Advice Please...Where to dive next in Asia!

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hutchinson12

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Messages
31
Reaction score
12
Location
British expat living in Hong Kong
# of dives
200 - 499
I am planning a dive trip for early June and would preffer a liveaboard but are open to any suggestions. I am based in Hong Kong and have been looking at Palau but this seems quite difficult to get to and I am limited to 7 days. I have heard there is some great diving in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, PNG etc
I'm not restricted to Asia....Any recommendations and liveaboards would be very much appreciated!!
......I would love to see a whale shark :)
 
From Hong Kong you are a short trip from Okinawa. With 7 days you can explore the Keramas islands, the ruins of Yonaguni and the wrecks off the main island of Okinawa.
 
For a weeklong liveaboard trip in June for an inexperienced diver (if your profile shows your dive history correctly as 0-24 dives), I would recommend the Southern Andaman islands of Thailand. The diving isn't too hard (as it tends to be in Komodo, a top June liveaboard destination). You could also try Sipadan for early June. There's a liveaboard there (with a couple of spots still open) as well as all-inclusive land-based options.
 
Indonesia is a great option. North Sulawesi is easy to get to from Hong Kong via either Singapore or Jakarta. Both Lembeh and Bunaken would be good for a newer diver and you could split your time between the two with a 7 day trip.
 
Early June could be too late for the liveaboard to Tubattaha in Philippines.
At the time of writing the ONLY place in Asia that can guarantee whaleshark(s) sighting is at Oslob in Philippines. There are plenty reports available. Would the whalesharks stay beyond May is anybody guess.
BTW, if you are based in HK, you can catch the early Sat morning(01:30) Cebu Pacific flight to Cebu, hop into a taxi and head to Oslob. Jump into the water and snorkel with the animals. Catch the evening flight(22:30) home on the same day.
Seriously, you are based in HK and never dive Philippines!!!!!!
Fly to Cebu and you have Bohol, Dumaguete, Malapascua, Moalboal, Siquijor and Southern Leyte to choose. And if you are into WWII history then the several Jap wrecks in Coron are not to be missed. Even though the Irako and Akitshisuma(flying boat tender) are more suitable for experienced diver.
 
Thank you for the advise!! I still class myself as a beginner as i've been diving just less then a year but have over 50 dives now and have recently completed my advanced so i'm not too worried about only sticking to the easy dives. (my fault- i hadn't updated my profile)
The only places in Asia i have been are Sipadan and the philippines (Moalboal) but as I'm so close to the philippines this looks like it could be the best option.
 
Malapascua(Cebu) for the thrasher shark and if the whalesharks are still around, save the last day(snorkelling only) for Oslob.
 
In that case (50+ dives and AOW), you might consider Komodo as well with easy flights from Hong Kong to Bali, but most often requiring a second flight the next morning to get to Labuan Bajo. There are 5-day trips, which could fit your 7-day period quite nicely. The Thailand southern island liveaboards would also fit your time period, and Air Asia has non-stop flights between Hong Kong and Phuket, which cuts down on travel time considerably. If I lived in in Hong Kong, I'm sure I'd dive the PI more often than I do now, but I have to put up with terrible connections from here, and while the diving is really good there, I like Indonesia better overall when I have the chance to travel away from Thailand, plus it's a lot easier to get to for me! It's always a combination of factors: time, price, travel, culture, and each of us has to put the whole package on the scale before we decide to buy!
 
Okinawa has a good mix of reef, wall, drift and wreck dives ranging in depth from 12 to 40 meters. No liveaboards here but lots of good land based options.
 
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