Goraici
The Goraici Islands form a small archipelago approximately 50 kilometres southwest of Ternate, comprising isles such as Siko, Gafi, Laigoma, Lilai, Tolimago and Taneti. This remote island group has become a signature destination for diving in Halmahera, offering spectacular underwater topography that some operators compare to Misool in Raja Ampat. The locals here have a reputation as environmentalists, and the healthy coral reefs reflect that stewardship. The islands are a regular inclusion on Halmahera liveaboard routes departing from Ternate, typically visited early in the cruise before moving on to the Patinti Strait and Bacan.
The Halmahera dive sites around Goraici are predominantly seamounts and submerged pinnacles, rising from deep water and swept by currents that attract pelagic life. Sites like WTF Rock feature an underwater pinnacle with a ridge extending northwest, drawing dogtooth tuna, grey reef sharks, schools of surgeonfish and black snappers when the current runs. Batu Mandi offers an exceptional wall that attracts schools of batfish, bannerfish and a resident bumphead wrasse. The northern Goraici area also includes natural obelisks and rock formations that serve as focal points for marine aggregations.
Marine life in the Goraici Islands is exceptionally varied. Halmahera scuba diving here offers encounters with blacktip reef sharks and grey reef sharks patrolling the seamounts, along with tuna, Spanish mackerel and giant trevallies. Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish and schooling surgeonfish are common on the reefs. The Halmahera diving region is also known for its manta ray activity, with a population frequently visiting mangrove islands west of Lilai to feed and visit cleaning stations. For macro enthusiasts, the healthy coral reefs abound with macro marine life, offering excellent opportunities for photography and night diving. The combination of Halmahera dive sites here - seamounts for pelagics, reefs for schooling fish, and sheltered areas for macro - makes Goraici a genuinely diverse destination.
Morotai
Morotai Island represents one of Indonesia's most isolated diving frontiers, positioned 300 kilometres north of Halmahera in the remote Maluku archipelago. This sparsely populated volcanic island draws adventurous divers to its untouched coral gardens and significant wartime history, far from Indonesia's established diving circuits. The island's strategic position during World War II left behind a substantial underwater heritage, with numerous aircraft wrecks and military debris scattered across its shallow reefs, creating unique artificial reef systems that have been colonised by marine life for over eight decades. For those seeking scuba diving in Halmahera that combines history with healthy reefs, Morotai is a destination unlike any other.
Morotai has 28 recorded diving spots, with opportunities to discover additional locations across its surrounding waters. The island's most distinctive draw is its underwater museum of WWII relics. A sunken aircraft believed to be an Australian-made Bristol Beaufort rests approximately 40 metres beneath the surface. Historical remains are scattered across several diving areas: Wawama and Totodaku feature Allied aircraft and a jeep, while Mira offers an underwater shipwreck. Divers can also discover fighter aircraft around Buho Buho and near Dodola. These submerged relics create a distinctive Halmahera dive experience by connecting marine exploration with Morotai's wartime heritage. The Wawama Wreck site is particularly notable, where a Willys Jeep from World War II now rests on the seabed, fully integrated into the underwater ecosystem.
Morotai's reefs offer pristine coral gardens with minimal diving pressure. Gorago Point anchors the destination's natural reef appeal, presenting a sloping reef that extends from 8 to 30 metres along Morotai's northeastern coastline. This site showcases the classic Indo-Pacific reef structure found throughout the Coral Triangle, with hard coral coverage reaching impressive densities on the upper reef slopes. The coral formations here display a rawness that comes from minimal diving pressure and excellent water quality. Harbour Point complements this by providing shallower diving between 6 and 18 metres, where divers encounter remnants of wartime infrastructure now integrated into thriving coral communities.
Marine life at Morotai reflects typical Coral Triangle diversity but with notable concentrations of schooling reef fish that gather around the wartime debris fields. Large schools of yellow snapper and fusiliers dominate the mid-water column, while the coral formations support substantial populations of angelfish, particularly the regal and emperor angelfish species common throughout Maluku waters. Moray eels have colonised many of the aircraft wreck sites, with both giant and white-eyed morays frequently encountered. Mitita Shark Point is another highlight, where divers can encounter blacktip reef sharks in shallow water as shallow as 20 metres, with the sharks being remarkably approachable. Galo-Galo Cave offers an underwater tunnel experience at 15-20 metres depth, adding a sense of adventure to a Halmahera diving cruise.
Patinti Strait
The Patinti Strait forms the beating heart of diving in Halmahera, and arguably represent the region's most rewarding underwater experiences. Located in South Halmahera, the Patinti Strait is a narrow channel where the islands of Sali, Kusu, Proco and Gala force ocean water through several channels, creating the current-driven conditions that healthy coral thrives in. This geographic bottleneck is the key to why Halmahera diving here produces such extraordinary marine life densities. The reefs have been described as some of the healthiest divers have ever seen, with coral gardens stretching for kilometres and fish diversity that rivals Raja Ampat. With over 40 named dive sites accessible within 15 minutes of shore, the area offers remarkable variety within a compact region. Bacan Island, the largest in the strait, adds its own character to diving in Halmahera, with diverse marine life including pygmy seahorses and rare nudibranchs, while the channels between Bacan and Halmahera produce drift dives with reliable pelagic action.
