Is it possible to dive in Sri Lanka in July / August?

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traveljunkie
traveljunkie

Hi folks

I'm planning a trip to Sri Lanka in July or August with my family and I would just like to know if it is possible to dive in Sri Lanka at this time of year. I have had a trawl round the internet and so far I have only found 3 locations where it is possible to dive in Sri Lanka, Bentota and Negombo on the South West Coast and Trincomalee up in the North East Coast.

I know that the South West Monsoon season is from May to August so the companies I have looked at say that the dive centres on the West of the island are closed at this time of Year. So that would leave Trincomalee which as far as I can see is not operating at the moment for the obvious reasons of the recent Military operations in the North.

So what I would like to know is does anyone know of any companies that will dive on the West during the SW monsoon? I am a PADI dive instructor and I have dived worldwide and I've worked in Zanzibar where the conditions were not as good during the rainy season. Generally it was more windy, it often rained, the vis was not as good and there far less tourists during this time, but the diving was still good. Conditions that are not perfect don't really bother me (Heck I've dived in the UK!) but if there is some way to go diving, I would really like to do it.

Maybe there are other dive sites on the South East or in other parts of the island I have not found yet, I would be intersted to find out about them.

Thanks in advance

TJ

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nightrox
nightrox

Check out www.srilanka-divingtours.com , Felician Fernando is a good person to contact if diving in Sri Lanka. I think that time of year he goes to the east coast. I was there in December, weather not great, did a few dives at Negombo and Unawatuna, Negombo had more potential but don't expect world class.

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traveljunkie
traveljunkie

Hi folks

Thanks for the info, it's great that I will be able to dive at least, so I will make sure I pack my dive gear. I wan't really expecting world class diving but it will just be nice to get a bit of nitrogen in my blood in warm water because I have't dived for a while. If the vis is not geat I tend to concentrate on the small stuff. The last 2 years I've been in Egypt and that was amazing diving but this year we fancied something different. Most of the trip will be spent on land and we'll do some dives at the end. I notice as well that the diving is pretty cheap especially compared to the Maldives or even Sharm. Definitely looking forward to it.

Thanks again

Cheers TJ.

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billythefish
billythefish

Sounds like a big let down after your experience in diving? Although I love Sri Lanka as a holiday destination.

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boraluwa
boraluwa

check out www.divesrilanka.com for general information on diving in Sri Lanka.

Felician Fernando will be setting up an operation at Chaaya Blu Hotel in Uppuveli, north of Trincomalee from around May. In July August you should head to the east coast as the west will be affected by the SW monsoon. There is also a dive center at Nilaveli Beach Hotel in Trincomalee. There is very good coral and some good shallow diving around Pigeon Island. The east generally has easy, shallow diving other than some deep wrecks including the Hermes (worlds first pupose built aircraft carrier) which is a technical dive. Felician runs trips to it.

Most of the south coast dive sites are now in a poor condition. There are some excellent wrecks off Colombo if you dive during the NE season from November to April. Check picture on divesrilanka.

Good luck and hope you have a great holiday.

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felician
felician

Hi Divers,

Welcome to Sri lanka.

We can dive in the west and the south coast from November to March and then move to the east coast. Trincomalee has some finest coral reefs in south east Asia. Depth ranging from 2 m to 18m. Ideal depth for recreational divers. There are some deeper sites and wreck as well which are not yet accessible for divers. Clappen berg point, admiralty floating dock are someof the sites not yet accessible. There are two famous marble beaches. One just adjoining china Bay domestic air port. It is necessary to permission from the air force to visit the marble beach. It was not difficult to get permission.
Batticaloa, Passekudh too are some fine places to dive. Passekudah has the famous mushroom rock, domes, Wreck lady blake another boiler wreck and much more. An excellent place for snorkeling.
Baticaloa too has some fine reefs and rocks. The famous white rock just 2 km from the Batticaloa light house, the Muslim rock (five km for the light house), Porppa paru, Kappara paru, the boiler wrecks are some sites for recreational divers.
The Best comes last.

The wreck of the world's first purpose built air craft carrier HMS Hermes sunk on the 9th of April 1942 by the Japenese dive bombers.
Hermes lost 302 marines and about 400 wre rescued by a Hospital ship.
The wreck HMS Hermes has found her final resting place at a depth of 58m. Visit www.srilanka-divingtours.com</strong> to view the latest pictures. Minimum requirements to dive the wreck hermes is Tec deep trainig. Trimix is much better. The currents are extremely strong. It is a bit of a challenge for a well experienced tec diver to dive the Hermes. If the current is not strong it is not he hermes.
In September 2010 we dis our deko on the drift for 45 mins. the bottom time was just 28m. We got drifted for more than 2.5 km
The well experienced boat crew and a reliable team has to on alert at all times. This is certainly not for the inexperienced tec divers.

The east coast has a lot of potential for recreational as well as for technical divers.
We suggest divers to visit Trincomalee and then drive to Batticaloa along the coastal route. the drive is an absolute adventure.
Trip report will be sent shortly.
Feli
www.srilanka-divingtours.com

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sltraveljournalist
sltraveljournalist

Hi, I'm a Sri Lankan travel journalist and also a PADI certified diver. I went diving last year in the summer (June/July/August) on various occasions and the year before too and I enlisted the services of Poseidon Diving Station.
Their PADI Instructor in Trincomalee (East Coast Sri Lanka), Menaka is a great diver and helped scour some superb sites.
Plus the dive sites are amazing because unlike Hikkaduwa, which is all dead corals, the Trinco dive sites are more alive and thriving.
There is no problem with the Navy and in fact, they can be really accommodating to help divers around. They have been involved heavily in stopping dynamite fishing there.
Check www.divingsrilanka.com and click on the 'Diving Northeast Sri Lanka' sub-link.
Enjoy your Sri Lankan dive trip! :)

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