Havelock Island

Jackson Bar

The best all-round reef on the island

Depth
8 - 24 m
Visibility
15 - 30 m
Minimum level
Open Water Diver
Site type
Reef
Entry
Boat entry
Boat ride
25 min boat ride
Water
27 - 30°C
A long coral ridge that works for a first post-certification dive and still holds the attention of somebody with two hundred in the book.
  • Reef
  • Havelock Island

If we could only keep one site, it would be this one. Jackson Bar is a ridge running roughly north to south, shallow enough at the top for a nervous new diver and deep enough on the far side to be interesting on your fifth visit.

What you will see

Dense hard coral in the shallows - staghorn, table and brain - giving way to soft coral and fans down the slope. Turtles are almost guaranteed on the top of the ridge, and the resident school of fusiliers is thick enough on a good morning to hide the reef behind it.

How it dives

Easy. A light current runs along the ridge and we plan the dive to use it, so you are drifting rather than swimming for most of it. This is the site we send freshly certified Open Water divers to on their first independent dive, and it is also where most of our Advanced navigation dives happen.

What you will see

  • Turtles on nearly every dive
  • Dense hard coral in the shallows
  • Fusilier and snapper schools
  • Works for every certification level

When to dive it

Best conditions: November - May

Outside those months the site still gets dived - visibility and sea state just move around, so ask us what the water is doing the week you are here.

What the water is doing

The figures our guides brief on. They are what the site usually gives you - the sea gets the final say on the morning, and the boat briefing always wins.

  • Depth8 - 24 m
  • Visibility15 - 30 m
  • Water temperature27 - 30°C
  • CurrentMild current
    • No current
    • Mild current
    • Moderate current
    • Strong current

    Comfortable for a diver holding their own buoyancy.

Before you dive

The rules every diver on this site is held to, whichever trip brings you here. None of them are negotiable, and none of them are a surprise on the day.

  • Minimum age

    Ten years old for a first guided dive, twelve and above for certified diving. Ask us if you are travelling with younger children.

  • Medical declaration

    You will complete a diver medical questionnaire before entering the water. A "yes" to any question means a doctor has to sign you off first, so tell us early rather than on the boat.

  • Flying after diving

    Leave at least 18 hours between your last dive and your flight. Book your trip home with that gap already in it - we cannot shorten it for you.

  • Insurance

    Bring travel insurance that names recreational scuba diving, including chamber treatment and evacuation. We will ask to see it.

This is general guidance for recreational diving, not medical advice about you. If any of it is a question rather than a formality, speak to a doctor before you travel.

Questions divers ask about this site

  • Is this a good first dive after certification?

    It is the one we choose. Shallow top, mild current, and enough on the reef that nobody spends the dive staring at their gauge.

  • Will I definitely see a turtle?

    Nearly always, but they are wild animals and we will not promise you one. Over a season the guides log turtles on roughly nine dives out of ten here.

  • Can snorkellers come along?

    Yes. The top of the ridge is at 8 m and clearly visible from the surface, so the snorkel line runs off the same boat.

More diving around Havelock Island

Want this site on your log? Tell us when you are on the island and we will put you on the boat that goes there.

EnquireAll dive sites
From our divers

What people say once the boat is back in

  • Best first dive I could have asked for. The instructors were unbelievably patient - I panicked at four metres on the first attempt and nobody made me feel stupid about it. Second attempt went fine and I finished the course three days later.
    Rahul MenonOpen Water Diver
  • Only one of us dives. Every other operator we spoke to had a plan where the other one sat on a beach for four days. Aqua Nomads put the snorkel line off the same boat, so we were in the same water the whole week - and by day three I had done a Discover Scuba dive too. The sunset sailing on the last evening was the best hour of the trip.
    Priya and Arjun NairHoneymoon, February
  • They called the Dixon crossing on our first morning because of a swell, and I was quietly annoyed. We dived Jackson Bar twice instead and it turned out to be the best day of the week. Getting Dixon on day three in flat water made the point - they were right and I was wrong.
    Daniel OseiAdvanced Open Water Diver
  • Two teenagers, neither of whom had dived. The instructors worked one-to-one with both of them for the first two dives without us asking, and my daughter has since booked her Open Water for next December. Whatever they did, it worked.
    The Fernandes familyFour divers, two of them under fifteen
  • I cannot swim well and I said so when I booked. They ran the whole thing one instructor to one diver, stayed in the shallow half of the bay, and never once made it feel like a concession. I have since done the swim assessment and the full course.
    Aditi SharmaOpen Water Diver
Call +91 90000 00000