Among the standout Halmahera dive sites, Proco Island has become a signature destination. Its house reef stretches nearly a kilometre and can occupy multiple dives without repetition. Divers can go wide-angle on schooling fish aggregations in the morning and switch to macro photography in the afternoon, feeling like they're diving 2 different oceans. Divers here has recorded over 450 coral species and more than 800 fish species in the surrounding waters. Saleh and Kusu Islands partially close the strait, forcing water between them with currents that bring abundant life. Dive sites include seamounts, rocks, drift dives along fringing reefs, and quiet critter dives in bays. The protected reefs around Pulau Kusu hold over 3,000 fish species, with regular sightings of baby sharks, turtles, stingrays and macro subjects like pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs. Other named sites on liveaboard trips through the Bacan Islands region include Tobias Point, Batu Jabu and Proco Channel, offering a mix of reef and channel diving. Pulau Pisang, just south of Bacan, is famous for its endemic amphipods, a species that exists nowhere else on Earth, and its sea turtles are unbothered by the current, making for reliable photographic subjects.
Marine life in the Patinti Strait and Bacan region is exceptionally varied. The endemic Halmahera walking shark (Hemiscyllium halmahera) is frequently sighted on night dives, moving across the reef in the dark in a behaviour that feels almost prehistoric. Grey reef sharks, blacktip and whitetip reef sharks are regularly encountered in the channels, while schools of jacks, barracuda, giant trevallies and bumphead parrotfish patrol the current-swept areas. The strait's sheltered bays and muck sites offer exceptional macro diving, with rhinopias, pygmy seahorses, blue-ringed octopus, harlequin shrimp, frogfish and a variety of nudibranchs all possible. Napoleon wrasse, eagle rays, occasional manta rays and seasonal whale sightings add further to the pelagic diversity.
Together, the Patinti Strait and Bacan Island represent the most established Halmahera dive destination, a window into what Indonesian reefs looked like decades ago. For divers seeking pristine coral, reliable marine life encounters and a genuine sense of exploration, this region delivers on all counts.
Ternate
Ternate sits in the Maluku Sea between Sulawesi and West Papua, a volcanic cone rising directly from the water with drop-offs ringing its shores. As one of the original Spice Islands, Ternate is steeped in history, yet its underwater world remains one of Indonesia's most underdeveloped diving frontiers, with minimal crowds and genuinely untouched reefs. For diving in Halmahera, Ternate serves as the primary gateway and a rewarding destination in its own right, with most divers arriving via Sultan Babullah Airport before heading on to liveaboards exploring the wider region.
The dive sites around Ternate range from deep volcanic walls to accessible shore entries in the heart of the city. Samoy Point features a steep wall dropping from 5 metres to beyond 40 metres, decorated with hard corals thriving in nutrient-rich currents, plus a volcanic cave system where eagle rays patrol the external walls and green sea turtles rest in the alcoves. The Arch presents a dramatic coral formation at 18 metres with a natural span that channels current and attracts pelagics, while nearby reef slopes extend from 8 metres to beyond 30 metres. For a completely different experience, Nukila Park offers shore entry just 5 minutes from Ternate's city centre, where divers can explore the KM Pari Wreck at 15-23 metres along with deliberately sunk buses and motorbikes that have become thriving artificial reefs.
Marine life around Ternate is diverse and includes some of the region's most sought-after species. The walking shark is an endemic highlight, frequently encountered on night dives and muck sites near Ternate town. Schools of jacks, barracuda, and sweetlips sweep through the currents along the drop-offs, while snapper, fusilier, butterflyfish, cardinalfish, angelfish, and grouper populate the reefs and wrecks. Eagle rays are consistent visitors to Samoy Point, and bottlenose dolphins occasionally investigate dive groups at The Arch. For macro enthusiasts, Ternate delivers nudibranchs, frogfish, flatworms, gobies, moray eels, and even pygmy seahorses at sites like Moa Reef and Gemaf Jetty. The wreck sites add another dimension, with moray eels peeking from crevices and anemones hosting clownfish on the sunken structures.
Tidore
Tidore sits just across a narrow channel from Ternate in the North Maluku archipelago, a volcanic cone rising from the sea alongside its twin island. Together they form part of the historic Spice Islands that once drew traders from across the world, and today their underwater slopes offer some of the most accessible and rewarding diving in Halmahera. The island's position between the Pacific and Indian Ocean systems creates unique biodiversity patterns, with steep walls dropping into deep channels and coral gardens thriving in the mineral-rich waters. Unlike more established Indonesian destinations, Tidore sees very few divers, meaning its reefs remain largely untouched and crowds are virtually nonexistent.
