Timor-Leste
Best overall months to dive: May–Nov
Timor-Leste occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, on the southern rim of the Coral Triangle. It restored independence in 2002 and has one of Asia's smallest tourism sectors: a handful of dive operators, almost all of them in Dili or on Atauro Island, and no recompression chamber anywhere in the country. The north coast fronts the Ombai and Wetar Straits, where deep water sits close to shore — reef walls drop away within metres of the beach, and pygmy blue whales migrate past between September and December. The dry season, roughly May to November, is the practical diving window; wet-season river runoff cuts visibility along the Dili coast.