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Blue triggerfish with maze-like yellow markings hovering over pale coral rubble — Nosy Be

Nosy Be · Madagascar · Reef · Coral garden

Tanikely South

Gorgonians, tube sponges and brain corals in a protected islet reef

Area photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tanikely South is one of the two dive sites around Nosy Tanikely, a small marine park islet off Nosy Be. It is a shallow coral reef in calm water, easy enough for divers of every level, and it draws divers for healthy hard and soft corals and a reef crowded with fish, from frogfish to tuna.

Also known as Tanikely Sud.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Tanikely South: typical dive to 15 m (to 50 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit15 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

13.4836° S, 48.2389° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The reef is shallow: most of the dive is spent around 10 m, and the bottom does not pass 15 m, so the whole route stays in bright water where visibility can exceed 30 m. The calm water makes it friendly to newly certified divers.

The coral cover is the main subject, with hard and soft corals, brain corals, gorgonians and tube sponges spread across the reef. The fish life around them includes barracudas, moray eels, stingrays, tuna, frogfish, lionfish, triggerfish, blowfish and groupers, and sea turtles also turn up on the reef.

Marine life and season

  • Barracuda
  • Stingrays
  • Tuna
  • Frogfish
  • Sea turtles
  • Groupers
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Tanikely South
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Off-seasonOff-seasonFairGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimeGood

Season follows Nosy Be: Cyclone season (Jan-Mar) shuts down most diving; whale sharks aggregate Oct-Dec and humpback whales pass offshore during the austral winter.

Dive videos

Diving at Nosy Tanikely · Guilleont on YouTube

Questions divers ask

Is there a fee to dive at Nosy Tanikely?+

Yes. Diving in Tanikely Park carries an entry fee of 40,000 ariary on top of the dive price.

Sources

  1. Tanikely South — dive.site
  2. Tanikely sud — ScubaGo
  3. Tanikely Pain de Sucre — ScubaGo
  4. Scuba Nosy Be — Scuba Nosy Be

More dive sites in Nosy Be

Reef

Banc d'Ankaréa

Coral plateau with fusilier shoals, turtles and passing grey sharks

12–25 mintermediate

Seamount

Banc du Petit Castor

A 500 m dome where grey reef and leopard sharks patrol the slopes

9–60 madvanced

Wall

Four Brothers

Sheer walls where barracuda, mobulas and whitetips pass

0–30 mintermediate

Wall

Gaby Rock

A deep drop-off off Nosy Iranja with a fair chance of big fish

40–70 madvanced

Wall

Greg's Wall

A tunnel and arches cut through a gorgonian wall below 30 m

13–38 m · max 70 madvanced

Reef

Kassimo

A long soft-coral reef thick with reef fish, kept for the third dive

5–15 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Les Tétons

Two rock peaks breaking the surface, cut through with arches and caves

5–20 mintermediate

Artificial reef

Mahaveluma

A scuttled trawler at 28.5 m off Nosy Sakatia

to 28.5 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Banana Reef

Addu Atoll · Maldives

A banana-shaped reef dived from the surface to 30 m

0–30 mintermediate

Reef

Iglesia

Coiba · Panama

Calm 22 m reef with frogfish, sea snakes and passing mantas

to 22 mintermediate

Reef

Hirizo Beach

Mikomoto & Nakagi · Japan

The outer drop-off holds the coral, and it is the advanced end

to 20 mintermediate

Reef

King Abdullah Reef

Aqaba · Jordan

A gorgonian forest at 21 m and fusiliers packing the shallows

5–23 m · max 30 mbeginner