We also visit the beautiful pristine reefs of Atauro Island on a regular basis. These day trips cost 210 USD and prices include the trip, two dives, a dive guide, lunch and refreshments. We need a minimum of five divers for these trips to run. Trips are usually scheduled to run on weekends, but we power over any time we have enough divers! (High season Mid Sept-Nov surcharge applies)
If it has been a while since your last dive and you would like to review your scuba skills, check out our Scuba Refresher which is combined with a local dive trip to get you safely and comfortably back into the water.
Dive Timor Lorosae is the oldest existing dive shop in Timor-Leste and the only PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Center (5-Star IDC). Established in 2000, they have operated with a spirit of adventure and exploration. Many of the dive sites in Timor-Leste were discovered, explored, and named by them. Committed to providing exceptional experiences, they continue to seek out new and exciting dive locations to keep divers happy.
However, their priority goes beyond just fun—they emphasize safety and comfort above all. Dive Timor Lorosae has a team of highly qualified professionals and maintains top-quality dive gear, which is regularly serviced by their own certified technicians.
Dive Timor Lorosae (Google Maps)
Weekends – Enquire for Tour Schedule
Without a doubt, Atauro is East Timor’s most pristine diving area. Around the island is a large variety of dives suitable for every level! Visibility is always excellent, and the abundance of fish life and coral is simply overwhelming. Our dive masters will be more than happy to show you the hidden secrets of Atauro’s underwater world. Want to go only for snorkelling? No worries! We will bring you to beautiful sites for an unforgettable experience! People interested in staying on Atauro and only needing the trip over? Let us know, and we can take care of it! Our boat, Shanti, takes you to Atauro in 1 hour, departing from Dili. Lunch and non-alcoholic drinks are included. For bookings please use the contact details.
From the start, Dive Timor Lorosae has been dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism as an alternative source of income for the country. They place great importance on educating and training local staff, often taking them scuba diving to help them appreciate the beauty of their own land. Their goal is to make a positive impact on Timor-Leste through diving. They were the first to dive and explore Atauro Island, as well as many of the dive sites along the north coast. Dive Timor Lorosae offers a range of services, including dive trips, dive courses, whale watching, dive insurance, accommodation, and a restaurant.
Atauro Island Dive Sites:
Franks Crack is a deep wall dive from 5 meters down to 70-80 meters covered with hard and soft corals. Usually with very good visibility and mild current, we drift dive this site, spotting a big diversity of reef fish and pelagics. The big cracks all along the wall are perfect for crustaceans and juvenile fish to hide.
Lucky day: Turtle, Tuna, Spanish Mackerel
Lens: Wide angle
Depth: 5 – 50
Required skills: Open Water Diver
Snorkeling: yes
Table Top is a deep wall dive from 5 meters down to 70-80 meters covered with hard and soft corals including table corals in the shallows. Usually with very good visibility and mild current, we dive this as a drift dive, often spotting a big diversity of reef fish and pelagics.
Lucky day: Turtle, Tuna, Spanish Mackerels
Lens: Wide angle
Depth: 5 – 50
Required skills: Open Water Diver
Snorkeling: yes
This is a deep dive with very strong currents in the middle of schools of pelagics. Barracudas, Trevallies, Tunas, Mackerels can be seen at big fish Atauro Island. This dive site is for experienced divers only as it can be pretty challenging.
Lucky days: Hammerhead Sharks, Dolphins…
Lens: Wide angle
Depth: 5 – 50
Required skills: Advanced Open Water +60 logged dives
snorkeling: no
The Cove is a beautiful wall dive inside a bay covered with huge sponges and corals. The light on this dive site is spectacular, especially during the afternoon. Sheltered from any current, it’s time to look on every crack, behind every rock to find Scorpion fish and Nudibranchs, but keep an eye in the blue for Barracudas and Trevallies.
