Advanced Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Where the Coral Triangle is still dived by almost no one
It's inside the Coral Triangle, it has reefs in a condition barely found anywhere else, Pacific War wrecks, and some of the best muck sites in the world. And yet there's almost no one in the water.
In this guide you'll find why the country has that diversity, what each of its diving regions offers, what the war wrecks it holds are like, what the logistics involve (the hard part) and what level you need.
It's probably the place with the most intact reef left in the Coral Triangle, precisely because logistical difficulty has kept tourist pressure low for decades.
Geography and access
Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea plus a large number of islands in the western Pacific, within the Coral Triangle.
That position explains the diversity: it's the region of the planet with the most coral and reef fish species, and the country sits at its core.
The diving regions are several and very different from one another. There are bays with isolated pinnacle-shaped reefs rising from deep bottoms, black-mud muck bottoms with extreme macro, and outer reefs with current and pelagics.
The country was the scene of the Pacific campaign and holds wrecks of Second World War ships and planes, some at accessible depths.
Access is the hard part: an international flight to the capital, a domestic flight to the region, and often an additional transfer. Infrastructure is limited, and much of the diving is done from liveaboards or isolated accommodations.
Keep reading with full access
This article is part of the full Encyclopedia. A donation from USD 10 unlocks every article, every species photo and the downloadable app, and helps sustain the Scuba Sign Paperless Diving Community project.