Info about Diving in Singapore

Post by **nakatago** » Wed, 19 Oct 2011 3:18 pm

Diving here is only passable (e.g. Pulau Hantu). Waters have less than ideal visibility but since it's been raining for several weeks now....meh.

People usually go to Malaysia for weekend dives.

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Wed, 19 Oct 2011 3:55 pm

Nakatago is right.

As a visitor forget about diving in SG. Unless you want to do it for the novelty value of the atrocious conditions.

mike21 · Post by **mike21** » Sun, 15 Jan 2012 5:25 am

Looks like I'll cross diving off the list of things to do in SG

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sun, 15 Jan 2012 5:29 am

Some people enjoy it, ask Carteki, she is the resident expert.

What I will say is that SG itself might not be everyone's cup of tea for diving but it is within easy reach of probably the best diving in the world. You definitely should bring your gear!

Tsilivi · Post by **Tsilivi** » Tue, 17 Jan 2012 8:49 pm

Just finished my Open Water in Lombok/Gilis and itching to get back in the water.
I was hoping to find some kind of dive club in Sing but not had any luck yet. Have problems with clearing my mask and feel like I need more practice in a pool before I go back in the open water. Unfortunately not found anywhere to do it other than refresher courses which I feel a tad unnecessary as I only got my Cert two weeks ago

Outram Secondary School swimming pool seems to be the place on Sundays for pool sessions but for only for actual Cert training as opposed to practice.
Maybe you guys have some ideas? And mask clearance tips highly appreciated!

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Tue, 17 Jan 2012 9:54 pm

Congrats on passing the OW

Mask clearance, no problem, I'l give you my 2c on that. But to start can I ask if the difficulty was experienced using your own mask, or a hire one from the school/club? If it's your own did you test it to check it fits well to the shape of your face/head when buying it?

Once we know that... we know how to proceed towards resolving it!

Tsilivi · Post by **Tsilivi** » Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:54 pm

Apologies for the late reply.
Get ready to laugh. I'll forgive you. I did my OW because I have an immense fear of the sea, sharks in particular. I blame the film Jaws for terrifying me when I was a kid. (Watched it recently-Did I really believe that plastic monstrosity was real!)
I've figured out my mask clearance panic is down to not being able to see clearly. Which in the back of my head means I can't see that sneaky shark coming to bite my legs off. Heaven knows what I'll do when I actually do see one!
When I look into the water from a boat the fear is unreal. Once I'm in the water I spend a few minutes on "shark watch"

with my heart in my mouth until I get so mesmerized by the other things I see I settle down and get on with it.
I've a month holidays in June and am thinking Tioman and Redang are the places to go, still in the research stage. Any thoughts on these two places?

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Tue, 24 Apr 2012 1:15 am

No, I won’t laugh, I’ve seen it before. In fact in 2011 I helped qualify one young lady who was initially genuinely terrified of fish.

Don’t worry about sharks, they spend most of their time trying to swim directly away from people. Whilst people (esp. newbie divers

) who expect to be terrified of them, spend their time swimming after them in pursuit. No doubt you will do the same.

My previous points re your mask still stand by the way.

Tioman vs Redang? Tioman is my long-time beach-bum destination of choice, and I’m happy to suggest places if you like. It’s incredibly small and low key for a place so close to KL and SG. Redang... I’ve never got off the Tioman beaches and bothered to go north... but travelled/informed friends suggest Redang is commercialised/concretey, but the diving is ok, and the Perhentians are better. Perhentians? I can’t be bothered dealing with ferry skippers/cos who claim not to be able to predict the tides and sail-timings even tomorrow and so have never been...

p.s. By the way how were the Gili's.... I'm going next month so tips welcome.

carteki · Post by **carteki** » Tue, 24 Apr 2012 3:31 pm

JR8 wrote: p.s. By the way how were the Gili's.... I'm going next month so tips welcome.

Really cool and laid back. Not sure what you're doing for accomm, but I have some homestay recommendations if thats what you're after.

I dived with Gili Divers - run by a lovely couple from Sweden (and yes, she's blonde). They got given a trans-asian lob dive trip as a wedding present which they used for their honeymoon and never went back! Don't dive with the PADI 5* dive centre on the island (can't remember their name). I have concerns about their commitment to safety which I can share more of if you want. Followed by another couple who came to Gili Divers who just didn't feel safe with them. Having said that they do do an intro to tech dive of a japanese sub at 45m (and a 20m deco) which was quite cool.

If you're into muck diving ask to do the muck dive. Hairy frog fish and wonderpus etc have all been seen there. As far as I know Gili Divers are the only ones that offer this dive.

Hereare my pictures from the trip

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Tue, 24 Apr 2012 5:16 pm

Wow, those pics are great and have me all excited! I just love all those weird muck-diving critters

I'm quite surprised at how many of the oddities from Lembeh you get at Gili.... good stuff!

I'm actually staying on Gili Air, and the place I've chosen seems to get very good ratings. We shall see!

You say the juvenile sweetlips is one of your favs, and I can understand why. But I do wonder why when most sea creatures go to great lengths to be camouflaged and blend in, the juv sweetlips seems to have evolved to make such a complete song and dance of being visible, I mean it's not even poisonous lol. (for those who've not seen one here is a short clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoNRfgtGV4). Even when 'sitting still' they still move like that

The juv batfish is also v. cool, sometimes see those up in Tioman!

friskye · Post by **friskye** » Wed, 25 Apr 2012 8:27 am

Hi there,

I'm new here, new in Singapore and a diver (I'd say addict but didn't do it as much as I would love to) ... Are your trips open to 'strangers' like me? ...

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Wed, 25 Apr 2012 2:44 pm

Carteki organises dive day-trips now and again in Singapore, but me, no my wife and I don't go on holiday with complete strangers from the internet

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