Johor ~ Diving off Pulau Aur

Diving off Pulau Aur - where waters are blue and visibility averages about 30m. Pulau Aur, together with the smaller isles of Pulau Dayang, Pulau Lang and Pulau Pemanggil make up one half of the Johor Marine Park. Both Dayang and Aur have deep clear water and healthy corals. 

Crocodile Rock 

A favourite night dive spot.

Teluk Teluran Interesting for its large undulating corals, which are home to various octopuses, crabs, and moray eels.

The Garden

Also known as the 'Secret Garden' is shallow dive site at 15m and has abundant fish and coral life. A good site for new divers and underwater photography

Teluk Mariam
To check out a Ming Dynasty wreak (as some claim), do a shore dive from the southern side of the bay towards the jetty.

Teluk Sebukang
March to April brings out an amazing variety of nudibranches, and garden eels deeper down at around 30m.

Robert's Tip
Located at the northern tip of Pulau Lang, has a small but interesting patch of coral with immense variety. Dusk dives are best as the corals here teem with fish.

Rayner's Rock
Popular with advanced divers. Here palagics can be found on the seaward side of the rock ahilst a large variety of soft corals can be found in the valley between the two rocks that break the surface. Different levels offer things. Napolean wrasses, up to 90cm long have been spotted here and grey tip reef sharks are often sighted.

Pulau Pinang 

A barren rock with steep slopes, making it an ideal spot for some wall diving. The sea floor goes down 60m. Here snappers, moral eels, spotted rays and groupers can be seen. Turtles and sharks are not uncommon. The spot is a good place to do a drift dive if the currents are running.

The Pinnacles
A group of three underwater rocks, with a plateau of the center pinnacle at 18m deep. Schools of batfish and barracuda have been sighted. Strong currents are common, so plan your dive for slack tides.

Accommodations & Amenities
Accommodations is available only on Pulau Dayang and Pulau Aur. Amenities are pretty basic as electricity to the rooms is limited and there is no hot running water.
It is best to change money on the mainland and make bookings for accommodations and dives before arrival on the islands.
Best Time to Go
The Best time to visit Pulau Aur for diving is between April & October, when the sea is calmer and visibility is at its best.
The weekends are hectic especially with Singaporeans on holiday. Typically, after leaving work on Fridays, they depart for Mersing, whereupon they take a boat ride at midnight, arriving at 4.30am in the morning of Saturday. They then proceed to log-in six dives before leaving the island just after lunch on Sunday. However the island is practically yours on weekdays. 

Getting There

To get to Pulau Aur, 70km off Mersing, you can take a boat from the Mersing Jetty or Sedilli fishing port. It's a slow boat ride over some four hours, although some resorts have started using speed boats that cut the travel time by half.

Johor Tours