Lankayan Diving

Dive Sites of Lankayan Island

For jaded divers looking for something new, Lankayan Island is the place for you. The island is a frontier diving destination in the Sulu Sea. It offers the triple pleasures of macro diving - with its foray into the underwater macroworld paradise - as well as some excellent reef and wreck diving which offers encounters with larger pelagic species like the whale shark.

Whale shark sightings are almost a certainty if your planning scuba diving in Lankayan in April and May, while other pelagic such as scads, barracudas and jacks are found all year round. Whale shark sightings are usually first noted by boatmen who then alert divemasters to round up divers to whizz up to the gentle giant for a closer look. This is one of the best places in the world to head out to for encounters with these behemoths of the open seas.

Lankayan's reefs offer fantastic coral reefs and fish life too. You'll find lettuce coral and staghorn coral. Also around are anemones, clown fish, shrimp, seahorses, flying gurnards, jawfish and porcelain crabs. Wreck diving is another highlight, with a number of wrecks around the coastline. Wreck divers have both penetrations into the hull as well as observing a different kind of life on deck to look forward to.

Muck diving offers divers the opportunity to flirt with the more bizarre and unusual marine life to be found. Lankayan Island is one of the few destinations worldwide that offers macro diving, wrecks and coral reefs - a concoction any dive addict would find hard to pass up.

• Lankayan tourist information

• Map of Sabah - Borneo

Diving Season

Lankayan Island scuba diving season runs all year round, with the best time to visit for whale shark sightings being between April and May.

Reef Basics

Great for: Wrecks, large animals, small animals, underwater photography and beginner divers
Not so great for: Non-diving activities
Depth: 5 - 30m
Visibility: 3 - 25m
Currents: Moderate
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 26°C
Experience Level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: 14
Access: Lankayan dive resorts
Recommended length of stay: 5 - 7 days

Dive Sites

More detailed information on Lankayan diving sites:

Dive The World Recommendations: Jawfish Lair and Mosquito Wreck.

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