Rabaul and neighbouring Kokopo sit within the Bismarck Sea, and the diving here is shaped by its WWII history. The sites in our database are wreck-focused: the Kulau Lodge beach wrecks span a wide depth range from just below the surface to forty metres, while the Atun and Rapopo Wreck are artificial reefs sunk in the nineteen-nineties and now colonised by hard and soft corals, crinoids, pharaoh cuttlefish, and nudibranchs. Water temperatures are warm and steady throughout the year. Conditions are reported to be most favourable from April to June and September to November.
Monthly water temperature across Rabaul's sites, from satellite sea-surface data corrected for depth. The band shows the site-to-site spread.
Water temperature at Rabaul stays consistently warm across all months, varying only minimally. The most settled diving conditions fall between April and June and again from September to November, outside the periods of strongest seasonal weather.
5 operators
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Water around Rabaul stays near 30°C all year, based on satellite sea-temperature data for its dive sites.
With water around 29–30°C, a rash guard or 3mm shorty works in Rabaul year-round.
Fin maps 3 sites in Rabaul (3 scuba diving sites).
