Neil Island

The Wall

Neil Island straight down

Depth
14 - 40 m
Visibility
15 - 30 m
Minimum level
Open Water Diver
Site type
Wall
Entry
Boat entry
Boat ride
20 min boat ride
Water
27 - 30°C
A vertical face off the north of Neil that starts at 14 m and keeps going past anything you are certified for. Dived along it, not down it.
  • Wall
  • Neil Island

The reef shelf off north Neil ends abruptly, and what happens after that is the dive. You follow the top of the wall out, drop over the lip, and swim along the face with the blue on one shoulder and the coral on the other.

What you will see

Gorgonian fans that get bigger the deeper you look, black coral bushes in the shadows, and the small things that live in them - gobies, shrimp and nudibranchs by the dozen if you slow down enough. Look out into the blue occasionally: tuna and jacks hunt along the face.

How it dives

Straightforward, but a wall dive is where new divers most often lose track of their depth - there is no bottom in view to reference against, and the fans lower down are always more interesting than the ones at eye level. We dive it in small groups with a fixed maximum, and your guide will hold you at it.

What you will see

  • Gorgonian fans down the face
  • Nudibranchs and macro life
  • Tuna and jacks in the blue
  • A true wall profile

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.

  • Depth14 - 40 m
  • Visibility15 - 30 m
  • Water temperature27 - 30°C
  • CurrentModerate current
    • No current
    • Mild current
    • Moderate current
    • Strong current

    Drift diving on the day it runs - stay with your guide and start the dive up-current.

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

  • How deep will we actually go?

    To whatever your certification allows and no further - 18 m for Open Water, 30 m for Advanced. The wall carries on well past both and that changes nothing about the plan.

  • Is it a drift dive?

    Usually a gentle one along the face. On a running tide we dive the sheltered end instead.

  • Is it good for photography?

    Very, if you shoot macro. The fans are the postcard but the nudibranchs are why guides bring their own cameras.

More diving around Neil 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.

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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