Updated January 30, 2023
This is the twenty-third in a series that introduces and describes the various dive services and sites for worldwide liveaboard dive safaris. The focus in this one is on Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll liveaboards.
In addition to this series on liveaboards, the best worldwide dive resort locations and services are reviewed in their own series. To check them out, or other liveaboards, click on Liveaboards/Resorts on the menu at the top and choose a title.
Have you ever been diving in Truk Lagoon or Bikini Atoll before? If so, I’d love to know about your experience. What dive shop or liveaboard did you use? Which dive spots are the best and what are the conditions there regarding the visibility, current, water temperature, sealife attractions, etc.? Please post your response in the comments section at the bottom and we’ll all learn something we can use.
Truk Lagoon Diving
Truk, or Chuuk, which is now the commonly used name, is a Micronesian atoll with a protected reef around it that encloses a large lagoon of 2,130 square kilometers (820 square miles). It made its way onto the world stage in World War II when the Japanese put their largest offshore military base there, making it a huge target for the allied forces. On February 17, 1944, Task Force 58 in Operation Hailstone attacked and destroyed hundreds of aircraft on the ground and in the air and sunk all the ships in the lagoon, itself.
More than 200 aircraft and 60 ships were laid to rest there creating more than 50 viable dive sites. 60+ years of coral growth and reef development have created a rich and fascinating environment for diving beyond the wrecks themselves. There is great biodiversity with 266 species of fish, lots of encrusting corals and sponges, a rich macro life sheltering in and on the wreck, and many more spectacular residents and visitors like reef sharks, turtles, and rays. From December to April whale sharks and mantas find conditions to their liking and are frequently sighted.
Many of the “Ghost Fleet” at rest in the lagoon are cargo ships, but there are offensive naval vessels, as well, with lots of artifacts giving glimpses of everyday life, and tanks, deck guns, other weapons, and ammo, some of which is unstable, gas masks and even some human remains, mostly deep inside.
Highlighted Truk Lagoon Shipwrecks
- San Francisco Maru – 385ft/117m cargo vessel
- Fujikawa Maru – 433ft/132m cargo vessel
- Heian Maru – 509ft/155m cargo vessel
- Gosei Maru – 509ft/155m cargo vessel
- Aikoku Maru – 498ft/151m cargo vessel
- Hoki Maru – 450ft/137m cargo vessel
- Shinkoku Maru – 500ft/152m cargo vessel
- Rio de Janeiro Maru – 463ft/141m cargo vessel
- Kansho Maru – 384ft/116m cargo vessel
- Unkai Maru – 305ft/93m cargo vessel
- Submarine I-169 – 336ft/102m submarine
- Yamagiri Maru – 439ft/133m cargo vessel
- Nippo Maru – 353ft/107m cargo vessel
Truk Lagoon Seasons and Conditions
There are some dives for relative beginners, but a lot of the wrecks are deeper and offer penetration opportunities suitable for advanced and technical diving.
Diving is possible year-round with the best conditions from October to April.
From June to October, it frequently rains.
In April and from July through November higher winds can make the surface choppy, but this won’t affect the diving much within the protected lagoon.
Visibility is usually pretty good in the sheltered lagoon, but is variable and can be as bad as 25 feet (8 meters).
The weather is tropically warm with water temperatures ranging from 81 to 86°F (27 to 30°C). A 3mm wetsuit is recommended.
Bikini Atoll Scuba Diving
When World War II ended, the cold war and nuclear race with the Soviet Union began. To test their new atomic bombs the United States set up a testing area in the South Pacific, known as the Pacific Proving Grounds. A fleet of obsolete ships was brought to Bikini Atoll of the very sparsely populated Marshall Islands. They wanted to see what the effect of the bombs would be on the ships. From 1946 to 1958 at least 23 atomic bombs were tested resulting in a fleet of shipwrecks including battleships, cruisers, and an aircraft carrier.
After all this time the reef has had a chance to recover and develop and today there is a pretty rich coral reef supporting a lot of fish and invertebrates. It is such a special collection of historic ships in such a unique setting that the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site for the Marshall Islands in 2010.
