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Best places to dive with Dugong
Dugong dugon
A sirenian — the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal — that grazes seagrass in shallow coastal waters across the Indo-Pacific. It is listed Vulnerable globally on the IUCN Red List; several subpopulations are assessed separately and more severely, with East Africa Critically Endangered and New Caledonia Endangered as of the 2022 assessments. Dugongs are slow-moving, shy of boats and engine noise, and are rarely encountered by scuba divers anywhere.
Destinations ranked by how reliably dugong is seen. The bars show the likelihood by month — never a guarantee. See the full species page for more.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | rare |
| February | rare |
| March | rare |
| April | rare |
| May | rare |
| June | rare |
| July | rare |
| August | rare |
| September | rare |
| October | rare |
| November | rare |
| December | rare |
A real but scarce seagrass visitor. No month is coded as a peak.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | rare |
| February | rare |
| March | rare |
| April | rare |
| May | rare |
| June | rare |
| July | rare |
| August | rare |
| September | rare |
| October | rare |
| November | rare |
| December | rare |
A 2024 study compiled only 42 Phu Quoc records over 20 years, mostly from April to December along Ham Ninh and Ong Doi. These are survey and community records across the island, not a realistic scuba-diving encounter rate; do not book Phu Quoc expecting a dugong.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | not seen |
| February | not seen |
| March | not seen |
| April | not seen |
| May | not seen |
| June | not seen |
| July | not seen |
| August | not seen |
| September | not seen |
| October | not seen |
| November | not seen |
| December | not seen |
Con Dao holds one of Vietnam's last dugong populations, grazing the seagrass beds — but it is close to gone. About twelve animals remained at the 2023 survey, four died in early 2025, and Vietnamese authorities describe the population as facing disappearance without urgent intervention. Divers do not see them: this is a conservation fact about the place, not something to hope for on a dive.