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Best Diving Destinations in Malaysia

About scuba diving in Malaysia

Malaysia is situated in central South-East Asia, bordering Thailand in the north, Singapore to the south and Indonesia to the southwest. Separated by the waters of the South China Sea, the country is divided into two regions. Positioned immediately north of the equator between Thailand and Singapore is Peninsular Malaysia and the country’s capital of Kuala Lumpur. Scuba diving in Malaysia is undoubtedly worth the trip. Islands surrounding Malaysia are renowned by divers all over the world as one of the best diving spots on the Globe. Experience the magnificence of the underwater scenery while diving in Malaysia. Pick from a variety of underwater landscapes, including sloping reefs, pinnacles and coral gardens, to choose between deep, drift, wreck, cave and wall dives. The best places to dive are the islands in the eastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and the islands in the eastern part of the Borneo province Sabah. Situated just off of the Malay Peninsula, Redang, Perhentian and Tioman Islands (with its highlight Tiger Reef site) offer their own unique charm. The last two islands are especially good for beginners. Around the Perhentian Islands there are at least 20 different sites including unique shipwrecks and several fringing reefs. Redang Island features beautiful hard and soft corals in, what some consider, the world’s most developed coral gardens, as well as sandy bottom sites offering quality muck dives. Diving around the islands in the western part of the peninsula is less popular due to turbid marine water conditions which has a negative impact on underwater visibility.The only place to dive in this area is around small islands that lie between Langkawi and Penang - Pulau Payar and Pulau Kaca, where divers can dive a number of shipwrecks. Sabah province features some of the best diving in the world to observe big fish. Sipadan and Layang Layang attract hundreds of Hammerhead sharks and visibility can reach 50m/164ft. While Mabul Island is where divers come for muck diving. Sipadan is rising 600m/2000ft from the bottom of the Celebes Sea. It has remarkable biodiversity with more than 3000 species of marine life. Other famous diving spots off the islands surrounding Sabah are Kapalai, Labuan, Langkayan and Mataking. All these islands have the same in common: great dives, great visibility, huge walls and various marine life.

When to go to Malaysia

Malaysia has a tropical equatorial climate that is warm and humid. The wettest season on the west coast of the peninsula is between September and December, the east coast experiences more rain between October and March. Although most areas can be dived year round the best time is April through October (months outside of the monsoon season). The picture is different in Layang Layang, where the diving season runs only from March to August. Air temperatures range from 21C/70F to 32C/90F. Water temperatures vary between 27C/80F and 30C/86F year round.

 

What to see

Divers are guaranteed to encounter a great marine life and superb corals in all the diving places of Malaysia. Manta rays, stonefish, frogfish, mantis shrimp, huge schools of pelagic fish, reef sharks and turtles can be seen in most of the sites. 

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