Scuba Season
Underwater reef at Niue Reef
Stable

Niue Reef

Niue · South Pacific

Niue is a tiny raised coral atoll in the South Pacific — the diving is on submarine caves and lava tubes carved into the limestone, with seasonal humpback whales (you can sometimes hear them underwater) and exceptional water clarity.

How this reef is doing

ⓘ How we measure this

Reef state

Stable

Tiny island, oceanic visibility. Sea snakes and whales are seasonal highlights; reef cover modest but intact.

Coral cover

40%
LowHealthy
Healthy

Fish life

healthy reef of its kind ▾
SparseRich

Fewer fish than a healthy reef of its kind.

Sparse

Heat

SafeBleaching

No unusual heat right now.

Safe now

Fishing

QuietBusy

Quiet water, and fishing is fully banned here.

Protected

Sources · MERMAID and partner coral surveys · Reef Life Survey · NOAA Coral Reef Watch · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity

What you will see

11 species across the dive sites here

Dive sites

What divers say

We were 18m down in a lava tube and heard humpback song through the rock. Nowhere else.
— Niue regular

Good to know

Whale swim

Niue has a special permit allowing in water humpback swims — book ahead.

Gear & getting wet

  • Basic kit

    • Mask and fins
    • BCD and regulator
    • 5mm full wetsuit · cooler water
    • Dive computer