Epic Underwater Adventures in Timor L’este with Aquatica Dive Resort
Despite having some of the most pristine coastlines and incredible wildlife around, Timor L’este remains one of the less well-known countries in South East Asia. In part, that has to do with its age. Timor L’este has only been an independent country since 2002. And in part it’s because it’s so different from the rest of South East Asia, with very real Melanesian/Pacific Islander feel to their culture.
But neither of those things are a reason to stay away. And after visiting with my family and seeing first-hand the incredible underwater scenery just off of Timor L’este’s coast, I’m ready to declare it one of the top must-visit places in the world for anyone looking for incredible underwater adventures!
Why is Timor L’este so special for divers?
When it comes to diving, Timor L’este has as surprising amount of awesome going for it, but one of the most obvious bits of awesome is its location in what’s called the “Coral Triangle.” The Coral Triangle is a huge marine area (roughly 6 million square kilometers) that covers parts of 6 different countries in South East Asia and Oceania.
The Coral Triangle is home to over three quarters of all coral species in the world, as well as 37% of all coral reef fish species known world wide! Which, simply put, means that the different dive sites throughout the Coral Triangle are some of the best that you will ever find!
But, above and beyond that, Timor L’este has even more going for it. It’s also right in the path of the yearly BLUE WHALE migration!!!
Australian pygmy blue whales typically live in the waters to the south of the Coral Triangle, off the coast of Australia, but Timor L’este sits on the southern border of the Coral Triangle, giving it the best of both worlds: incredible soft and hard coral variety and yearly access to some of the largest animals on the planet!
Depending on your family’s timing, a typical dive trip in East Timor could include sightings of anything from sea horses and frog fish, to dugongs and dolphins, all the way up to blue whales, sperm whales, and orcas, all within a few hours of travel from the capital!
Why should I choose to dive with Aquatica Dive Resort in Timor L’este?
When our family arrived in Dili, we hadn’t done any research into particular dive shops in town, but we knew that a diving trip was high on our list of priorities. Both my wife and I are PADI open water certified, but we’re still pretty new to SCUBA diving, but we had heard so many good things about the reefs around Dili that we really didn’t want to miss out. However, we also wanted to make sure our kids could come on the trip with us!
When we called up Aquatica Dive Resort and they immediately had a solution! While my wife and I did SCUBA with their divemaster, a second guide would take the kids snorkeling in the shallower waters nearby. They provided gear for us and for the kids, picked us up right at our hotel door, and took us to two separate dive sites over the course of the day.
All in all, we found Aquatica to be very professional and knowledgeable about the different diving sites in the area, and our trip with them was easily one of the best day trips that we’ve ever taken. I’m not sure when we’ll be back in the area, but when we do make it back, Aquatica Dive Resort will be one of the first places we go!
Aquatica Dive Resort, Dili, Timor L’este
Website: https://aquaticadiveresort.com/
Email: dive.aquatica@hotmail.com
WhatsApp: +670-7803-8885
We did a full day trip including two shore dives, snorkeling for the kids, lunch and transportation!
What kinds of Dive Trips does Aquatica Dive Resort offer in Timor L’este?
Timor L’este may be a on the smaller side as far as countries go, but when it comes to amazing dive spots, they go big. Macro-dives just off shore, looking for nuidbranchs? Check. Swimming with whales in open water? Also check. Off shore shipwrecks? Bountiful coral reefs? Steep drop-offs with current? Check, check, and check!
And the best part is because all of these different sites are located within a few hours of the capital, Aquatica Dive Resort offers all of them as part of their different packages!
Whale Watching Trips (September-November)
As I mentioned before, Timor L’este is located in an area of the world that makes it one of the best spot on the planet for whale watchers.
Pygmy Blue Whales are definitely the main event here, and can be spotted from later September until mid-November, give or take a few weeks. But they aren’t the only ones! We’ve heard of whale watching trips spotting sperm whales, melon-headed whales, beaked whales, and humpback whales! You can also spot absolutely massive pods of dolphins, and even pods of orcas, if you’re lucky!
Boat Dives around Dili and Atauro Island
Atauro is a small island located off the northern coast of Timor L’este that is known for its deep waters and incredibly rich coral walls. While all the dive sites around East Timor are great, the area around Atauro really is on another level.
I would love to get on one of these trips, but we’ll probably be waiting until our kids are certified and can come out with us!
