Weekly ocean top 10: diving, snorkeling and marine life

🚢 Liveaboards

September, week 1: top 10

Mon, Sep 7 – Sun, Sep 13 · UTC

🚢

Umbria Stern (7102166429) — Photo: Wreckferret · CC BY-SA 2.0

🥇

SIGNATURE · September season🚢 Liveaboards

Banda Sea crossing, hammerhead season opens

Indonesia

📍 Banda Islands · 10 operators

Monthly evidence checked

Official source · checked Sep 3, 2026

1 region · 10 listed operators

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

반다해 횡단 리브어보드는 9~11월에 집중되며 이 구간이 해머헤드 무리 조우가 가장 안정적이다. 9월은 시즌 첫 달로 암본에서 출발해 반다 제도를 거쳐 라자암팟으로 향하는 7~12박 일정이 열린다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

mermaid-liveaboards.com liveaboardindonesia.com neptuneliveaboards.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Boats in the corals of Red Sea 2 — Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 3.0

🥈

September seasonLiveaboards

Cenderawasih whale sharks, optimal window

Indonesia

📍 Cenderawasih Bay · 3 operators

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

첸데라와시만 최적기는 7~10월이다. 9월은 그 한가운데로 콰티소레 어선(바간) 아래 고래상어 조우가 가장 안정적이며 만 안쪽이 잔잔하다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

cenderawasihbay.com liveaboard.com calicojackcharters.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

US Navy 090716-N-3581D-153 U.S. Navy Diver 1st Class Anthony Carter, left, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit 1, holds on to a rigid hull inflatable boat after a dive while listening to Navy Diver 1st class Mich — Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Maurice Dayao · Public domain

🥉

September seasonLiveaboards

Bikini Atoll, late-season departures

Marshall Islands

📍 Bikini Atoll

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

비키니 시즌(5월~10월)의 후반인 9월은 11월~4월의 사이클론·거친 바다 위험 전 마지막 안정 구간이다. 몬순이나 뚜렷한 건·우기가 없는 해역이라 시즌 구분은 무역풍에 따른다. 1946년 핵실험으로 가라앉은 함대를 감압 다이빙으로 탐사하므로 테크니컬 자격이 전제된다.

LiveaboardTechnical divingWreck diving

masterliveaboards.com padi.com bluewaterdivetravel.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

Dive boat at Oceana power boat club PA312161 — Photo: Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0

🏅

September seasonLiveaboards

Isla del Coco, peak big-animal window

Costa Rica

📍 Isla del Coco

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

해머헤드·고래상어·만타 등 대형 해양생물이 가장 많이 모이는 시기는 우기인 6월~11월이며, 9월은 그 한가운데다. 같은 이유로 해상이 거칠어 장거리 항해가 힘들어질 수 있다는 상충 관계를 함께 안내해야 한다. 코코스섬은 UNESCO 세계유산이며 SINAC이 징수하는 국립공원 입장료가 별도로 적용된다.

LiveaboardScuba divingMarine life watching

liveaboard.com bluewaterdivetravel.com zubludiving.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

🌊 New this week

Not repeated within the same month

"Netos de José Augusto" whale watching boat, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal (PPL1-Corrected) — Photo: Jules Verne Times Two · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sep seasonPopular pick

Bligh Water, September

Bligh Water · Fiji

📍 Bligh Water

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

피지 건기(5~10월)의 9월은 시야가 가장 좋은 후반 구간으로 블라이워터·바투이라 연산호 사이트를 도는 리브어보드 일정이 안정적이다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

liveaboard.com divessi.com fiji.travel

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

Kicker Rock and diving crew off of San Cristobal Island, Galapagos Ecuador — Photo: MusikAnimal / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sep seasonPopular pick

Darwin & Wolf, whale shark peak

Galápagos Marine Reserve · Ecuador

📍 Galápagos Marine Reserve · 3 operators

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

9월은 갈라파고스 고래상어 정점(8~9월)의 두 번째 달이자 냉수기(7~12월) 한가운데다. 다윈·울프에서 관찰되는 개체는 대부분 대형 성체 암컷이며 접근은 리브어보드 전용이다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

journals.plos.org masterliveaboards.com galapagossky.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

NZL-kaikoura-whalewatch — Photo: Bgabel · CC BY-SA 3.0

Sep seasonPopular pick

Halmahera: big fish and critters, September

Halmahera · Indonesia

📍 Halmahera

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

왈라세아 월별 가이드는 9월을 대형 어류와 소형 크리터가 함께 보이는 균형 잡힌 달로, 시야 20~28m·수온 28~29°C로 기술한다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

wallacea-divecruise.com zubludiving.com liveaboard.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

Manta-ray-penida — Photo: Sasuke Shinozawa / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sep seasonPopular pick

Komodo, late dry season

Komodo · Indonesia

📍 Komodo · 18 operators

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

코모도 북·중부 건기(3~10월)의 9월은 시야가 안정적이고 성수기 정점(7~8월)이 지나 사이트가 덜 붐비는 후반 구간이다. 남부는 용승으로 수온이 낮다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

blog.padi.com komodoresort.com bluewaterdivetravel.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

Manta rays, Naviti island, Yasawa, Fiji (1) - August 2016 — Photo: Rickard Törnblad · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sep seasonPopular pick

Hanifaru peak on a Baa Atoll itinerary

Baa Atoll · Maldives

📍 Baa Atoll · 11 operators

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

몰디브 남서 몬순(6~11월) 중 만타·고래상어 집결 정점은 하니파루만이 붐비는 여름 후반이다. 9월은 그 정점 구간으로 바아 환초를 도는 리브어보드가 만 입장 허가에 맞춰 스노클 세션을 넣는다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

liveaboard.com dive-the-world.com spiritliveaboards.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

U -85 diver and deck gun — Photo: Joseph Hoyt National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Sep seasonPopular pick

Manta season, Milne Bay

Milne Bay · Papua New Guinea

📍 Milne Bay · 1 operator

✓ Monthly evidence · official sources

Picked for September. The season evidence is in the official sources below, checked Sep 3, 2026.

Original (Korean)

PADI는 9월을 밀른베이 만타 시즌으로 명시하고, 5~8월은 비와 너울로 머크 사이트 시야가 나쁘다고 기술한다. 9월은 우기가 끝나며 만타가 클리닝 스테이션에 모이는 달로 소형 리브어보드가 만 안쪽을 돈다.

LiveaboardScuba diving

padi.com liveaboard.com zubludiving.com

See all listed operators View on the map

Checked Sep 3, 2026

Month-specific picks first · gaps filled with source-checked year-round picks · official sources and check dates shown

September: where to get in the water this week

September, week 1: top 10

Banda Sea crossing, hammerhead season opens

Cenderawasih whale sharks, optimal window

Bikini Atoll, late-season departures

Isla del Coco, peak big-animal window

🌊 New this week

Bligh Water, September

Darwin & Wolf, whale shark peak

Halmahera: big fish and critters, September

Komodo, late dry season

Hanifaru peak on a Baa Atoll itinerary

Manta season, Milne Bay