Papua New Guinea

A master of camouflage found on the muck slopes of Milne Bay, especially Dinah's Beach and Lauadi, where it mimics the surrounding rubble and coral.

Rhinopias (Rhinopias frondosa)

Schools of hammerheads gathering in the blue at remote seamounts such as the Fathers Reefs Pinnacle and East Cape, most reliably in the cooler months.

Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)

Reliable at cleaning stations in Milne Bay, the Fathers Reefs, and Kavieng, hovering to be cleaned by wrasses in season.

Manta Ray (Mobula alfredi)

Powerful pelagics flashing past the pinnacles and walls of Kimbe Bay, Kavieng, and Madang, a signature of PNG's blue-water diving.

Dogtooth Tuna (Gymnosarda unicolor)

A tiny but dazzling cephalopod of the Milne Bay muck slopes, a bucket-list critter for macro photographers.

Blue-ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata)

Papua New Guinea is one of the last great frontiers of scuba diving, a vast island nation at the heart of the Coral Triangle where staggering biodiversity meets genuine remoteness. The country offers an extraordinary range of diving: the muck-diving mecca of Milne Bay, where Dinah's Beach teems with frogfish, rhinopias, and blue-ringed octopuses; the pristine coral gardens and pelagic pinnacles of Kimbe Bay; the wild hammerhead seamounts of the Fathers Reefs; the volcanic wrecks and bubbling vents of Rabaul; and the thrilling pelagic drifts of Kavieng. Add the fjords of Tufi, the WWII wrecks of Madang and Hansa Bay, the accessible sites off Port Moresby, and the untouched atolls of Bougainville, and Papua New Guinea delivers a complete underwater experience. Strong community-based conservation and difficult access keep the reefs gloriously intact, with huge fish life, rare macro critters, and big pelagics all on offer within a single trip.

Liveaboards are one of the best ways to experience Papua New Guinea's remote frontiers, reaching the Fathers Reefs, Witu Islands, outer Kavieng, Manus, and the Bougainville atolls that are a long run from any land base. Most itineraries loop a region over 7 to 12 nights, with some extended trips linking Kimbe, Witu, and New Ireland. Day boats remain excellent for the classic sites closer to the resorts around Milne Bay, Kimbe, Rabaul, Kavieng, Madang, Tufi, and Port Moresby.

Tawali Dive Resort

Walindi Plantation Resort

Lissenung Island Resort

Loloata Island Resort

Bougainville, the remote northernmost region of Papua New Guinea in the Solomon Sea, is a frontier diving destination of pristine walls, untouched reefs, and WW...

Bougainville & Solomon Sea (Remote)

The Fathers Reefs are a chain of isolated seamounts strung between New Britain and New Ireland, famous among experienced divers for their extreme pelagic action...

Fathers Reefs (between New Britain & New Ireland)

The Gulf of Papua and the Western Province are the least-dived part of the country, dominated by the enormous Fly River and its sediment-laden outflow, which li...

Gulf of Papua & Western Province

Kavieng, at the northern tip of New Ireland, is a pelagic powerhouse where world-class seamounts, thundering channel drifts, and lush soft-coral walls meet pris...

Kavieng & New Ireland – Pelagic & Walls

Kimbe Bay, on the north coast of New Britain, is one of the most pristine coral ecosystems on the planet, a vast sheltered bay holding more than half of the cor...

Kimbe Bay (New Britain – Coral Hotspot)

Madang, on the north coast of the Papua New Guinea mainland, is a gentle, topography-rich diving region that mixes offshore pinnacles, steep walls, historic wre...

Madang (North Coast of Mainland)

Milne Bay, in the far southeast of Papua New Guinea, is the spiritual home of muck diving and one of the most biologically rich corners of the Coral Triangle. T...

Milne Bay – Muck & Reef Diving

Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and the nearby Loloata Island offer surprisingly rewarding diving just minutes from the city, built around colour...

Port Moresby & Loloata Island (Central Province)

Rabaul and East New Britain combine dramatic volcanic seascapes with some of the most accessible WWII wreck diving in the Pacific. Simpson Harbour and the old s...

Rabaul & East New Britain (Volcanic & Wrecks)

Tufi, on Cape Nelson in Oro Province, is one of the most visually dramatic diving regions in Papua New Guinea, where flooded river valleys have carved a series...

Tufi (Cape Nelson, Oro Province – Fjords & Reefs)

The Witu Islands, also known as the Vitu Islands, lie north of Kimbe Bay and are among the most remote and unspoiled dive areas in Papua New Guinea. The group i...

Witu Islands (North of Kimbe)

Albatross Passage

Arawa Bay wrecks

Barracuda Point (Madang)

Bass Reef

Baudisson Bay

Beehives (Tavurvur Volcano)

Big Pigeon Island

Black Rock

Blupblup Island

Boga Boga Reef

Bradford Shoal

Buka Island

Cherie's Reef

Coral Gardens (Fathers #2)

Cyclone Reef

Dinah's Beach (Nadi Nadi)

East Cape (Nuakata Island)

Echuca Patch

Ema Reef

Fly River Delta (expedition)

Garove Island (Witu crater)

The Wrecks of Hansa Bay

Inglis Shoal

Jais Aben Resort House Reef

Joelle's Reef (Joelle's Bommie)

Kabaira Drift

Kathryn's Reef

Kavieng Wrecks

Kieta Harbour

Kimbe Island (Bali Island)

Kranket Island Wall

Lauadi (Witch's Tit)

Lawata Passage

Little Pigeon Island

Loloata Island Reefs

Magic Passage

Manta Cleaning Station (Fathers #3)

Manta Ray Reef (off Nuakata)

Manus Island (Admiralty Islands)

Mount Trafalgar (outer reef)

Mundua Island

The Wreck of the MV Pacific Gas

Narage Island

North Cape (New Ireland)

Observation Point

Otto's Reef

Pig Island (Tab Island)

Pinnacle (Fathers #1)

Planet Rock (off Tsoilaunung Island)

Planet Rock (Madang)

Rakua Reef (Duke of York Islands)

Restorf Island (Witu Islands)

Samarai Island Wrecks

Simpson Harbour Wrecks

Sinou Fjord

S.S. Pruth Wreck

Submarine Base Wrecks

Susan's Reef

Tatawa Reef

Tawali Wall

The Cathedral (Kimbe)

Tsoi Island Bommies

Tufi Fjords

Tufi Wharf

Tulun (Carteret) Atoll

Vanessa's Reef

Watu Point

Papua New Guinea's geography makes internal transport dominated by domestic flights, boats, and liveaboards. Most diving regions are reached by domestic flight from Port Moresby to local airstrips, followed by road and boat transfers to dive resorts, while remote seamounts, atolls, and frontiers are best reached on liveaboard vessels that stage from Kimbe, Kavieng, or Port Moresby. Road travel between regions is limited by mountainous terrain, so flying is the norm for inter-regional trips.

Liveaboard Diving in Papua New Guinea

Experience Overview

Featured Operators

MV FeBrina

MV Chesterfield

Remote Reach

Booking Advice

Where to Stay in Papua New Guinea