Diving With Us
The crystal clear waters around the Tonga archipelago are teeming with a myriad of multi coloured creatures, from tiny flatworms and nudibranchs to huge shoals of barracuda swirling out beyond the drop off. The seas around Tonga are exceptionally clear, with visibility consistently beyond 20m. You’ll feel like you’re flying alongside the rays that glide serenely in our calm waters. Water temperatures range between 24C and 28C all year round creating a chilled out atmosphere for long, relaxed dives. Just a minutes’ walk from your hut, you can board the dive boat and head out to one of the many amazing sites Tonga has to offer. Wether snorkelling or diving we are confident you will have an unforgettable experience with us.
At Tonga Travel we are committed to minimising the damage our divers do to the reef, creating a more sustainable experience for everyone. To this end our dive experts are briefed on techniques to minimize their own impact, and ways to help you minimize yours. Our training programmes were created by our local dive masters, who in turn were trained by us to hold the protection of the reef as their highest priority.
We can provide all necessary diving and snorkel gear, including fins and wetsuits, and offer secure storage for any personal gear you may wish to bring.
Gear Rental
At Tonga Travel we offer the full selection of PADI dive qualifications up to Rescue Diver including both AWARE Coral Identification and Fish Identification and the PADI Underwater Naturalist courses to give you a deeper understand of the ecosystems you are experiencing.
Unfortunately, if you have any respiratory or heart problems you cannot dive due to inherent risks of being under pressure. Luckily you don’t need any level of fitness to dive, and even if you can’t dive you can still enjoy snorkel trips out with us!
Dive Lessons
Dive Sites
Day Trip Dives
Nearby Sites
Just a selection of the sites within 3 miles of the shore that take only minutes to reach on out boats.
Tunnels – In this dive, you will swim along two tunnel like crevasses following north to south through one, then returning down the other. This dive is known for its large Napolean Wrasse and many lobsters. There are also many colourful nudibranchs that crawl along the rock faces.
Cathedral – This dive site is named after the large cavern reminiscent of old English cathedrals. The cavern is home to a family of lionfish, and large groupers. The maximum depth here is 20m.
Crawshaw reef – Eagle rays frequent this dive site, along with hawksbill and green turtles. You will dive along a sandy corridor overhung by colourful hard coral. The maximum depth on this dive is 23m.
Benny’s – This dive is most exciting during the strong changes between the tides. The rushing currents allow us to offer drift dives over brilliant coral gardens. Here you can see many sting and eagle rays and sometimes even leopard sharks. The maximum depth here is 20m.
Nudibranch wall – This feature is a sheer wall dropping off from 2m all the way down to 40m. On the wall you can see many colourful Nudibranchs, sea fans and sea whips. Due to the required depth control to remain above 30m on this dive, it is only recommended for experienced divers.
Towers – As the name suggests this dive centres around two prominent rock spires next to a deep drop off. This dive site is renowned for sea snakes and the colourful fish that surround the spires. The maximum depth on this dive site is 30m.
These sites are further from the shore and require a full day trip to reach.
The Arch – This is the largest arch feature in the pacific! The arch itself is 15m tall and 20m wide. There are also caves behind the arch that house many white tip reef sharks. This dive is only recommended for advanced divers.
Kau Vai Point – This is our favourite dive site in Tonga! Kau Vai is an island that juts out from the Ha’apai chain into the pacific. The point of the island attracts many large fish, including schooling reef sharks. Massive Dog Tooth Tuna also frequent this area (upwards of 150kg!) and huge Great Barracuda shoals are often sited in their classic swirling formations. Bull and Tiger Sharks are also sometimes sited on this dive and although these animals can be dangerous, they rarely know what to make of divers and so simply leave us alone!
Your Safety
At Tonga Travel your safety is our top concern and we exceed PADI’s strict safety guidelines. Both our dive boats are equipped with emergency oxygen, which is checked every day before dive trips and all our tanks are inspected annually. Our compressor facility is under two years old and is checked every week to ensure your peace of mind. All our dive leaders carry surface marker buoys while at depth, not only for the boat to follow your progress, but to ensure that other boats do not endanger our divers.
In the unlikely even that you become ill with decompression sickness, you can be assured that we have a strategic emergency response plan for every eventuality to get you to a hospital and back to health.