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When it comes to popular boat dive destinations in Okinawa, Kerama — famous for its legendary "Kerama Blue" — is usually the first place that comes to mind. But today I want to introduce another boat dive site on the main island that sees far fewer foreign divers: Manzamo.
The name "Manzamo" comes from the Ryukyuan language, meaning "a field (毛, mō) spacious enough to seat ten thousand people." Today it's also one of Okinawa's most popular sightseeing spots for ocean views. The departure pier for Manzamo dives is the nearby Seragaki Port. The dive boats here are converted fishing vessels — small, with no dive platform and no tank racks. Assembled scuba tanks are simply laid flat in the center of the boat. Every dive site is less than ten minutes from the port by boat, and after each dive you return to the pier to rest and swap tanks. Compared to Southeast Asia, where you spend the entire day on a boat doing three dives back-to-back, this is actually quite relaxed.
Certification required: AOW or enroll in an advanced course.
Manzamo frequently has strong currents. Aside from the coral reef at the entry point, which sits at around 5–7 m, the main dive routes all start at 15 m and deeper — so divers with only an Open Water Diver certification, or no certification at all, are not suitable for these sites.
Visibility: Averaging 30 m and up. There are days with poorer visibility, but even then it's usually around 15 m.
Secret Dive Site: Dream Hole
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A large school of bigeye at the exit of Dream Hole[/caption]
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A school of scythe butterflyfish[/caption]
The most famous and popular dive site at Manzamo features an L-shaped cave entered vertically. The entry is blanketed in hard coral, dropping straight down to about 25 m, where the cave floor is sandy. Inside the cave you'll commonly find lobster, crab, and soldierfish.
From there, swim horizontally and exit through an opening on the right side, where a large school of bigeye awaits. The silhouette framed by the cave mouth is absolutely stunning! Dream Hole often has strong currents, and you can spot garden eels, devil scorpionfish, and sea turtles.
Secret Dive Site: Mini Dream Hole
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The entrance to Mini Dream Hole, carpeted in endless coral[/caption]
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Dense schools of fish and crystal-clear visibility[/caption]
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Sunlight streaming through the cave entrance[/caption]
Another dive site near Dream Hole, but at a shallower depth. The star attraction is also a vertical cave — once you reach the bottom (around 15 m), the exit is already visible. This is my personal favorite dive site at Manzamo!
Like Dream Hole, it features sheer cliff-face terrain. The anchor spot ranges from about 2 m to 6 m deep and is blanketed in gorgeous Acropora coral — a little reminiscent of Penghu's Southern Four Islands (though of course Taiwan is still the most beautiful 😜)!
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Plenty of space to pass through safely inside the cave[/caption]
Along the cliff wall you'll find plenty of tiny critters — hairy shrimp, nudibranch, and more — plus a small canyon you can swim through. When the light pours in, it's truly breathtaking!
Secret Dive Site: Horseshoe
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Sharks!!!!!![/caption]
If you want to see big marine life on Okinawa's main island, Horseshoe is the place to be! Three or four Blacktip Reef Sharks call this site home, though you won't spot them on every dive. They tend to come out when someone is fishing from shore above. They usually appear at around 20 m, so even though this site goes down to 40 m, we never dive that deep!
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Okinawa is also home to a remarkable variety of nudibranch[/caption]
Beyond the sharks, Horseshoe also has plenty of nudibranch along the cliff walls, inside canyons, and within caves — and they're quite plump! So many Japanese dive shops visiting this site skip the sharks entirely and go macro hunting instead.
Secret Dive Site: Overhead Rock
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An adorable pink pygmy seahorse[/caption]
This was originally a dive site known for Whitetip Reef Sharks and Bargibant's pygmy seahorses — but after Typhoon Trami battered Okinawa at the end of September 2018, the seahorses disappeared QQ. That said, this site still ranks near the top of the list for most Japanese dive shops, because the macro life here is incredible!
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All kinds of nudibranch — don't forget to bring your macro lens![/caption]
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Looks just like an egg yolk~[/caption]
Secret Dive Site: Nakayukui
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White sand, sea turtles, and blue water — a picture-perfect scene[/caption]
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All kinds of marine life[/caption]
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Don't underestimate a sandy bottom — look carefully and you'll find all sorts of creatures![/caption]
This is a white-sand dive site whose name means "take a little rest" in Ryukyuan — and it truly lives up to that name! Tucked inside a bay closer to shore, Nakayukui stays calm even when currents are running strong at other Manzamo sites. The anchor spot sits at around 8 m, and at 24–30 m there are abandoned fishing nets. Both the nets and the sandy bottom are prime spots for macro hunting: nudibranch, frogfish, sea moths, and more. A giant sea turtle also lives here — about the same size as me!! If you're lucky, you might even spot an eagle ray.
Secret Dive Site: Crossline
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Unusual critters put your eagle eye to the test[/caption]
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Blending right into the white sand — incredibly hard to spot[/caption]
Right next to Nakayukui, an abandoned fishing net lies on the seafloor in the shape of a cross. Like Nakayukui, this is a macro dive site — no current, crystal-clear water, and an all-around pleasant dive! (Though of course when conditions are bad, there can be current and poor visibility.) It was here that I spotted my very first seamoth in my life — absolutely adorable!
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Choosing us means full peace-of-mind protection and a smooth experience from start to finish. Every trip we run holds to three things.
First, full legal protection and a professional dive leader: we strictly follow Taiwan's travel regulations and provide complete travel-agency liability insurance, travel insurance, trip-inconvenience insurance and dive insurance. Every group is accompanied by a certified, foreign-language dive leader who joins you on both the dives and the land itinerary, liaising seamlessly with local dive shops and operators on your behalf to keep things running smoothly — the person our travellers trust most.
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I want to sign up for a dive trip. Are there certification-level or logged-dive requirements?
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I'm a new diver / haven't dived in a long time — will I fall behind the group?
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