Diving on Pulau Weh

Here on Pulau Weh we are diving all year round. Where the Andaman Sea meets the Indian Ocean, the deep waters and currents around the island sustain an unbelievable amount and variety of marine life. Which is ranging from tiny critters to grand pelagics.

The landscapes on all sites are magnificent and diverse. The average visibility is 20+ meters, and often more than 30 meters, especially when diving deep. The water temperature is usually 28-29 degrees Celsius, with sometimes colder upwellings which bring extremely clear visibility of over 40 meters from the dephts of the open ocean around Weh.

"An unbelievable amount and variety of marine life"

On one average dive you can easily log a dozen of moray eels (of five or more different species), beautiful sea fans, hunting trevallies, neon rivers of fusiliers, a couple of stingrays and maybe an octopus or two.

Depending on the location, time and current, it’s quite likely to add tuna, barracuda, sharks (white tip, black tip and occasionally a grey reef or hammerhead), big groupers and giant reef rays. Quite frequently we can also see devil or eagle rays! The most colorful nudibranches, ghost-pipe fishes, tiny seahorses and squat lobsters can be spotted when going ‘macro’.

Our Flexible Diving Schedule

In general, we dive two times a day and three times when requested. We can also arrange full day boat trips to further dive locations. Following local fisherman tradition, there is no diving from Thursday night at 18.00 till Friday afternoon at 14.00. However, we still dive two times on Fridays for those who can’t keep themselves out of the water.

We plan multilevel dive profiles to prolong bottom time, with a maximum dive time of 60 minutes. The main dive sites are in Pulau Weh’s National Marine Park and within close reach (on our speedboats just 10 to 30 minutes max!). Usually each dive is a separate boat trip as we are spending surface intervals relaxed back on the beach.

Even though our boats can cater up to 11 diving guests, we usually have very small groups to maximum of 4 people per guide, assuring you the best diving experience you can get here on Pulau Weh.

Didn’t get enough diving in during the day time? How about a DAWN, DUSK and/or NIGHT dive? Which we would be happy to arrange for you.

Are you planning a group trip?

We offer special Diving & Living packages. Get your package today.

Explore Pulau Weh Dive Sites

Close ~ 2 min

1. Gapang Housereef

The shallow area directly in front of the diveshop (to around 18m) consists of a sandy bottom with big coral formations, shallow reefs and rubble areas. Look for schools of shrimpfish, blue-spotted stingrays, ornate ghost pipefish and frogfish. Focus on the small stuff and you’ll find many different types of shrimps, nudibranch, seahorses and crabs.

2. Batee Dua

On the east side of the beach you can snorkel out to Batee Dua (Two Rocks) and start the deep part of your dive at 30 m and head back to the shallower reef closer to the beach. Be on the lookout for reef sharks, marble rays and barracuda. The resident turtles can often be found here. There is a huge field of garden eels too!

3. Seahorse Reef

diving_seahorse Just a short swim from the beach, at 24 meters you will find a rubble area with vegetation. It is macro heaven, filled with small critters. You can discover several species of nudibranchs, seahorses, shrimps, crabs and more. Nitrox recommended!

5. Limbo Gapang

Two minutes by boat, from Gapang Beach, there is an underwater mountain with a plateau at 7m. We regularly spot a school of barracudas, colorful fusiliers and nudibranchs. Because we usually dive ‘Limbo’ later on Friday afternoon, just before sunset, there are always a few octopus and cuttlefish hanging around.

Near ~ 5 min

4. Hot Springs

This very unique dive site is one of Pulau Weh’s special treasures! In the bay of Pria Laot, you will dive in hot water bubbles which release from the sandy bottom (5-15m). The cracks & vents change shape and size every time. It might be a bit smelly on the surface, due to sulfur, but it’s definitely a memorable experience.

7. Batee Meuroron

Only 5 minutes by boat, Batee Meuroron is a rocky outcrop with big boulder formations. It is a beautiful place to see cuttlefish, giant reef rays, stingrays, turtles, and different kinds of moray eels. Safety stops are not boring here because a school of black snappers and hundreds of fusiliers hanging in the shallows will keep you company.

8. Rubiah Seagarden

A dive site that is just as beautiful above the water as it is below, Rubiah Sea Garden is great for snorkeling and diving. Famous for its shallow colorful corals it has a rocky slope with big branching hard corals. You can also find a couple of amazingly pink fluorescent bubble anemones at 13 m. For sure you will see beautiful honeycomb morays here, and oftentimes you will catch them swimming freely.

Advanced Sites

17. The Canyon

This dive site is all about topography. You will have the unique experience of descending down a deep wall, diving through an underwater canyon, filled with 100’s of beautiful gorgonian fan corals, and ending your dive by passing under a natural arch. It’s a must-see dive site.

