Malabar Reef
Dive site · Australia
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
65Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: Sea 0.6 m, Visibility about 20 m, Water 21 °C
Tue 3 · 79 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.6 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 5kn
- Air
- 21°C
Wed 4 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 17 kn
- Gusts
- 21knboats in
- Air
- 21°C
Thu 5 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.8 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 12kn
- Air
- 21°C
Fri 6 · 55 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 20kn
- Air
- 20°C
Sat 7 · 77 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.9 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 21°C
Sun 8 · 42 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 20 kn
- Gusts
- 25knboats in
- Air
- 20°C
Mon 9 · 35 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- Mon 279, good
- Tue 379, good
- Wed 464, good
- Thu 564, good
- Fri 655, fair
- Sat 777, good
- Sun 842, poor
- Mon 935, poor
- Tue 1028, poor
- Wed 1181, good
The site in six facts
- Down to 21 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 21 °C5 mm wetsuit
- Faces SWswell from there reaches it
- Best in Dec7 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 Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 79, good | 0.6 m | 3 kn | 5kn | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 79, good | 0.6 m | 4 kn | 5kn | 21°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 64, good | 1.1 m | 17 kn | 21knboats in | 21°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 64, good | 0.8 m | 9 kn | 12kn | 21°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 55, fair | 1.2 m | 12 kn | 20kn | 20°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 77, good | 0.9 m | 7 kn | 9kn | 21°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 42, poor | 0.7 m | 20 kn | 25knboats in | 20°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 35, poor | 1.4 m | 22 kn | 30knboats in | 18°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 28, poor | 1.7 m | 18 kn | 28kn | 18°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 81, good | – | 11 kn | 17kn | 19°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).
- Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May5of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov6of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec7of 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, its town, photos
Malabar 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.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Malabar Reef
More diving near here
5 places
- Comets Hole 1.2 km away
- Erscott's Hole 1.2 km away
- Sylph's Hole 2.4 km away
- Tenth of June 2.9 km away
- North Bay Dropoff 4.4 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Malabar Reef
A reef dive. It goes down to 21 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SW: swell from the SW reaches it, and wind from the NE blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 1.9 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 7 good days in 7; in May and July, about 5. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Lord Howe Island. Within 5 km we also list 6 surf spots and 5 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 21 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 1.9 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
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 5 min by car · 18 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
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.
Getting there
eSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Lord Howe Island · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Lord Howe Island · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Dive Lord Howe 1.9 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.
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.