Lucky day: Turtle, Tuna, Napoleon Wrasse…
Lens: Wide angle
Depth: 5 – 50
Required skills: Open Water Diver
Snorkeling: yes
Experience the beautiful blue Timor waters at Inner Reef, One of the most most popular crystal blue Timor dives with a deep wall covered mostly with hard corals from 5 to 50 meters. Blue Timor
This is a slow drift dive in the middle of a big diversity of reef fish. Some Reef Sharks are often cruising around as well as a school of Barracudas and Napoleon Wrasse. Blue Timor
Lucky Day: Tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Turtle
Lens: Wide angle Blue Timor
Depth: 5 – 40
Required skills: Open Water Diver
Snorkeling: yes
Outer Reef is a deep slopping reef dive with mostly hard corals. Fusiliers, snappers and other reef fish are all over the place during this drift dive which can go quite fast. Look out to the blue as it’s the place to spot Hammerhead Sharks on an early morning deep dive.
Lucky day: Hammerhead Sharks, Tuna, Mackerels
Lens: Wide angle
Depth: 5 – 40
Required skills: Open Water Diver
Snorkeling: no
Shark Fin is a colorful slopping reef covered with hard and soft corals. This dive site can have some very strong current, but with current comes pelagic such as Barracudas, Tuna, and Sharks. A fast drift dive for experienced divers only.
Lucky day: Hammerhead Sharks, Tuna…
Lens: Wide angle
Depth: 5 – 50
Required skills: Advanced Open Water
Snorkeling: yes
Outstanding experience with the dive team at Dive Timor Lorosae. Such a highly professional and knowledgeable team that make you feel so welcome and relaxed from the outset. I couldn’t recommend this business more highly. Thank you for an amazing introduction to the coral triangle!!
Great dive center, very professional staff. The installations and equipment are very good.
Instructors are friendly and take safety seriously. Do everything to meet their divers needs.
The location of the dive center is perfect, in the center Dili.
Wow!! Just can’t rate this place enough!! Management and staff are all outstanding!! They are all so professional and passionate with what they do!!
My friends and I went out on their whale watching tour yesterday and were so lucky to find so many sperm whales we didn’t know where to look!! Also had the opportunity to swim with them!! What an experience!! Thank you for a fantastic day!!
This is just one of the great things Dive Timor Lorosae has to offer!!
Dive Timor Lorosae really impressed me with its professionalism. I’ve done previous snorkels in Phuket and Sabah and when Marianne, the British general manager who’s been in Timor Leste for 23 years, asked me to come in the day before to get fitted out, I was surprised. This was the first time an operator made sure I was properly fitted out in a dive short suit, scuba shoes and fins for a snorkeling trip. I really appreciated this focus on doings things properly and safely.
Dive Timor Lorosae has very professional staff as well. My friend and I were assigned Selina as our guide, and we’re so thankful to have Selina taking care of us during our two snorkels off two different spots along the rocky Timorese shores. We’re not super confident in the ocean, but Selina’s chilled, patient and caring personality encouraged us to explore the fantastic anemone garden at the second dive spot (we were tired after the first snorkeling spot and were going to pass on the second snorkeling spot). In the end we were glad we ventured out under the choppy waves because I felt like I was touring an acquarium filled with colourful fishes and anemones. Unforgettable experience.
I highly recommend Dive Timor Lorosae as a well-run, professional and caring outfit for your snorkeling and diving trips in Timor Leste. I’ll love to come back during the whale migration season and take a tour with Marianne and her crew 👍👍.
I did both a snorkelling trip and my whole PADI open-water certification with Dive Timor Lorasae. The whole team was incredible: it was easy to get things booked, get gear fitted and work out a schedule that suited me. Giovanni is a marine biologist who led our snorkel trip, he was so kind and was able to answer all (literally so many!) of our questions with ease, plus point out interesting creatures and facts about life on the reef. Selina was my sucuba instructor for the pool session and my 4 open water dives, in different beautiful locations. She was an incredible instructor, patient, easy to understand, knowledgeable, and so kind. She made scuba diving feel safe and fun, and be an altogether unforgettable experience. East Timor has some amazing reefs and beaches, pristine and with some of the most biodiversity waters in the world – most times we were the only divers there. Delicious lunch (they even made me a vegan option) was served on the days when we went to two different beautiful locations (a couple of hours drive away from Dili) with their van! So happy I got my certificate here, and thank you so much to Selina and the rest of the team for making it possible and such a great experience!
