Coral Triangle

The global center of marine biodiversity between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands: the ultimate destination for divers.

The Coral Triangle is a tropical sea area spanning six countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, covering about 6 million square kilometers. It holds about 76% of the world's reef-building coral species and more than 2,000 species of reef fish, earning it the name "the Amazon of the seas"; in 2009 the six countries established the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI-CFF) for joint conservation. For travelers, it is a collection of the world's top dive destinations: Raja Ampat in Indonesia's West Papua (including Misool in the south) has the world's highest density of corals and fish; Komodo National Park has manta rays and strong-current drift dives; Bunaken and Lembeh Strait in Sulawesi are known for coral walls and macro life respectively; the Banda Islands in Maluku combine spice-trade history with hammerhead sharks; Sipadan in Sabah, Malaysia, is famed for turtles and jackfish storms; and Coron in northern Palawan, Philippines, offers WWII shipwreck diving. For most locations we recommend 7–12 days on a liveaboard or at a dive resort, with an Advanced Open Water certification or higher. Remote areas have expensive transport with few departures, marine park fees apply, and you should choose dive operators that follow environmental guidelines.

Destinations

Itineraries