Turtle Dive - Nha Trang

Turtle Dive always puts a smile on our faces. We love it for its sheer density of fish, rather than grand topography. Think of it as a busy, bustling underwater marketplace. You drop onto a gently sloping reef, mostly hard coral bommies and rubble, but every surface just vibrates with activity. The real stars here are the smaller, often overlooked species. We’ve spent whole dives just watching the antics of peacock wrasse and banded thicklips, or trying to spot the iridescent flashes of a Helen’s triplefin darting between coral heads. Look closely and you’ll find big-belly seahorses clinging to bits of seagrass, a rare treat. We also regularly spot sidespotted dragonets doing their adorable bottom-dwelling dance. The coral grouper here are unusually bold, often letting you get quite close. Our favourite time to dive Turtle Dive is early morning, before the boat traffic picks up, when the light filters down just right and the reef is really waking up. It’s a wonderfully relaxing dive, perfect for photographers or anyone who just loves to slow down and observe.

Location: Nha Trang, Vietnam, Southeast Asia
Coordinates: 12.233175, 109.195500

Marine Protected Area: Vịnh Nha Trang

Best Time to Dive in Nha Trang

The warmest water temperatures in Nha Trang occur in May, averaging 30.5°C. The coolest conditions are in January at 25.4°C.

Monthly Water Temperatures

January: 25.4°C
February: 25.8°C
March: 27.4°C
April: 29.5°C
May: 30.5°C
June: 30.2°C
July: 29.7°C
August: 29.7°C
September: 30.3°C
October: 30.1°C
November: 28.1°C
December: 26.2°C

Nearest Dive Centres to Turtle Dive

ANGEL DIVE - SSI, PADI, SDI, TDI
Deep People Freediving - Scuba School International
Delight Diving - SSI
Diving Centre NHA Trang Fun Divers
Sailing Club Divers - ["PADI"]
Sea Coral - PADI, SSI

Marine Life in Nha Trang

Home to 182 recorded species including 175 reef fish, 6 seagrass & algae, 1 other.

Notable Species

High Hat Triplefin (Enneapterygius tutuilae) - Reef Fish
Banded Toby (Canthigaster valentini) - Reef Fish
Blackbar Filefish (Pervagor janthinosoma) - Reef Fish
Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) - Reef Fish
Northern Bicoloured Triplefin (Enneapterygius flavoccipitis) - Reef Fish
Floral wrasse (Cheilinus chlorourus) - Reef Fish
Six-line wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) - Reef Fish
Rock Cod (Cephalopholis boenak) - Reef Fish
Telescopefish (Epibulus insidiator) - Reef Fish
Blackspot Surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigrofuscus) - Reef Fish
Two-spot Bristletooth (Ctenochaetus binotatus) - Reef Fish
Largemouth Triplefin (Ucla xenogrammus) - Reef Fish
Chestnut Blenny (Cirripectes castaneus) - Reef Fish
Ghost Cardinalfish (Nectamia fusca) - Reef Fish
Bullethead Parrotfish (Chlorurus sordidus) - Reef Fish
Lineated Butterflyfish (Chaetodon trifasciatus) - Reef Fish
Bird wrasse (Gomphosus varius) - Reef Fish
Bloodspot pipefish (Corythoichthys haematopterus) - Reef Fish
Twinspot Hawkfish (Amblycirrhitus bimacula) - Reef Fish
Blackspotted wrasse (Macropharyngodon meleagris) - Reef Fish

Recommended Packing List for Turtle Dive

Based on average water temperature of 28.6°C, currents 3 cm/s.

Shorty or Rashguard - warm 29°C water needs minimal exposure protection
Mask - essential for every dive
Fins
BCD - buoyancy compensator
Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories