Your Guide to Diving Vanuatu and New Caledonia

Diving Vanuatu and New Caledonia Overview

Nobody would dive Vanuatu save for the world's largest shore-accessible wreck, the President Coolidge 640-ft (195m) ocean liner converted into a troop ship, originally beached on Espiritu Santo. It's mainly for advanced divers, starting at 70ft (21m) and going down to 250ft (76m) . . . Check with DAN about your evacuation insurance before going; you may not be covered due to the number of divers getting bent on this site . . . Some diving is available from the capital city of Port-Vila, but it's not spectacular . . . Little reef diving is offered so far . . . Water temperatures in February hit the mid-80s °F (around 28°C) and in September may drop as low as 70°F (21°C) . . . Don't miss the side trip to Tanna Island to visit the active volcano, dugongs, and Melanesian villagers living according to ancient customs . . . Other side trips include the island of Pentecost in April to early June to see the land divers leap head-first from 70ft (21m) towers with nothing but vines tied around their ankles.

Vanuatu and New Caledonia Seasonal Dive Planner

May to October is the dryer, cooler season, but trade winds can be erratic and strong. Depending on your location in north or south Vanuatu, winter air temperatures average from 63°F (17°C) to 68°F (20°C). The summer months of November to April are rainy with extremely high humidity and air temperatures in mid-80°F (29°C) but generally light winds. Water temperatures run from 83°F (28°C) in February down to as low as 68°F (20°C) in September (the northern islands have slightly warmer temperatures than the southern islands). Cyclones average about one per year, occurring generally between December and March, with the peak month being January.

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Diving Vanuatu and New Caledonia Reader Reports and Feature Articles

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Latest Reader Reports from Vanuatu and New Caledonia from the serious divers who read Undercurrent All Reader Reports from Vanuatu and New Caledonia	All 10,000+ Reports
Allan Power dive tours/Deco Stop Report in Vanuatu and New Caledonia/Espírito Santo "SS President Coolidge wreck revisited" filed Apr 23, 2018 by Andrew Falconer (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 51 reports, Top Contributor )
I dived the wreck of the SS President Coolidge back in 2003, and was impressed by it then, so when I happened to be in Brisbane (I live... ... Read more
Allan Power Dive Tours/Deco Stop Lodge Report in Vanuatu and New Caledonia/Espírito Santo "SS PRESIDENT COOLIDGE WRECK REVISITED" filed Feb 25, 2018 by Andrew Falconer (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 51 reports, Top Contributor )
I dived the wreck of the SS President Coolidge back in 2003, and was impressed by it then, so when I happened to be in Brisbane (I live... ... Read more
Allan Powers/M/S Paul Gaugain Report in Vanuatu and New Caledonia/Espiritu Santo "Dive the President Coolidge shipwreck from shore" filed Aug 29, 2017 by John Yavorsky (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 33 reports, Top Contributor )
This is one of the world's great wreck dives and one of the easiest (or challenging depending on depth (to200') and penetration). Was o... ... Read more
Club Amedee Report in Vanuatu and New Caledonia/Amedee Lighthouse "A day at Amedee Lighthouse" filed Nov 22, 2016 by Brigitte Lacouture (Experience: 251-500 dives, 15 reports, Contributor )
I did two dives with Club Amedee at the Amedee lighthouse off the coast of Noumea while my partner snorkeled in the nearby reef. Club ... ... Read more
Kunie Scuba/Le Kuberka Report in Vanuatu and New Caledonia/Ile des Pins "Great tropical diving on Ile des Pins" filed Nov 22, 2016 by Brigitte Lacouture (Experience: 251-500 dives, 15 reports, Contributor )
Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines) is the best known locale for scuba diving in New Caledonia. I did two dives with Kunie Scuba off the north... ... Read more

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Vanuatu and New Caledonia

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach

Paul Humann and Ned Deloach have done it again, releasing a definitive identification guide to 1600 extraordinary reef creatures of the Tropical Pacific. with this 500+ page softbound guide, you get upwards of 2000 exceptional photos of shrimp and crabs and stars and worms and lobsters and nudibranchs and slugs and squid and bivalves . . . well, all those invertebrates that move along the reefs of this region without fining, so it seems. There are several photos of some creatures to help you identify them during different life stages, and about ten percent of the book is descriptive copy so you can tie down your identification. Even if you have no plans to go to the tropical Pacific, just to thumb through the pages, gawk at the complexity and uniqueness of these animals, and read a thumbnail sketch will give any serious diver vicarious thrills for endless hours.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Gerald Allen, Rodger Steene, Paul Humann, & Ned Deloach

At last, here's a comprehensive fish ID guide covering the reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The generous 500-page text, displaying 2,500 underwater photographs of 2,000 species, identifies the myriad fishes that inhabit the warm tropical seas between Thailand and Tahiti. The concise text accompanying each species portrait includes the fish's common, scientific and family names, size, description, visually distinctive features, preferred habitat, typical behavior, depth range, and geographical distribution. This is an essential book for every diver traveling westward. 6x9 inches.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef
by Neville Coleman.

With 2900 reefs in 220,000 square miles, the enormous Great Barrier Reef has incredible dives -- and some very ordinary ones. If you're contemplating a trip, Neville Coleman's Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea will help you ensure you pick the best. This 176 page book, with good maps and scores of colorful photos, describes the significant sites, the topography and the critters, then rates and ranks them so you can pick the best. Don't even consider a trip to Australia without consulting this. $24.95

Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
by Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene.

I was trying to pack light for a change. Surely the Solomon Sea would have good identification books aboard. Not so; the only book on the boat belonged to a fellow passenger. It was one that I had not seen before, the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by two of the best fish guys around, Gerry Allen and Roger Steene. The problem was this fellow passenger kept it in a plastic baggie most of the trip and I had to beg to see it. Great book, good traveling size, and it covers everything from fish, shells, marine plants, mammals, corals, and invertebrates to sea birds and more. Now I've got my own, and it won't do you any good to beg me to borrow it. This is one of two books that I will not travel to the Pacific without. Good for travel to the Red Sea, East Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, it has 1,800 color illustrations in a 6x8 1/2 paperback format with 378 pages. $39.95.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.