Where to find good (and cheap) dives in Southeast Asia?

[Eric Cartman]

Hi guys!

I'm an indie U/W documentary producer.
At the moment I'm in Phuket, Thailand, making a film about the reefs affected by the Tsunami.
As it's almost finished I'm starting to think about a location for the next movie.
I was thinking about somewhere here in South East Asia where there's good diving (with good marine life and visibility) and diving is not so expensive as here.
Does anybody recomends somewhere? It would be great if there was shore diving available as we need to dive a lot to get the needed ammount of footage.
I was thinking about Madagascar or Maldive Islands but I've never being to these places before and have no idea about how diving there is.
Also I have to be aware of the season as I'll be going in August/September - when diving is very poor in some locations around SEA.
Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[clgsamson]

Hi guys!

I'm an indie U/W documentary producer.
At the moment I'm in Phuket, Thailand, making a film about the reefs affected by the Tsunami.
As it's almost finished I'm starting to think about a location for the next movie.
I was thinking about somewhere here in South East Asia where there's good diving (with good marine life and visibility) and diving is not so expensive as here.
Does anybody recomends somewhere? It would be great if there was shore diving available as we need to dive a lot to get the needed ammount of footage.
I was thinking about Madagascar or Maldive Islands but I've never being to these places before and have no idea about how diving there is.
Also I have to be aware of the season as I'll be going in August/September - when diving is very poor in some locations around SEA.
Thanks a lot for your help!

Anilao, Philippines. Great macro diversity. A dive is $10 to $15 only. Hie on over to the PPD section for more http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347

 

[malaysia-islands]

I'm not sure how cheap you are looking for (when you mentioned Maldives, it's probably too expensive for me). How about MYR160 ($45) for 2 dives in Tioman? For example, these photo I took in at dive site called Chebeh in Tioman last May.

Just a preview I guess. Literally unlimited space for Gorgonian sea fans.

 

[malaysia-islands]

And this shore dive for MYR70 ($16) from the village of Salang. The dive site is called Salang Wreck. Wasn't too bad. My first time doing wreck diving though.

 

[Eric Cartman]

How about accommodation and general safety there?

 

[malaysia-islands]

If you are thinking about pirates or street vendors chasing you to buy souvenirs, none. There are plenty of forummers here who have been to Tioman (close to Singapore), so they can attest to safety in general.

Accommodation? Between RM50 to RM100. I usually stay at Salang Indah Resort but of course there are other resorts here.

 

[chocolate]

Hi guys!

I'm an indie U/W documentary producer.
At the moment I'm in Phuket, Thailand, making a film about the reefs affected by the Tsunami.
As it's almost finished I'm starting to think about a location for the next movie.
I was thinking about somewhere here in South East Asia where there's good diving (with good marine life and visibility) and diving is not so expensive as here.
Does anybody recomends somewhere? It would be great if there was shore diving available as we need to dive a lot to get the needed ammount of footage.
I was thinking about Madagascar or Maldive Islands but I've never being to these places before and have no idea about how diving there is.
Also I have to be aware of the season as I'll be going in August/September - when diving is very poor in some locations around SEA.
Thanks a lot for your help!

As far as I'm concern, Maldive is probably one of the most expensive place to dive in, although diving condition there is very nice. If you have checked prices of diving there and it is OK with you, then you could probably dive anywhere in South East Asia. Otherwise, I would recommend Philippines, decent diving and much lower prices. I would recommend Puerto Galera. Because of its geographic location, it doesn't get affected much by rain/storm, etc.