The dive sites around Tidore range from deep walls to sheltered reefs and historic wreck sites. Tidore Se 1 features a reef system extending from 8 metres down to 35 metres, with cleaning stations where angelfish, wrasse and butterflyfish gather, and eagle rays patrolling the sandy channels between coral pinnacles. The deeper wall section meets the blue water boundary where plankton-rich currents flow, occasionally drawing bottlenose dolphins to investigate divers. West of Maitara explores the channel between Tidore and the small volcanic cone of Maitara Island, where strong currents support both soft coral growth and passing pelagics. Tahua Point, located directly beneath the 17th-century Spanish Fort Tahula, offers a unique Halmahera scuba diving experience combining natural beauty with archaeological interest - Ming Dynasty ceramics, including jars, pottery and plates, rest on the seabed between 12 and 20 metres, remnants of a shipwreck from centuries past. The coral ecosystem here remains vibrant and healthy, with diverse fish life in clear water.
Marine life around Tidore reflects the region's rich biodiversity. The reefs support large schools of fusiliers, black and midnight snapper, and trevally moving above the coral, while whitetip and blacktip reef sharks patrol the shadows. Eagle rays and green sea turtles are regular residents, with turtles frequently resting in coral overhangs at sites like Tidore Se 1. Manta rays are possible, adding pelagic appeal to the island's dive offerings. Macro enthusiasts will find nudibranchs, ghost pipefish and other critters hiding among the soft corals and sea fans that smother the slopes. The combination of volcanic topography, healthy coral, and minimal diving pressure makes Tidore a genuinely rewarding Halmahera dive destination for divers seeking Indonesia's newest frontier.
Tifore
Tifore is a small island sitting on an open-ocean seamount midway between Halmahera and Sulawesi, and it has earned a reputation as one of the most productive pelagic dive sites in the North Maluku region. This remote island is a regular inclusion on Halmahera liveaboard expeditions crossing between Lembeh and Raja Ampat, offering a genuinely wild diving in Halmahera experience with very few other boats in sight. The seamount's steep walls drop into deep blue water, and strong upwellings running along them concentrate food for large predators, making Tifore a magnet for open-ocean species. For divers seeking Halmahera scuba diving at its most elemental - big fish, big schools, and big blue water - Tifore delivers on every dive.
The headline attraction at Tifore is the resident school of barracuda, which is often described as being a thousand fish strong. Scuba divers have reported entering the water to find thousands of barracuda swirling around like a vortex from out of the blue, mixing with an equally impressive school of bigeye jacks. The school is so dense and the formation so dramatic that it dominates the entire dive, towering from top to bottom and enveloping divers in the swirling mass. Beyond the barracuda, the seamount's steep walls attract a suite of pelagic species. Hammerhead sharks pass through during seasonal upwelling periods, mobula ray squadrons cruise the blue water off the walls, and dogtooth tuna and Napoleon wrasse patrol the reef crests. Grey reef sharks, jacks, snappers, turtles, and rays are also regularly encountered. The reef itself supports healthy coral formations and vibrant reef fish, providing a productive backdrop to the pelagic action.
Weda Bay
Weda Bay sits on the east coast of Central Halmahera, a large sheltered inlet that has quietly earned a reputation as one of the most accessible and rewarding destinations for diving in Halmahera. The bay's protected waters are suitable for all experience levels, from snorkellers to advanced divers, and its reefs are described as some of the best in the world for combining easy access with genuine biodiversity. This is where the rare Halmahera walking shark (Hemiscyllium halmahera) was discovered, and it remains one of the most reliable places in the region to encounter this endemic species.
The dive sites around Weda Bay offer remarkable variety within a compact area. More than 40 sites lie within a maximum 35-kilometre range, from steep walls and shallow coral gardens to black sand muck sites and a historical Japanese WWII shipwreck. Offshore reefs sit around 10 kilometres from shore, and their tops are in excellent condition and rich in fish life. The bay's sheltered position means currents are rarely strong, making it an unusually relaxed Halmahera scuba diving destination where shallow dives of real beauty are possible.
Marine life in Weda Bay is exceptionally diverse. The protected bay is a noted macro destination, with some sources claiming the critter variety here rivals Lembeh Strait, including mimic octopus and pygmy seahorses that underwater photographers spend entire dives searching for. Turtles frequent these waters, with green and hawksbill turtles regularly encountered on dives. The reefs support giant groupers, sharks, schooling fish, Napoleon wrasse, and tuna, while shallow coral gardens offer excellent snorkelling. Specific sites like Shark Mountain, an underwater mount 11 kilometres offshore, almost guarantee shark encounters along with schooling jacks, barracuda, and tuna.
For scuba divers planning a Halmahera dive trip, the area is a haven for birdwatchers, with the forests of Weda home to Wallace's Standardwing bird of paradise and other Halmahera endemics.
