Is it worth the trip?
84Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: Sea: flat, Visibility about 20 m, Water 29 °C
Mon 2 · 85 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.0 mflat
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 29°C
Tue 3 · 84 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 30°C
Wed 4 · 84 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 30°C
Thu 5 · 83 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 24kn
- Air
- 30°C
Fri 6 · 83 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 17kn
- Air
- 30°C
Sat 7 · 82 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 23kn
- Air
- 30°C
Sun 8 · 82 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 25kn
- Air
- 27°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 285, good
- Tue 384, good
- Wed 484, good
- Thu 583, good
- Fri 683, good
- Sat 782, good
- Sun 882, good
- Mon 983, good
- Tue 1083, good
- Wed 1184, good
The site in four facts
- From a boathow you get in
- Open Waterand up
- Water 29 °Crash vest or 1 to 2 mm
- Faces Nswell from there reaches it
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.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 85, good | 0.0 mflat | 5 kn | 11kn | 29°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 84, good | 0.1 mflat | 5 kn | 15kn | 30°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 84, good | 0.1 mflat | 4 kn | 10kn | 30°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 83, good | 0.2 mflat | 7 kn | 24kn | 30°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 83, good | 0.3 m | 8 kn | 17kn | 30°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 82, good | 0.3 m | 9 kn | 23kn | 30°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 82, good | 0.4 m | 9 kn | 25kn | 27°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 83, good | 0.2 mflat | 8 kn | 18kn | 28°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 83, good | 0.3 m | 7 kn | 15kn | 28°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 84, good | – | 7 kn | 21kn | 28°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 02:10 +0.9 mLow 11:38 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 03:29 +0.7 mLow 12:42 −0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 05:20 +0.5 mLow 13:26 −0.5 mHigh 20:23 +0.2 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.
Map
the site and its town
Hillary's Reef on Google Maps · Directions
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
- Doug's Ridge 0.3 km away
- Convention Reef 0.5 km away
- Wilson's Reef 0.8 km away
- Manta Reef 0.9 km away
- Andres Reef 1.1 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Hillary's Reef
A reef dive. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces N: swell from the N reaches it, and wind from the S blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 19 km away. The sea is about 27°C in February, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 30°C in May, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Bulata. Within 5 km we also list 9 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep No source states how deep it goes.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 19 km away.
Water about 29°C: rash vest or 1 to 2 mm. 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 Jul (about 30 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,130–US$2,240 each
about US$1,130–US$2,240 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to CEB, estimated from distance and season, changing at HKG, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$837–US$1,740 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$54–US$94 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$107–US$181 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$127–US$234 |
| Total | about US$1,130–US$2,240 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Bulata
about 5 min by car · 13 places to stay
about US$40/nightcountry average
About Bulata its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$40 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.
Getting there: about 32h
About 32h door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → CEB, changing at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), then 5h 45m by road
Flights ORD → CEB on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Bulata · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Bulata · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre with a name mapped within 25 km: the map has one 19 km away with no name.
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.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.