Highlighted Bikini Atoll Wrecks
- USS Anderson – Sims class destroyer
- USS Apogon – Balao class submarine
- USS Arkansas – Wyoming class battleship
- USS Carlisle – Gillam class attack transport
- USS Lamson – Mahan class destroyer
- Nagato – Japanese Nagato class battleship
- USS Pilotfish – Balao class submarine
- Sakawa – Japanese Agano class cruiser
- USS Saratoga – Lexington class aircraft carrier
- Prinz Eugen – German Admiral Hipper class heavy cruiser (damaged at Bikini and towed to Kwajalein where it sank)
Bikini Atoll Seasons and Conditions
Many of the wrecks are deeper than 40 meters (130 feet) and offer significant penetration opportunities. The Truk Master recommends its itinerary for technical divers with previous wreck experience.
It is warm year-round in the northern Marshall Islands with daily average highs for every month of the year at 30°C (86°F).
The water is also warm at 28-29°C (82-84°F).
The rainy season is from August to October. It typically isn’t severe or torrential in nature. Typhoons are possible from April to December with the most likely time from August through November. Typhoon influence is also quite mild as the storms are in the early stages in this part of the Pacific and high winds aren’t generated until moving much closer to major landfall toward the northwest.
The Truk Master, which sails to Bikini Atoll from June through August, misses most of the rain and typhoon seasons. The Pacific Master, with departures in May, June, and September to Bikini Atoll, avoids the bulk of the potential wet weather. Most of the wrecks are sheltered inside the atoll perimeter making visibility pretty good.
Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll Liveaboard Dive Boats
- Currently no schedule for Truk Lagoon
- 11 and 12-day itineraries to Bikini Atoll from June through August
- Laundry service, daily housekeeping
- Aircon cabins, air-conditioned saloon, en-suite bathrooms
- TV in cabins
- Library
- Leisure deck and sun deck
- Indoor saloon
- Audio and video entertainment
- Photography station, camera room with table and charging point
- Separate rinse for u/w camera
- Charging stations
- English speaking crew
- Western and local food
- Outdoor dining
- Warm water showers
- Shaded diving deck
- Nitrox available and rebreather support
- 2 tenders for diving
- Emergency rafts
Check the Pricing & Details at Liveaboard.com
- 8-day itineraries to Truk Lagoon year-round
- Currently no schedule for Bikini Atoll
- Laundry service, daily housekeeping
- Audio and video entertainment
- Library
- Free internet
- TV in cabins
- Air-conditioned saloon, aircon cabins, en-suite bathrooms
- Leisure deck, sun deck, indoor saloon
- Warm water showers
- Hot tub
- Western and local foods
- Outdoor dining
- Photography station, separate rinse for u/w camera
- Camera room with table and charging point
- Charging stations
- English speaking crew
- Snorkeler friendly
- Rinse hosts
- Shaded diving deck
- Nitrox available, tech diving, rebreather support, sidemount diving
- Tenders for diving
- Emergency rafts
Check the Pricing & Details at Liveaboard.com
- 7 to 10-day itineraries to Truk Lagoon In October, December, February, March, and April
- 11 or 12-day itineraries to Bikini Atoll in May, June, and September
- Aircon cabins, ensuite bathrooms
- Camera station, charging points
- Audio and video entertainment
- Sun deck and indoor saloon
- Western, local, and vegetarian food options
- English speaking crew
- Warm water and outdoor showers
- Rinse hoses
- Nitrox available, tech diving, rebreather support
- Snorkeler friendly
- Kayaks on-board
- Tenders for diving
Check the Pricing & Details at Liveaboard.com
Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll Liveaboard Dive Boat Comparison Table
Truk Master | SS Thorfinn | Pacific Master | |
---|---|---|---|
Length | 37 m | 58 m | 30 m |
Guests | 16 | 20 | 20 |
Equipment | $25/day $10/day for computer | $40/day $15/day for computer | $44/day including computer |
Nitrox | $25/day | $12/fill | $200-250/trip |
Snorkeling | Not Reported | Yes | Yes |
Price/Day | $434 | $302 | $182 |
Truk Lagoon | no | yes | yes |
Bikini Atoll | yes | no | yes |
Truk Master | SS Thorfinn | Pacific Master |
Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll Photos
With the historic world-class shipwrecks, macro life, beautiful, diverse coral reefs, and lots of fish, there are many excellent photo opportunities. For information and reviews of diving cameras, click here:
Scuba Diving Trip Insurance
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Feedback and Comments
I hope you found this post on Truk and Bikini Atoll scuba diving interesting and useful. If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to share them in the comments section. I’d love to know of any experience you have diving there. If there is no comments section directly below, click here: >>comments<<
Liz says
Great site you have here! I didn’t realise there was so much opportunity to go diving to explore ship wrecks! Have you ventured over to any of these places? If so, which ones and what was your experience like? I don’t know why, but I have a fear of a lot of water over my head for some reason, plus I think I’d be a little superstitious about the ghosts of the dead been left down there lol! So, don’t know if I’d have the guts to dive like this, but I’d sure love to hear about someone else experience. 🙂
Joe says
Hi Liz,
Thanks for your interest and comments.
