Backpackers (clean), but I don't know if they still operate. There's plenty of budget accommodation on the island.

Check out a few of the dive operators on the island. They all publish accommodation and how to get their directions.