All activities / Scuba Diving / Atauro Island
Scuba Diving in Atauro Island
A steep volcanic island rising from the Ombai-Wetar Strait about 25 kilometres north of Dili, ringed by fringing reefs that scientific surveys have found to hold the highest average reef-fish diversity ever recorded, and a laid-back base of eco-lodges and dive resorts.
Why here
Atauro sits over what surveys call the richest reef on the planet: a 2016 Conservation International rapid assessment recorded an average of 253 reef-fish species per dive site, the highest ever measured. The island drops steeply into the deep Ombai-Wetar Strait, so healthy coral gardens, walls and slopes start metres from the shore and the water stays clear all year, even in the rainy season. Dives run straight off the beach onto vivid house reefs, or by short boat to walls patrolled by trevally, tuna and reef sharks, with turtles, mandarinfish and the odd passing cetacean from the strait. Two established dive operations, one a PADI resort working with the marine-protected-area effort, run the sites for divers of every level while the island stays quiet and undeveloped, a rare combination of world-class reef and unhurried island life.
Best months
Diving is good all year with visibility that holds up even through the November to April wet season; the calmest crossings from Dili are in the drier months from about May to November. Sites range from gentle shore reefs ideal for beginners and courses to deeper walls and mild currents in the strait for experienced divers. October and November also bring migrating whales through the strait between dives.
Getting there & around
Atauro is reached from Dili by a public ferry a couple of times a week or by faster daily speedboats, about a one to two hour crossing to Beloi. Dive resorts on the island arrange transfers, tanks and boats, and most diving is booked as a stay-and-dive package given the limited accommodation. Bring what you need from Dili, as the island is small and services are basic; the reefs off the resort jetties can be dived on any day.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Atauro Dive Resort
OutfitterAtauro Dive Resort sits on the beach at Beloi on Atauro Island, run by owners Volker and Saffy, with a house reef directly in front for easy shore dives and boat dives on the east and west sides of the island minutes away. It offers PADI scuba courses and guided diving on reefs it describes as the most biodiverse in the world, with good visibility year round. In October and November it also runs whale-watching trips for the blue and sperm whales passing the strait.
Compass Diving
OutfitterCompass Diving is a PADI dive resort on Atauro Island, founded by Antony Crean, whose family diving operation grew out of an earlier Timor business from 1999. It runs guided dives and PADI courses on the island's fringing reefs, among the most biodiverse recorded anywhere, and its work with international conservation agencies has helped establish marine protected areas around Atauro's waters. It hosts visiting scientists and conservation photographers and dives sites for all levels.