Best places to scuba dive in May
May has a short list because this calendar excludes shoulder-season bets. Wakatobi is the better reef holiday: clear water, walls and a deliberately easy rhythm. Sipadan is the better choice for turtles, barracuda and whitetips packed into a small number of famous sites. I would choose Wakatobi for reef quality and Sipadan for action.
Where should you dive in May?
Wakatobi is the first trip I would book. It ranks #17 overall at 8.2/10, and May sits inside its strict peak window of April — May · October — November. Go for coral walls, turtles, macro life.
Read the Wakatobi guide →2 places clear the bar
The order stays tied to the overall ranking. The first card is the answer.
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