I have not yet been to Truk or Bikini, but there is a chance I will make it next spring. My experience is most extensive in the Philippines. I have a post about the Coron wrecks you should take a look at. Having spent many years in the Subic Bay area, I have dove all the major wrecks there many times. I’ll write a post in the near future that you can look out for. It is kind of eerie, especially when penetrating to the interior into smaller spaces, but most divers get adjusted when they have trained properly.
I encourage you to take a scuba diving course. The basic open water diver class takes about 4 days and includes some study, 5 shallow water classes to learn the skills and 4 open water dives to practice the skills and have a supervised introduction to the undersea world. You can take a class like this in many places. If you would like some help to find a good spot for you to do it, please let me know. I’d love to see you get started.
Best of luck.
Joe
rjkennedy says
Outdoor sports regarding scuba diving and fishing are now offered at certain vacation resorts for families. I like how you described the Truk lagoon wrecks as ‘ghost ships’, which educates readers as to the history of this fascinating location. Special diving gear is needed and as you mentioned, special technical instruction is required to go deeper into the water to view anything.
I know equipment and training plays a ‘key’ role, but is scuba diving just as dangerous as a policeman or fireman job?
Joe says
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your interest, comments and question.
I would say scuba diving is much safer than the work of police and firemen. As you mention, equipment and training is important. The big difference that makes diving safer is the amount of planning that goes into each dive, particularly these deep, technical dives. Many back-up systems are in place and you always dive with a buddy. You won’t run into dangerous humans and won’t go into inherently dangerous situations like a burning building.
Have you tried scuba diving? Why not give it a try? The basic open water diver class takes about 4 days and includes some study, 5 shallow water classes to learn the skills and 4 open water dives to practice the skills and have a supervised introduction to the undersea world. You can take a class like this in many places. If you would like some help to find a good spot for you to do it, please let me know. I think you’d find it an eye opening experience.
Best regards,
Joe
Henry says
Hi Joe! This historical back ground of the WWII in Diving Truk Lagoon is very interesting. These 200 aircrafts and 60 ships that have been sunk have created these wonderful diving sites. From something so dark and sad as shipwreck, there has emerged something so beautiful as these marvelous sites!
This is a wonderful destination to go with all the family. Connecting with the elements in the ocean is so refreshing! There is a fascinating environment for diving! Unfortunately none of us are divers. Would it be possible to learn to dive on these two liveaboards?
Joe says
Hi Henry,
Thanks a lot for your interest and kind comments.
The Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll wrecks are really for advanced and technical divers. These liveaboards are not really equipped to teach a beginner course. There are liveaboards who can do it, but I suggest to go to the menu on my website and look under resort diving. Those hotels in Sulawesi, Malaysia, Bali and Fiji can all do it in great settings for the whole family to enjoy the seaside and natural environments, as well as the dive course.
If you would like any more advice or ideas or help with logistics, please let me know.
Best regards,
Joe