18. Pantee Peunateung

An amazingly beautiful, crescent moon shaped deep wall, where you will find a resident school of circling jacks. Peunateung is a deep dive site with the bottom well beyond the regular limits of recreational diving. You will feel like you’re diving in a river of colorful fusilier, amongst tuna, school of barracudas, giant sweetlips and blubber lip snappers.

SR. Sophie Rickmers Wreck

Sophie Rickmers is an impressively large, intact, WWII wreck, found in the sheltered bay of Pria Laot. Visiting Sophie is not just about the wreck, it is surprisingly fishy and covered in colorful hard corals. Laying on a deep sandy bottom, we organize the wreck dive as a special decompression dive for experienced deep and tech divers only.

Islands ~ 8 min

9. Rubiah Utara

Starting off on the northern tip of Rubiah Island, you will dive above a sloping area of fan and whip corals, as you make your way into a channel towards Arus Balee. The deep part of the site offers beautiful scenery with huge boulders and gigantic sea fans forming a dense cover of orange, pink and red colors.

10. Arus Balee

The fishiest dive site on Pulau Weh, you will for sure be amazed by diving in fish soup. Appropriately nicknamed by the Acehnese – Arus Palee, (which means bastard current 😉) – you will be surrounded by a large variety of fish. Some of them being: colorful fusiliers, hunting trevallies, a school of black snappers, coral breams, giant sweetlips and many ribbon eels.

11. Seulako Cave

The “cave” is actually an overhang that lays below a shallow channel. Inside you will discover a wealth of fish, critters and beautiful corals hanging from the top of the overhang. No need to swim far into it or have special training, the fish will come straight to you. Have a look out for ribbon eels waiting to catch an anthias fish snack.

12. Seulako Drift

Follow the current and the fish and you will experience flying while diving. Soar over a rocky, sloping reef, filled with hard corals and fields of soft leather corals. Be sure to look into the blue to catch the schools of devil rays, reef sharks, fusilier, trevally and tuna. This is an action-packed dive site for sure.

Specials ~ 10 min

13. Batee Tokong

With its spectacular scenery and its abundance of marine life, Batee Tokong will not only WOW you, but also be the most memorable dive site of your trip. A chance to see everything, as it’s a very large dive site with a diverse topography. It’s hard to know which way to look between seeing schooling devil rays, whitetip and blacktip sharks, schools of barracudas, big tunas, eagle rays and hunting trevallies. If that’s not enough for one dive, we promise you will see 100 moray eels of several different types. Tokong is not only about seeing the big stuff, but here you can also find a plethora of macro.

14. Shark Plateau

Found on the north side of Batee Tokong, this 24 meter deep plateau, is a place to see black and white tip reef sharks and the occasional gray reef shark. It’s also a favorite spot for big schools of trevallies, tuna, eagle rays and tons of fusilier. This is an advanced only dive site, Nitrox recommended.

16. Batee Gla

The rocks at this location form a ridge from the surface sloping down to more than 40 meters deep. The massive rock formations with its pinnacles and swim-throughs offers a spectacular view. Combined with the usual current that sweeps past, it’s as if flying over a mountain ridge on a hang glider or a small plane. Battee Gla usually has great visibility to fully enjoy the view.

Day trips

To the South

A pinnacle we can see above the water, Batee Meuduro often has strong currents that attract pelagics; tuna, mackerel, huge schools of barracudas, marble rays and eagle rays amongst others. Unique to this side of the island, the shallow plateau is covered with a large variety of soft corals and big table corals. A perfect hiding place for lobsters, stonefish, sleeping baby sharks and more.

To the West

divesite west A lively underwater pinnacle it can have strong currents where big schools of devil rays, eagle rays, barracudas and jacks can be found. The deep pinnacle starts at 12 meters, beautifully grown with corals and visited by all kinds of reef fish. Spend surface intervals snorkeling to the bat cave between dramatic rocks or relax for lunch on the secluded white sandy beach. On the long stretch of Pasir Puthi’s beaches you can find a beautiful and healthy coral garden at 12m, making this the perfect spot for a second, shallow dive.

To the North

Rondo Island is located north-west of Pulau Weh, about an hour boat ride away. Because of the distance this can only be organized on special request and is a two dive trip. The entire area is made up of beautiful pinnacles which form a diverse underwater topography. Here you will also find soft corals not typical found around Pulau Weh. Stunning for divers, treacherous for ships. You can still find big chunks of old wrecks around the pinnacles as well as in the shallows of the island.

When you’ve been out of the water for awhile, it’s time for a refresher! Our refreshers are available everyday and are taught by experienced Divemasters or Instructors! Together you will go over basic dive theory, setup equipment, practice skills and go for a housereef dive.

Ready to advance your diving to the next level? Check out our training options.