Tulamben

There is no boat schedule to work around, which changes the shape of the day entirely. Divers set their own times, and the pattern that develops is a first-light dive to have the wreck to yourself before the fish scatter, a mid-morning macro dive, then something shallow and slow in the afternoon. Porters, traditionally local women carrying tanks on their heads, bring gear down to the water, dive centres line the one coast road, and other sites are minutes away by pickup, so four or five dives in a day is unremarkable.

The coastline drops away fast. Volcanic sand and cobble run steeply from the beach into deep water within a short swim, which is why so much of the diving sits within shore range: bommies on the slope, and long stretches of dark sand either side of the village that hold the small stuff. Those slopes continue southeast towards Seraya and Amed, and most operators treat the whole stretch as one dive area. Visibility is best in settled weather; rain and surge stir the sand and cut it back.

It suits photographers, anyone working on macro, and divers who want volume without logistics, since the same site at a different hour reads as a different dive. Training runs here easily, and the top of the reef is shallow enough that snorkellers and freedivers share the water. Conditions hold up all year, with the calmest surface and easiest entries from about May through October; the wetter months bring more run-off and a livelier shorebreak on the stones, which is the main thing to plan around.