Where to dive in October
Cocos leads for sharks in October. The Banda Sea and Alor offer chances of hammerheads alongside Indonesian reef diving. Check recent reports before choosing Galápagos. Atauro and Wakatobi are good options if coral matters more to you than sharks.
Cocos Island
Schooling hammerheads, far offshore. The best time to dive here is September — October.
Read the Cocos Island guide →6 destinations for October
Listed in overall rank order.
Cocos Island
Schooling hammerheads, far offshore.
The crossing takes roughly a day and a half, and the wet season can be rough. Divers come for hammerheads gathering above cleaning stations. Marble rays, whitetips and large schools of fish add plenty to the dives; whale sharks are a possible bonus.
- Best months
- September — October
- Go for
- Hammerhead schools · Whale sharks · Marble rays
Banda Sea
Remote Indonesian reefs and a chance of hammerheads.
Banda Sea crossing trips visit volcanic islands, sea-snake reefs and offshore pinnacles. Schools of hammerheads are the main draw, but sightings vary. Choose an itinerary whose reefs interest you too, so the trip does not depend on finding sharks.
- Best months
- October — November
- Go for
- Hammerheads · Volcanic seamounts · Sea snakes
Galápagos
Hammerheads and whale sharks in cold currents.
Darwin and Wolf are known for hammerheads, whale sharks, Galápagos sharks and turtles. Sightings depend on the currents and water temperature. This ranking was lowered after reports of warmer water in 2026; ask operators for recent dive logs before committing.
- Best months
- August — October
- Go for
- Hammerheads · Whale sharks · Galápagos sharks
Alor
Coral walls and cold-water visitors.
Cold upwelling in the Pantar Strait can bring hammerheads, with occasional thresher or mola sightings. None is reliable enough to build the whole trip around. The walls and small marine life are good reasons to go even when the bigger animals stay deep.
- Best months
- October — November
- Go for
- Hammerheads · Threshers · Mola
Atauro Island
Coral walls with few other dive boats.
Atauro has steep walls, dense coral and little dive traffic. Deep water lies close to shore. October also brings a chance of migrating whales in the area, but choose this trip for its reefs rather than expecting a whale encounter.
- Best months
- October
- Go for
- Steep reef walls · Many coral species · Whale migration
Wakatobi
Long dives on coral-covered walls.
Wakatobi suits divers who want to spend time on the reef, looking at coral and small marine life. Sharks and large pelagics are less common here. Its lower position reflects this list’s preference for big animals, rather than poor reef diving.
- Best months
- April — May · October — November
- Go for
- Coral walls · Turtles · Macro life