The Complete Guide to diving Atauro Island in Timor Leste.
The island of Atauro is located just off the coast, to the north of Timor Leste’s capital Dili. It sits rather majestically in the Ombai Strait that separates the islands of Alor and Wetar.
Right in the path of the Indonesian Throughflow… Rich with nutrients from the deep basins of the Banda Sea to the north.
Atauro offers deep blue waters, superb walls and interesting scenic reefs. Plus the chance of underwater encounters with large pelagics and mammals as they migrate through the Ombai Strait.
Detailed below are the pages on this site that will help you to understand how to get to Atauro, where to stay and what the diving is like. If you don’t know much about the country itself, start with Timor Leste 101.
Which will give you an overview of the country and its troubled history which will help set the context for your trip there. Then check out rest of the guide to diving Atauro Island, plus the Scuba Diving in Timor Leste page to get some insight on why the diving can be so good.
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Atauro Island Overview
Sparsely populated, with a very dry climate and just 25km long from north to south. The island is home to about 10,000 people.
Vila and Beloi in the east are the main villages. With the rest of the population living in about 20 small hamlets – Read more
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Atauro Island Diving
Diving Atauro is something you should not miss if you visit Timor Leste. It has some excellent diving on both east and west coasts.
Many of the sites on the west coast feature magnificent walls. Which drop down in to the deep waters of the Ombai Strait… Read more
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West Coast Dive Sites
The west coast dive sites are the best way to really experience the excellent scuba diving that Atauro Island has to offer.
Think magnificent walls and clear blue water. Plus the ever-present chance of a migrating large mammal passing by… Read more
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East Coast Dive Sites
The east coast of Atauro Island also offers some good diving. And two of the sites really stand out from the rest – Beloi and Vila.
They are the main villages on Atauro. With Beloi is roughly half-way down the coast and Vila is further to the south… Read more
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Where to Stay on Atauro
There are two main accommodation options on Atauro island if you are planning to base yourself there while diving.
On the west coast there is the Adara eco-camp. While on the east coast in the village of Beloi is Barry’s Lodge… Read more
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Getting to Atauro
There are two main options for getting from Dili over to Atauro Island – the daily water taxi or the weekly public ferry.
The water taxi is much quicker, much more expensive but leaves at 07.30 every morning, while the ferry is weekly… Read more
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Back To: The Complete Guide to Diving Timor Leste