Weekend Diving options

[whooyeah]

I'm new to Singapore and have bought all my dive gear and so of course I want to go diving this weekend.

What are my options.

Do any dive stores do day trips?

Which dive stores do regular trips?

Which dive stores have an up to date online calendar?

 

[Zippsy]

Wow. No replies yet? In short, weekend diving from Singapore is good from late March to the end of October. Every dive shop in town runs trips up to Tioman and Aur every weekend during that time. Most do the Friday evening drives to Mersing / midnight transfers to the islands / 4 dives on Saturday & 2 on Sunday then the return trip. It can be economical but tiring. There are a few operators that run boats straight out of Singapore to the same islands or to the Anambas islands of Indonesia. They are usually more expensive but more relaxing as a weekend. It's also fairly easy to do DIY trips to Tioman and dive with some good operators for cheaper but, again, you trade work for savings.

From November to March is the monsoon season in the South China Seas with weekend diving pretty much limited to the southern islands of Singapore or, possibly, Batam / Bintan but don't expect anything wonderful. Many people do longer weekends during this time to places like Bali or Phuket.

 

[Karo H]

Hi, have you ever considered joining a dive club? I am a member of FreeFlow Divers in Singapore. FreeFlow Divers is a diving club associated with the British Club in Singapore. The club is operated by volunteers and welcomes divers of all diving agencies. You don't have to be a member of the British Club to join. They are quite active and organise half day trips in Singapore (Pulau Hantu, 2 sisters etc), monthly weekend trips to Malaysia and Indonesia (Pulau Aur and Pulau Tioman from March to October, and the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia in the off season), and some longer trips in the region.
They also have monthly dry meetings with guest speakers where members meet and share dive experiences. Once a month they do pool sessions that allow you to practice skills or test dive equipment.

 

[goblinina]

Hi Zippsy - I know it's been a while since this post, but I have a similar question. I'm based in Singapore and would like to do my Adv Open Water in Malaysia. I've researched the Singapore shops that do the standard weekend trips out to Tioman, Bintan, or Dayang (although I read that all trips to Dayang are suspended because of a new fee?). I'm on a budget so a liveaboard isn't an option for me. You seem familiar with the area so I have a couple questions:

1. Generally, is it worth signing up for one of these weekend trips with a Singapore dive shop OR, as you mentioned, should I make my own way to Malaysia and do the course with a local dive shop? I'm fine with arranging travel myself if it's worth the difference in cost!


2. And for the better option, Singapore or Malaysia, do you have recommendations for which dive shop/operator to go with?


3. And finally, which dive spot is better from Tioman, Dayang, Bintan or Aur? Or are there other recommended spots in Malaysia close to Singapore?

Thank you in advance!

-Nina

 

[Zippsy]

Hi Nina,

I'm typing on an iPhone so pardon my brevity. For the first time to Malaysia, I would definitely book through a local Singapore shop. It's easy and I think worth the money until you know your way around a bit more. Pulau Aur and P. Dayang are separated by a small channel so they share dive sites. Yes, the islands were effectively closed last September because of the sultana of Johore (that's misspelt on purpose - he's an ass). I heard a rumor that one Singapore shop was planning at ADEX to still run trips there somehow but I can not remember which shop (I'll amend this when I do) and how they'll do it or the cost. I slightly prefer Aur / Dayang to Tioman but those are fairly both similar. Day trips to Singapore's southern island are still possible but expect viz with nudi's and seahorses the best finds. Some shops run trips to Bintan but it's almost as much hassle with not as good diving IMHO, compared to Malaysia. Some people also prefer to dive less frequently but in better places. They'll do a weekend in Bali or Phuket with 3 dives on Saturday sandwiched between Friday and Sunday night flights. Go figure. Those are your options for land based diving. For less expensive LOB, look at Nautica and the Seaborne. I hope this helps.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2014 at 10:33 AM ----------

Dang, that was more than I thought my index finger and eyesight would last.

 

[goblinina]

Thanks Zippsy, very helpful!

 

[Zippsy]

Hi Nina,

.... I heard a rumor that one Singapore shop was planning at ADEX to still run trips there somehow but I can not remember which shop (I'll amend this when I do) and how they'll do it or the cost......

Leeway Scuba was the one at ADEX saying that they would still do trips to Aur / Dayang. Sorry, I forgot to post this after I remembered.