Havelock Island

Turtle Bay

Shallow, calm, and full of exactly what it says

Depth
5 - 12 m
Visibility
10 - 20 m
Minimum level
Non-diver
Site type
Reef
Entry
Boat entry
Boat ride
15 min boat ride
Water
28 - 31°C
Six to twelve metres of sheltered coral garden where nobody is out of their depth. Our Discover Scuba site, and the one we run when the weather closes the offshore trips.
  • Reef
  • Havelock Island

A wide sandy bay with coral gardens along both arms, shallow enough that the light stays good all day and sheltered enough to dive when everything east of the island is out of the question.

What you will see

Green turtles graze the seagrass on the sand flats, and there are usually three or four in the bay at once. The coral on the arms carries the reef fish everybody hopes to see on a first dive - clownfish in their anemones, parrotfish, angelfish and a permanent cloud of damsels.

How it dives

As easy as diving gets in the Andamans. No current worth naming, a sand bottom you can kneel on while you sort a mask out, and a maximum depth of 12 m at the outer edge. This is where every one of our first-timers takes their first breath underwater, and where the Open Water pool skills go once they are ready for open water.

What you will see

  • Green turtles on the seagrass
  • No current, 12 m maximum
  • Clownfish and anemone gardens
  • Runs when the offshore sites cannot

When to dive it

Best conditions: October - 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.

  • Depth5 - 12 m
  • Visibility10 - 20 m
  • Water temperature28 - 31°C
  • CurrentNo 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. Can I dive here?

    Yes - this is the site built for exactly that. An instructor is in the water with you the whole time and the deepest you will go is 12 m.

  • Can I do this if I cannot swim?

    Tell us when you enquire. A Discover Scuba dive does not require a swim test, but we run it one instructor to one diver in that case and we stay in the shallow half of the bay.

  • How long is the actual dive?

    Between thirty and forty minutes in the water, out of about three hours door to door once the briefing and the boat ride are counted.

  • Do you take photographs?

    Your instructor carries a camera and the frames are shared the same evening at no charge. Please do not bring your own on a first dive.

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