Port Blair

North Bay

Where almost everybody does their first dive

Depth
3 - 14 m
Visibility
8 - 18 m
Minimum level
Non-diver
Site type
Reef
Entry
Boat entry
Boat ride
20 min boat ride
Water
28 - 31°C
Twenty minutes from Port Blair jetty, shallow and sheltered, and the site most first-time divers in the Andamans go into the water on.
  • Reef
  • Port Blair

North Bay sits across the water from Port Blair, under the lighthouse that is on the back of the twenty-rupee note. It is the islands’ busiest piece of water and the reason is simple: it is close, it is shallow, and it is calm almost every day of the season.

What you will see

A hard coral shelf that starts in three metres and steps down to fourteen, with staghorn and brain coral, clownfish in most of the anemones, and the parrotfish and butterflyfish that make a first dive worth the photographs. Nothing here is rare. All of it is close.

How it dives

We run it as a morning trip and go in before the day boats arrive. It is our Discover Scuba site and the confined-water bay for courses that start in Port Blair rather than Havelock. Visibility is the trade-off for the convenience - it is a working harbour approach, so eight metres is a normal day and twenty is a gift.

What you will see

  • Twenty minutes from Port Blair
  • Shallow, sheltered hard coral
  • Our Discover Scuba site
  • Glass-bottom boats keep to the far side

When to dive it

Best conditions: November - 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.

  • Depth3 - 14 m
  • Visibility8 - 18 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

  • I have never dived before. Is this the place?

    It is the place. Depth is capped at twelve metres for an uncertified diver, the bottom is sand and coral rather than rock, and your instructor is within arm’s reach the whole dive.

  • Why is the visibility lower here?

    It is close to a working harbour and a lot of boat traffic passes through. That is the price of a twenty-minute ride. If you want the clear water, the Havelock sites are the trip to make.

  • Can I do this on the day I land?

    Yes, if the flight gets in early enough. It is the one site close enough to Port Blair to dive on an arrival day without rushing 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.

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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