Dive sites of Perhentian Island
Batu Nisan
Batu Nisan (1) offers divers a vibrant coral garden teeming with marine life. Even around the jetty area schools of fish will give you a warm welcome once you hit the water. Here you can descend gradually to a depth of around 12 meters to explore the coral formations and encounter various reef fish species. It is just located at the jetty of Long Beach, so we call it our house reef. Because of the sandy bottom and calm water it is also our go-to dive site for your first dive experience, refresher course or to practice your buoyancy and photography skills.
Temple of the Sea
Immerse yourself in the signature dive site of Perhentian Island: Temple of the Sea (10), also known as Tokong Laut. Divers can dive to a maximum depth of 24 meters. The temple is actually a huge pinnacle, decorated with a diverse range of hard and soft corals and is home to turtles, schools of trevally, squid and much more. This iconic dive offers everything you can imagine – from small nudibranch’s till banded seasnakes and resting bamboo sharks under the rocks. Who knows it’s your lucky day and you will witness the biggest shark on earth: the whaleshark!
Police Wreck
Police Wreck (18) offers the perfect wreck experience for any divers certification level. These three wrecks are sunk in 2012. Only a 5 minute boat ride away from Long Beach, this dive site presents an unique experience. Along the buoyline you can descend to a depth of 18-20 meters. This artificial reef provides shelter for boxer shrimps, 2 types of pipefish, nudibranchs, trevally, roving coral groupers, different species of pufferfish, scorpionfish, plenty of (sting)rays, flathead crocodile fish and last but not least bamboo sharks. It is also one of our favorite dive sites to do a night dive.
Sugar Wreck
For a historical dive adventure, the Sugar Wreck (15), 89 meters long vessel, beckons at a maximum depth of around 18 meters. She was born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1969 and sunk in 2000 close to the mainland. Because of its location the wreck had to endure some strong currents and therefor part of the wreck has collapsed. The combination of the location and the possibility of strong current makes this dive site suitable for advanced divers only. Although the wreck is not in a perfect condition anymore, it is surrounded by many schools of fish, like chevron barracuda’s, snappers, yellow scadfish. A haven for various fish species making it a captivating underwater museum.
Serenggeh
Explore Serenggeh (12), where divers can dive to a maximum depth of around 24 meters. However, most dives we do here are shallower dives and have an average depth of about 14 meters. Serenggeh is an island 20 minutes boat ride away from Perhentian Kecil and you can start the dive form different points around the island. This site offers a stunning underwater landscape featuring dramatic rock formations, crevices, and overhangs. It has a rich biodiversity, from macro critters to larger reef inhabitants. You might bump into the always smiling school of humpheads. Don’t forget the different types of hard corals, making it an exciting destination for every certified diver.
San Choi Wreck
A dive site that must be included on your list is the impressive San Choi Wrecks (7). Resting on a sandy bottom at a maximum depth of 18 meters. The three fisherman boats are sunk on purpose in 2018 to create a small artificial reef. Soon plenty of fish call these wrecks their home. Sometimes so many – schools of barracuda, snappers and pony fish – that you can’t even see the wrecks! Other than this you can find all types of marine life in, on and under the wrecks, like bamboo sharks, (sting)rays, boxfish, shrimps, crabs, scorpionfish and more. Get your camera ready and fully charged, you’re in for a great underwater show.
Sail Rock
Sail Rock / Batu Layar (17) is a beautiful coral reef garden reaching a maximum depth of 18 meters. The top of this huge coral reef patch is approximately 10 meters. Large boulder corals line the slope on the eastern side and staghorn corals populate the west side of the reef. At a nice and slow pace you can dive around the whole reef in about 50 minutes. But do make sure to explore on top of the reef as well. It is a dive that displays a spectacular density of coral and colorful reef fish, with a surprise visit of a family of humphead parrot fish, black tip reef shark or eagle ray as the cherry on top.
Terumbu Tiga
Delve into the depths of Terumbu Tiga / T3 (21), where divers can explore massive boulders covered in different types of hard and soft corals to a maximum depth of 21 meters. This area showcases stunning underwater rock formations, creating fun swimthroughs and providing shelter to an array of marine life. It’s the perfect dive site to spend your time looking for different types of nudibranchs that are grazing over the walls of the rocks. Besides that there are chances to see black tip reef sharks, family of batfish, big barracuda’s, turtles and humphead parrotfish.
Terumbu Dua
Next to T3, there is T2 (20). These two dive sites are close to each other and might even be explored together. However T3 is such a big dive site, we like to dive them separately. T2 lies closer to shore and is therefore shallower. A maximum depth of about 14 meters can be reached and it has an average depth of approximately 10 meters. If you are looking for stunning views with pristine soft corals look no further – T2 is the place! It is an offshore pinnacle surrounded by shallow coral reef with a high diversity of macro organisms. The perfect recipe for macro underwater photographers.
Stingray Alley
Stingray Alley (4) offers a different type of dive to Perhentian Islands repertoire. It is a sloping reef of huge boulders making it a thrilling dive experience with a maximum depth of around 18 meters. As the name suggests, this site is known for frequent encounters with big Jenkin’ whiprays gliding gracefully through – or just resting on – the sandy bottom. There are chances to spot a resident turtle, black tip reef shark, tuna, trevally’s or a grazing family of humphead parrotfish as well. Macro lovers should not skip this place, there’s plenty of different nudibranch’s to be found here too.
D’lagoon
Dive into the tranquil waters of D’Lagoon (3), where divers can explore to a maximum depth of around 12 meters. This site is characterized by its calm, shallow lagoon surrounded by coral reefs and clear white sandy bottom. It is an ideal spot for novice divers to witness vibrant marine life up close. At a nice relaxed pace there is actually much to find, often missed by many. There’s different nudibranch’s, all reef fish, turtles, school of bumpheads, squid, Indian ocean walkman, scorpionfish, blue spotted stingrays and the bigger Jenkin’ whiprays.
7 Magnificent Wrecks
The latest addition to the dive sites that we visit are the 7 Magnificent Wrecks (11). A few years ago these boats were sunk on purpose creating a huge artificial reef. There are at least 7 wrecks of different sizes lying on a sandy bottom at around 23 meters deep. The wrecks are not located close together, so it is not possible to see the all the wrecks in one dive. To help you with navigating, they connected the wrecks with thick ropes. Thi sis also a dive site more suitable for advanced divers. Bring your torch, because you will be in for an amazing exploration.