Staying Home Sucks, home
Howea forsteriana Neds Beach Lord Howe Island 4June2011
Lord Howe Island, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Granitethighs, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sylph's Hole

Dive site · Australia

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

53Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: Sea 0.6 m, Visibility about 20 m, Water 21 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 77 out of 100

Sea
0.6 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
21°C

Wed 4 · 40 out of 100

Sea
1.1 m
Wind
17 kn
Gusts
21knboats in
Air
21°C

Thu 5 · 52 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
21°C

Fri 6 · 29 out of 100

Sea
1.2 m
Wind
12 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
20°C

Sat 7 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
12 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
21°C

Sun 8 · 38 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
20 kn
Gusts
25knboats in
Air
20°C

Mon 9 · 16 out of 100

Sea
1.4 m
Wind
22 kn
Gusts
30knboats in
Air
18°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 274, good
  2. Tue 377, good
  3. Wed 440, poor
  4. Thu 552, fair
  5. Fri 629, poor
  6. Sat 771, good
  7. Sun 838, poor
  8. Mon 916, poor
  9. Tue 1020, poor
  10. Wed 1181, good

The site in six facts

  • Down to 10 mits deepest
  • From the shorehow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 21 °C5 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Wswell from there reaches it
  • Best in Dec5 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Sylph's Hole
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov74, good0.6 m3 kn5kn21°C
Tue 3Nov77, good0.6 m4 kn5kn21°C
Wed 4Nov40, poor1.1 m17 kn21knboats in21°C
Thu 5Nov52, fair0.8 m9 kn12kn21°C
Fri 6Nov29, poor1.2 m12 kn20kn20°C
Sat 7Nov71, good0.7 m12 kn16kn21°C
Sun 8Nov38, poor0.7 m20 kn25knboats in20°C
Mon 9Nov16, poor1.4 m22 kn30knboats in18°C
Tue 10Nov20, poor1.7 m18 kn28kn18°C
Wed 11Nov81, good–11 kn17kn19°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:34 +0.3 mLow 08:20 −0.5 mHigh 15:00 +0.7 mLow 21:47 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 03:54 +0.3 mLow 09:43 −0.5 mHigh 16:11 +0.7 mLow 22:52 −0.7 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 05:03 +0.4 mLow 10:58 −0.5 mHigh 17:16 +0.7 mLow 23:46 −0.7 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best in Dec

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan4of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov4of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Sylph's Hole

A reef dive. It goes down to 10 m. You get in from the shore. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces W: swell from the W reaches it, and wind from the E blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 4.2 km away. The sea is about 19°C in August, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 24°C in January, its warmest (5 mm wetsuit). For Advanced divers the best month is usually December, with about 5 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Lord Howe Island. Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots and 4 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 10 m.
  • Getting in From the shore.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 4.2 km away.

Water about 21°C: 5 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 20 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan and Mar (over 30 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Where to stay: Lord Howe Island

Closest

Lord Howe Island

about 10 min by car · 18 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 18 places to stay in Lord Howe Island · Booking.com

About Lord Howe Island its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

  • Dive Lord Howe 4.2 km

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week's visibility, the current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.