Reefwander
Reefwander
Full calendar

Destinations at their peak each month

  1. Jan167
  2. Feb183
  3. Mar192
  4. Apr216
  5. May186
  6. Jun272
  7. Jul307
  8. Aug313
  9. Sep296
  10. Oct180
  11. Nov119
  12. Dec145

Americas

Europe, Africa & Middle East

Indo-Pacific

A cluster of about a dozen ochre-yellow tube sponges on a rocky reef, with pale yellow fan-shaped growths beside them — Tobago.

Tobago · Trinidad and Tobago · Reef · Drift

Japanese Gardens

Drift on through Kamikazee Cut to a sheltered nook of resident nurse sharks

Area photo: Darren Obbard · CC BY 4.0

Japanese Gardens is a fringing reef to the south of Goat Island, at the mouth of Tyrrel's Bay. The slope is covered in organ pipe corals and broad barrel sponges, and the current often turns it into a drift that carries on through Kamikazee Cut.

Also known as Japanese Garden.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Japanese Gardens: typical dive 9–30 m (30–100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit9 m30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

11.3006° N, 60.5193° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The garden is a sloping reef that begins at 9 m (30 ft) and falls away to 30 m (100 ft). With the reef facing south, the current is more than mild, and divers often make a relatively slow drift along it among organ pipe corals and barrel sponges. The drift often carries on through Kamikazee Cut, a passage that opens onto a sheltered spot where nurse sharks are resident.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Japanese Gardens
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairFairFairGoodGoodPrime

Season follows Tobago: Hammerheads school at the Sisters from October to May; July to November are the wettest months.

Dive videos

SCUBA Diving Japanese Gardens at Speyside, Tobago WI · RonTiah on YouTube

Sources

  1. Diving in Tobago — DIVEIN
  2. Warren Solomon Gives Up the Best Dive Spots in Tobago — Uncommon Caribbean
  3. The Two Faces of Tobago — DAN World

More dive sites in Tobago

Reef

Angel Reef

The sheltered, quiet-water reef behind Goat Island

4–18 mbeginner

Reef

Black Jack Hole

Schools of black jacks gather here from May to July

10–40 mintermediate

Reef

Kelleston Drain

Brain coral colonies up to 5 m (15 ft) across

to 18 madvanced

Pinnacle

The Sisters

Schooling scalloped hammerheads from October to May

to 40 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Boulders

Bequia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Swim-throughs between giant boulders where shy nurse sharks hide

to 30 mintermediate

Reef

Chun Zumbul Deep

Playa del Carmen · Mexico

Three reef plateaus split by sand dunes, drifted at 26 m

to 26 madvanced

Reef

Colombia Deep

Cozumel · Mexico

Giant coral pinnacles cut with caves, tunnels and caverns

18–27 mintermediate

Reef

Moc Che Deep

Playa del Carmen · Mexico

A long run of coral formations at 26–28 m in strong current

26–28 madvanced