A shore dive near Saipan's airport, entered along a rope through a natural cut in the coral plateau. The reef runs in two steps from 5 m to 18 m, with good hard coral, large soft coral colonies and a wide variety of reef fish inshore, and barracuda, garden eels and passing sharks where the second reef starts. It suits every skill level.
Where it is and how deep
15.1057° N, 145.7393° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Entry is from the beach, following the rope anchored inside a natural cut in the coral plateau, and the same rope brings you back out. The inner reef starts in about 5 m of water: good hard coral growth, large colonies of soft coral and a wide variety of reef fish, with green sea turtles turning up occasionally over the shallow section.
The second reef begins at about 15 m and the site bottoms out around 18 m. Barracuda hold here, garden eels stand out of the sand, and sharks work the outer edge. Visibility over this section generally runs between 10 m and 18 m, and on a good day it opens out past 45 m; the site is a standing recommendation for photographers as well as for divers at every skill level.
Background
A Japanese pillbox still stands near the parking lot above the beach, and the ground here has not finished with the war. Obyan's underwater sandy areas and the jungle behind them continue to give up occasional artillery fired from American warships and from the pillbox itself; roughly a third of the undetonated armaments found are still capable of an explosive reaction if they are mishandled.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Saipan & Tinian: Dec–Jun is calmest and clearest; Jul–Nov is typhoon season, when swell regularly closes the Grotto entirely.
Know before you go
- Undetonated wartime ordnance still turns up in the sand offshore and in the jungle behind the beach; if you find one, do not touch it — roughly a third can still explode if mishandled.
- The coral cuts run strong outgoing rip-tides and the waves break in extremely shallow, sharp coral, so use the rope for entry and exit rather than swimming across the plateau.
Photos from Obyan Beach
tata_aka_T from Tokyo, JAPAN · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Scuba Diving at Obyan Beach, Saipan w/ @madscuba and friends. · Dylan Lambert on YouTube
サイパン島 オブジャンビーチ スキューバダイビング （SAIPAN - OBYAN BEACH Scuba diving GoPro HERO5）オブジャンビーチ · やまちゃんねる on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Obyan Beach a shore dive?+
Yes. It is reached near the airport by a poorly maintained asphalt road and then a dirt and coral-rubble track, and divers get in and out from the beach along a rope anchored in a natural cut in the coral plateau. It can also be dived from a boat.
What can you see at Obyan Beach?+
Hard and soft coral and a wide variety of reef fish on the inner reef from about 5 m, then barracuda, garden eels and passing sharks where the second reef starts at about 15 m. Green sea turtles show up occasionally.
Sources
- Diving in Saipan — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- Calm turquoise water and pale sand at Obyan Beach, with the coral plateau visible just offshore by Cla68, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A red-spotted blenny peering out of a hole in the coral at Obyan Beach by tata_aka_T from Tokyo, JAPAN, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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A 5-15 m coral plateau at the angle of the pass