Port Blair

Jolly Buoy

Marine park water, and it shows

Depth
5 - 16 m
Visibility
15 - 30 m
Minimum level
Non-diver
Site type
Reef
Entry
Boat entry
Boat ride
40 min boat ride
Water
28 - 31°C
Inside the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park off Wandoor, where nothing has been fished or anchored on for decades. The coral is the reason to make the trip.
  • Reef
  • Port Blair

Jolly Buoy is a protected island inside the marine park, and access alternates with Red Skin island each season to let the reef rest. Getting there is a permit, a drive and a boat - and then a reef in condition you will not find anywhere else in the islands.

What you will see

Living hard coral covering almost everything, in the branching and table forms that get broken first everywhere else. The fish life follows: parrotfish in numbers, big schools of fusiliers, and enough sergeant majors in the shallows to make the snorkelling as good as the diving.

How it dives

Shallow, calm and bright. Plastic is not allowed on the island at all and no gloves are permitted in the water. The day is long - a drive from Port Blair, the permit counter, then the boat - so we run it as a full-day trip and nothing else that day.

What you will see

  • Protected marine park reef
  • Exceptional living hard coral
  • Snorkelling as good as the diving
  • Full-day trip from Port Blair

When to dive it

Best conditions: December - April

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.

  • Depth5 - 16 m
  • Visibility15 - 30 m
  • Water temperature28 - 31°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

  • Do I need a permit?

    Yes, and we arrange it. Carry photo ID on the day - the counter checks it against the permit and there is no way round that.

  • Is Jolly Buoy open all year?

    No. The park closes during the monsoon, and access alternates between Jolly Buoy and Red Skin by season. We will tell you which is open for your dates.

  • Can non-divers come?

    This is the trip where they should. The snorkelling is genuinely as good as the diving and the boat carries both.

  • Why no plastic?

    Park rules, enforced at the jetty. Bring a steel bottle and leave packaging in the vehicle - they will not let you board with it.

More diving around Port Blair

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