PNG · Kimbe Bay
Best Time to Dive in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea
5.35°S 150.10°E
Plan for June to September for the best conditions. We have no reliable wildlife season for this site.
- Best time
- Jun–Sep
- Water
- 30 °C
- Visibility
- 15–30 m
- Dived from
- day boat
- Tidal range
- 0.4–1.0 m
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| Water temp (°C) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Visibility (m) | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 20–30 | 15–25 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 |
| Marine life | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Jun–Sep
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea diving season
June to September · Peak season
4 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 30–30 °C
- Visibility
- 20–30 m
- Rain
- 23 days a month
Diving conditionsSeas are usually flat. This is the wet season topside.
October to May · Off season
8 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 30–30 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 29 days a month
Diving conditionsIt rains more.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Papua New Guinea water temperature and weather
10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
Rarely
rough enough to cancel
Seas top 1.5 m on under 1% of days. Enough to cancel a day boat
0
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
27
wet days a month
14 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.4 m | 0% | 30 | 18 | 29 °C | 12.3 h |
| February | 0.5 m | 0% | 28 | 18 | 29 °C | 12.2 h |
| March | 0.4 m | 0% | 30 | 18 | 29 °C | 12.0 h |
| April | 0.3 m | 0% | 29 | 16 | 29 °C | 11.9 h |
| May | 0.3 m | 0% | 28 | 14 | 30 °C | 11.8 h |
| June | 0.3 m | 0% | 24 | 10 | 30 °C | 11.7 h |
| July | 0.5 m | 0% | 23 | 9 | 30 °C | 11.7 h |
| August | 0.5 m | 0% | 22 | 8 | 30 °C | 11.8 h |
| September | 0.4 m | 0% | 23 | 11 | 30 °C | 12.0 h |
| October | 0.3 m | 0% | 27 | 13 | 30 °C | 12.1 h |
| November | 0.2 m | 0% | 28 | 14 | 30 °C | 12.2 h |
| December | 0.3 m | 0% | 30 | 18 | 30 °C | 12.3 h |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 4.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Poor | February week 1: Poor | March week 1: Poor | April week 1: Poor | May week 1: Poor | June week 1: Excellent | July week 1: Excellent | August week 1: Excellent | September week 1: Moderate | October week 1: Poor | November week 1: Poor | December week 1: Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Poor | February week 2: Poor | March week 2: Poor | April week 2: Poor | May week 2: Poor | June week 2: Excellent | July week 2: Excellent | August week 2: Excellent | September week 2: Moderate | October week 2: Poor | November week 2: Poor | December week 2: Poor |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Poor | February week 3: Poor | March week 3: Poor | April week 3: Poor | May week 3: Poor | June week 3: Good | July week 3: Excellent | August week 3: Excellent | September week 3: Good | October week 3: Poor | November week 3: Poor | December week 3: Poor |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Poor | February week 4: Poor | March week 4: Poor | April week 4: Poor | May week 4: Poor | June week 4: Good | July week 4: Good | August week 4: Excellent | September week 4: Excellent | October week 4: Poor | November week 4: Poor | December week 4: Poor |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: third of August
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 9 km/h | 97% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 9 km/h | 97% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 9 km/h | 97% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 9 km/h | 95% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 10 km/h | 95% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 11 km/h | 96% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 10 km/h | 95% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 9 km/h | 96% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 9 km/h | 96% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 8 km/h | 97% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 96% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 96% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 98% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 94% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 8 km/h | 93% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 8 km/h | 97% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 8 km/h | 97% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 8 km/h | 93% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 9 km/h | 90% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 9 km/h | 88% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 9 km/h | 87% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 10 km/h | 80% |
| Week 3 | Good | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 11 km/h | 78% |
| Week 4 | Good | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 12 km/h | 80% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 12 km/h | 78% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 12 km/h | 73% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 12 km/h | 68% |
| Week 4 | Good | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 13 km/h | 70% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.6 m | 13 km/h | 71% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 13 km/h | 72% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 13 km/h | 76% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 13 km/h | 77% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 13 km/h | 77% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 30 °C | 0.5 m | 13 km/h | 73% |
| Week 3 | Good | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 11 km/h | 75% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 10 km/h | 83% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 10 km/h | 83% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 9 km/h | 82% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 9 km/h | 87% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 9 km/h | 92% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 9 km/h | 94% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 93% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 92% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.2 m | 8 km/h | 93% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 94% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 8 km/h | 98% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.3 m | 8 km/h | 99% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 30 °C | 0.4 m | 9 km/h | 98% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: skin | February: skin | March: skin | April: skin | May: skin | June: skin | July: skin | August: skin | September: skin | October: skin | November: skin | December: skin |
One suit covers the whole year: a skin or 3 mm shorty.
Swell through the year
The rough end of each month — nine days in ten come in under it.
Amber is over 1.5 m.
Tides
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea marine life — what you'll see diving
Only 0 records have been logged within 60 km. A thin record is not an empty reef.
No survey records within 60 km of this site.
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- Plan for June to September for the best conditions. We have no reliable wildlife season for this site.
- When is the diving season in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- The diving season in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea runs June to September.
- Is the diving in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea good for beginners?
- It is better with some experience. It suits Advanced Open Water divers or equivalent, so newer divers should ask the local operator which sites fit their level.
- How warm is the water in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- Between 30 and 30 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in August and warmest in November. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- A skin or 3 mm shorty covers the coldest water of the year. The same suit works all year.
- What is the visibility like in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- Roughly 15 to 30 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- Does Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- Is there current in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- The tide rises and falls 1.0 m around the full and new moon, against 0.4 m in between. How much of that becomes current depends on the shape of the channel.
- When should I avoid Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- November–May are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea?
- Mostly from day boats. Trips run through the season, Jun–Sep.