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Vava'u · Tonga · Reef · Wall

Coral Gardens

Reef and wall the whole way, in 2 to 15 metres of water

Area photo: David Broad · CC BY 3.0

Coral Gardens sits west of Vaka'eitu, where the local cruising guide records reef and wall between 8 and 50 feet — roughly 2 to 15 metres. The guide plots it as a run of three waypoints strung along the shore rather than one mark, and the whole profile stays inside easy recreational depths from the reef top to the base of the wall.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Coral Gardens: typical dive 2–15 m (7–50 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit2 m15 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

18.7167° S, 174.1039° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The site is a shallow reef top with a wall dropping off the edge of it. The published range is 8 to 50 feet, about 2 to 15 metres, so the wall bottoms out well inside no-decompression territory and the whole profile stays in bright water close to the surface. There is no deep stage to budget gas for. The guide marks the site as three positions spread along the shore west of Vaka'eitu rather than a single point, so which part of the reef you get depends on where the boat drops you.

Run it as a slow reef dive rather than a route with stages. Follow the top of the wall at whatever depth the light is working, drop to the 15-metre floor where the structure is worth a closer look, and come back up onto the reef to finish. The guide records the depth range and the reef-and-wall character but nothing site-specific on visibility, current or marine life, so take the area's usual conditions as the baseline and ask the boat before you go in.

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for Coral Gardens
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFair

Season follows Vava'u: Humpback season runs July to October; the wet season from November to April brings more rain.

Questions divers ask

How deep is Coral Gardens in Vava'u?+

The published range is 8 to 50 feet, about 2 to 15 metres, so the site is comfortably within Open Water limits from the reef top to the base of the wall.

Sources

  1. Diving - Activities in Vava'u Islands, Tonga, South Pacific — Vava'u.to

In The Logbook

More dive sites in Vava'u

Wreck

Clan McWilliam

A 122-metre Clan Line steamer (400 feet) that burnt out at Vava'u in 1927

24–37 madvanced

Reef

Lua Tofua'a

A submerged reef in 2-8 m with the ground falling to 25 m around it

2–8 m · max 25 mbeginner

Wall

The Coral Canyons

Coral fingers drop from the surface to 20 m along Vaka'eitu's west shore

to 20 mintermediate

Reef

The Pagodas

Coral structures from 3 m down to the 18 m Open Water limit

3–18 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

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Half a mile of ledge, 7-12 m down to 18-24 m

7–24 mintermediate

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Ada Banko

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A reef edge on the north side that falls away from 15 m toward 40 m

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