Diving Layang Layang, the Spratly Islands | Borneo, Malaysia

DESTINATION OVERVIEW | Layang Layang is a man made island that sits on a long string of reefs in the middle of the South China Sea. Collectively called the Spratlys, these islands and atolls are much coveted by neighbouring countries. The Malaysians put foot to "soil" and claimed Layang – or Swallow's Reef – by building a small naval outpost there. Nowadays, the Royal Malaysian Navy shares the island with divers who want to see what this isolated atoll has to offer. Tales of pelagics are rife. At certain times of the year hammerheads are said to appear in massive numbers.

Out of season, there is an impressive quantity of other pelagic species. Constant currents across the reef attract masses of big animals – small white tips, large grey sharks, dog tooth tuna and giant trevally along with clusters of striped barracuda and schools of jacks. There are large turtles on the reef tops and families of juvenile sharks under bommies.

There are small critters too like juvenile razor fish, arc-eyed hawkfish and ghost pipefish hiding in the corals. Inside the lagoon, an easy shore dive across the sandy bottom was the place to hunt out mantis shrimp, tiny gobies and the Picasso trigger fish.

PROS AND CONS | Getting to Layang Layang is easy enough as the resort charters a private jet to transfer guests from Kota Kinabalu. The resort is a quirky place but definitely not one with a luxury tag. The rooms are built in long rows rather like an old-fashioned American motel, which can be a little noisy and although they are very comfortable, will not be to everyone's taste.

SCUBA DIVING | For people who like to see "big stuff" this is an ideal destination. There's always a pelagic or several on every site on every day. The seas here can be rough at times and poor sailors should think about that as you can't escape the conditions. Having said that, we dived inside the lagoon on a day when the water was choppy and had a great time hunting for critters in the sand.

OPINION | We travelled to Layang out of season, which meant we missed the hammerheads that usually arrive around Easter. The benefit of that was an uncrowded resort and the diving was still excellent with plenty of reef shark encounters. The operation is well run, buffet meals were delicious and facilities were good.

RESORT REPORT | review of Layang Layang resort and dive centre

MALAYSIA | Explore other diving destinations in Indonesia

GUIDEBOOK | Diving Southeast Asia, order via Amazon here

ORDER | Images on this page are available as prints. Take a note of the name then go to the photo order form.

SEARCH SeaFocus | Looking for something on this site? Type in a few words and google will take you there.