Off-shore Dives along Timor L’este’s coastline
Since we were looking for locations where our kids snorkeled while we dove, this is the option that our family went with during our stay. There are a variety of coastal dive sites along the northern edge of the island, both right in Dili and to the east and west. We were staying in a hotel out near the Cristo Rei statue, so Aquatica picked us up there and took us to two of the dive sites to the west of town.
The first of the dive sites featured a coral garden that was densely packed with hundreds of fish, including the largest number of clownfish that I’ve ever seen, all close enough to the surface that the kids could see them. The second site gave us a look at a modern shipwreck(!), my first ever frogfish(!!), and several different nudibranchs(!!!).
Unfortunately, while my GoPro is great for snorkeling, I don’t have a dive housing for it and was unable to capture most of our time underwater, as we were deeper than its 10m limit. (Needless to say, I’ve already got my eye on the official GoPro Dive Housing for next time.)
PADI Dive Certification Courses
One of the really cool things about Aquatica is that alongside offering chartered dive tours, they also offer a variety of PADI dive courses so you can improve your SCUBA skills! Their classes range from Discovery courses (for true beginners) all the way up to the Divemaster course for those who are wanting to do diving professionally.
While this isn’t the cheapest place we’ve seen for getting your certifications done (that’s in Egypt), it’s hard to argue with getting to learn new skills in such a beautiful place!
Also Read…
Coral, Dugongs, and Dolphins – Why Marsa Alam, Egypt is perfect for a family-friendly snorkeling adventure
Also check out…
Coral, Dugongs, and Dolphins – Why Marsa Alam, Egypt is perfect for a family-friendly snorkeling adventure
Can families stay at Aquatica Dive Resort?
As I mentioned earlier, my family ended up staying in one of the hotels on the other end of Dili, so I don’t actually have direct experience with their rooms. However, after an amazing afternoon of diving with them, I did a little research in case we come back.
Here’s the verdict.
There are Deluxe and Family Rooms at Aquatica Dive Resort
While most of the rooms at the Aquatica Dive Resort are the smaller “Standard Cabin” rooms, they do have larger Deluxe Rooms available for those who need a bit more space. According to Aquatica’s own website, some of these Deluxe spaces come with a second bedroom option, making them ideal for families or smaller groups!
Unfortunately, I was unable to find a booking site that allowed for easy booking of any of the rooms at the resort, so if you’re interested, it’s best to contact them directly through their website, or via WhatsApp.
Is Timor L’este a good place for Families to take a dive trip?
If you’ve read this far, I don’t think you’ll be surprised by the answer, but yes. Yes, I would absolutely recommend coming to Timor L’este for a family dive trip.
With a few caveats.
Hospitable, but not touristy
Part of the appeal of Timor L’este’s pristine dive sites is their relatively untouched and unspoiled condition. However, the reason they are untouched and unspoiled is because East Timor hasn’t really made it onto most tourists’ radars. That lack of of tourists translates into a fledgling tourism industry and a capital city that might feel a bit rugged for those who are accustomed to tourist hotspots like Bali, Bangkok, or Kuala Lumpur.
However, don’t mistake a lack of hospitality services with a lack of hospitality! Time and again, we found the people in Timor L’este to be friendly, helpful, and just a bit curious about what we were doing there. Plus, if you choose to book directly with one of the many dive resorts (like Aquatica themselves), you may not even notice the lack of amenities in the area at large because they’ll be providing you with everything you need on site!
Pricey, but worth it
Secondly, Timor L’este is not a budget option. Not really.
Like many other countries that we’ve visited over the years, Timor L’este uses the USD currency in their country. This lends stability to prices and guards against inflation, but it also tends to keep prices a bit higher than in other parts of the region. We’ve seen the same thing happen in countries like Cambodia, Panama, and Ecuador. (All of which are worth visiting!) Add on top of that the fact that there are relatively few airports that fly to Dili (only 2 – Bali in Indonesia and Darwin in Australia) and it can definitely feel a bit pricier than other options.
But here’s the thing. The reefs here are spectacular in a way that you won’t find almost anywhere else in the world, and a trip to Timor L’este can easily become the adventure of a lifetime! If you can find a way to swing it, a dive trip here is absolutely worth it for fans of ocean life!
So, as I said above, resoundingly, YES. Timor L’este is a good choice for families wanting an adventure of a lifetime.
I hope to see you there.
