Best places to scuba dive in April
April belongs to Tubbataha. The Sulu Sea is normally kinder, visibility is at its best, and the protected reefs are full of fish and grey reef sharks. Malpelo is the harder pelagic alternative. Wakatobi and Sipadan offer simpler reef trips, but neither matches Tubbataha for the combination of reef condition and open-water life.
Where should you dive in April?
Tubbataha is the first trip I would book. It ranks #5 overall at 9.4/10, and April sits inside its strict peak window of April. Go for pristine walls, grey reef sharks, dogtooth tuna.
Read the Tubbataha guide →4 places clear the bar
The order stays tied to the overall ranking. The first card is the answer.
Tubbataha
What a protected reef is supposed to look like.
Tubbataha has no nearby coast to spoil the water and a short season that keeps traffic down. The result is hard coral, sea fans and lots of fish. Grey reef sharks are normal; mantas, dogtooth tuna, jacks and the occasional whale shark or hammerhead are the upside.
- Peak window
- April
- Signature
- Pristine walls · Grey reef sharks · Dogtooth tuna
Malpelo
No beach. No easy dives. Plenty of sharks.
Malpelo is a bare rock in the eastern Pacific, which tells you what sort of trip this is. You go for scalloped hammerheads, Galápagos sharks, silkies and huge morays. Expect negative entries, deep profiles and a boat that assumes you already know what you’re doing.
- Peak window
- January — April
- Signature
- Hammerhead schools · Galápagos sharks · Silkies
Wakatobi
For the week when the reef is enough.
Wakatobi is for long wall dives with no pressure to race to the next sighting. The coral is beautiful and dependable. It sits down at seventeen because sharks and large pelagics are cameos, not because there is anything wrong with the reef.
- Peak window
- April — May · October — November
- Signature
- Coral walls · Turtles · Macro life
Sipadan
One small island still carries the whole trip.
Sipadan itself is still very good. Recent dives have produced grey and whitetip reef sharks, barracuda and jack schools, turtles, bumpheads and healthy coral gardens. The awkward part is getting enough days on the island: permits are limited, and the diving around Mabul and Kapalai is not a substitute. I would book the operator around guaranteed Sipadan days, then treat everything else as useful padding.
- Peak window
- March — May
- Signature
- Reef sharks · Barracuda and jacks · Bumphead parrotfish