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If you have dived in Langkawi Island before, please share your experiences: Dive spots you would recommend, which Dive Center you used, Fishes & Diving, Visibility, Currents, etc. Please post your comments in the section below, by doing so you will help fellow divers to plan their next trip
There are no diving spots in Langkawi Island itself. You have to go to Pulau Payar Marine Park Group of islands. They are located about 30km south east of Langkawi Island and North of Penang. There are many dive operators on Langkawi who can get you there during a day trip.
The diving there is good but nothing spectacular as on other diving destinations around Malaysia like Sipadan in Borneo or the Perhentians Islands on the East Coast. However it is the best scuba diving along the Malaysian west coast. It is a good destination for inexperienced divers with no current and shallow reef.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexissoon/5326527517/
The marine life around these islands is very good with a good chance of spotting pelagic fishes such as barracuda, jacks and blacktip reef shark as well as the usual reef fishes.
There are also very easy wreck diving sites like the Kaca Sunken Wrecks dive site with dozens of fishing boats sunk to make artificial reefs at Pulau Kaca. Coral is pretty with many varieties of hard and soft coral. Grouper farm is also a great spot to explore the reef and see many Groupers!
Unfortunately the visibility is not as good as on the east coast of Malaysia due to the high density of plankton. It ranges from 5 to 20 meters depending of the season. The visibility is often better at Pulau Segantang located 13Km from Pulau Payar.
You can also explore this underwater world on a Liveaboard trip that generally takes you from Phuket to Langkawi Island (MV Sai Mai Liveaboard). I usually use this website to book in advance my Liveaboards in Malaysia as they usually have the lowest rates I find. I like it because they have an easy booking system.
In this page you will find more detailed information about scuba diving in Langkawi Island.
Table of contents
Where to stay?
I usually use this website to book in advance my hotels in Langkawi Island as they usually have the lowest rates I find. I like it because it's free to cancel and change the dates.
Best time to dive in Langkawi Island
Langkawi Island is a year round destination with much the same tropical temperature year round (25 to 32 °C). However some months are affected by heavy rains.
- Dry season from mid November to mid April, with very little rain
- Mid-season runs from April to August with light precipitations.
- Rainy season from September to November. It rains every day for about 2 hours and at night.
The peak tourist season is during the dry season. However prices drop during the rainy season and it can be a great deal for low budget travellers.
The best diving time also runs during the dry season with better visibility.
Hot tips
- If you are planning to visit Langkawi Island around New Year’s Eve, you really need to book in advance as most of the accommodation will be fully booked.
Top liveaboards in Langkawi Island according to divers reviews
Snorkelling in Langkawi Island
Snorkelling around these islands is very rewarding with a good chance of spotting juvenile blacktip reef sharks in very shallow water around the marine park centre.
Diving Safety
If you are planning an upcoming dive trip or travelling to Langkawi Island, it is a really good idea to invest in travel insurance for scuba diving, because you never know what could happen and when you might need it (because accidents do happen!). I recommend this diving insurance as they offer worldwide coverage and focus on providing scuba divers a quality insurance and medical assistance service.
Photos Langkawi Island
Travel Guide
Now that you know all about the underwater world, you might want to start planning your scuba holiday! Check out our Langkawi Island Travel Review for information about how to get there, activities and excursions, where to stay, and more.
Hi, I was wondering if you can recommend a dive school on Langkawi Island for Christmas day 2012? We are heading off the week after to Sipidan and already have that booked etc…was just wondering about a 1 day fun dive on the 25th. Any advice?
Hi, I am going to be in Langkawi in December 16-21st this year. I want to do a days diving and want to know how good it actually is at this time of year and what companies you recommend that will also bring snorkellers along. I have seen on trip adviser that visibility is not that great.
Thank you
Hi! I’m going to Langkawi mid-June and I was wondering if you can recommend some good diving sites?
Thank you!
I was in Langkawi last December. We chose to head north and go to Ko Lipe to dive. It was not the best dive I have ever done due to visibility but still enjoyable all the same. I was advised to go to Ko Lipe (Thailand) as visibility wld of been better than Langkawi. I am not sure what visibility is like at the time you are going.
Hi.
We’re in Langkawi as a family (2 seniors 65+ yrs, 2 children below 10 yrs and 2 adults 35+ yrs) this whole week.
Us two 35+ adults would like to go scuba diving. We’ve done the Open Water Diver course many years ago and we’ve been scuba diving off and on, although we’re not experts.
We’re staying around the Datai Bay area.
We’d like to know if we can look at a package that has snorkelling areas for the children to be at while we two adults go scuba diving.
For example, in Thailand, we once went on a package where there was a cove where the kids went snorkelling, while just a few metres off that in deeper water, my husband and I went scuba diving.
A package that involves hotel pickup and drop please.
Thanks.
-Shakthi
I would like to know how much will be the total cost for a 2dives day on the 7th April. I will stay in tanjung rhu hotel. Thanks. Waiting to hear from u
Hi everyone. There IS diving on Langkawi!!!!!
When this article was written we were not on Langkawi yet. Since then Langkawi Scuba has explored and found several beautifull spots around the islands of Langkawi.
Have a look at the great photos of all the marinelife we found, on our website. Beside the amazing softcorals there are nudis, lionfisch, lots of clownfish, barracuda and even seahorse.
So if you so not want to go with the crowded tourist boats to Payar, come do a private trip with us.
Warda
Langkawi-Scuba.com
Is this a good place for lovers to hide from their spouses while pretending to be on a conference ?
Is this a good place for lovers who want to cheat on their spouses to hide while pretending to be on a conference ?
I dived the local sites around Langkawi with Langkawi Scuba, the only PADI divecenter on Langkawi! We saw nudis, seahorses, pipefish, frogfish, honeycomb moray, nemo, a school of barracudas and batfish. Just 2 divers per certified(!) divemaster, only 10 min boattrip from Cenang beach, long dives and a surface interval on a small tropical island with coffee and snacks.
So nice to be on a small boat with only 6 customers and 3 staff, unlike the marinepark ferries with hundreds of people. And we were even back before lunch.