Scuba & Snorkelling • Boat Tours
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THE 10 BEST East Timor Tours & Excursions
East Timor Tours
- Traveler favoritesTours, activities and experiences bookable on Tripadvisor, ranked according to revenue made by Tripadvisor on those bookings, plus the number of page views by Tripadvisor users, and the quantity and quality of reviews
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Scuba & Snorkelling • Boat Tours
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Cultural Tours • Historical & Heritage Tours
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Cultural Tours • Historical & Heritage Tours
Multi-day Tours • 4WD, ATV & Off-Road Tours
Scuba & Snorkelling • Lessons & Workshops
City Tours • Multi-day Tours
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What travelers are saying
- Jean F2 contributionsI choose to snorkel with Dive Timor. Giovanni was an intelligent, interesting guide and with his assistant Yanti gave me an enjoyable experience. I returned the following day. This time we snorkelled below Christo Rei. It was more challenging due to waves but the two of them made sure I was doing all right. There were more fish here. This is not the richest coral reef I have seen but it was a wonderful way to spend a morning in Dili. Well done Giovanni and Yanti and the driver.Written January 19, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Josh5 contributionsHad a fantastic experience with Compass Diving in January, including transport to and from Atauro, accommodation and diving. Transport was convenient, accommodation was well set up, perfectly located next to the beach with comfortable communal spaces, delicious food and short (<5mins) transfer to the dive boat. The staff were all very competent, friendly and made the whole experience very relaxing.
The diving was absolutely incredible - the coral reef around Atauro is the healthiest and most diverse I've seen and visibility was great. The dive gear was in good order and well maintained, the dive and boat staff knew what they were doing and I felt in safe hands throughout.
Thanks to Fizzy, Kib and the whole team at Compass Diving. I hope to return soon.Written January 10, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Chadi SUnited Arab Emirates29 contributionsThe experience with Timor Adventures was great. Julio gave the right advice in terms of our plans and all the support that he can. Brian was a great driver / guide. We explored Dili, coffee country and Maubisse and it was all superb. The country is beautiful and the people kind and helpful. Wishing Timor Adventures all the best in 2023 and keep up the great work.Written December 29, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- GracetheyoungBoston8 contributionsCame here for a 3 day dive vacation and honestly this is probably my favorite dive shop out of the 10 or so I've been to around the world. I wish I could have stayed longer. Desmond is amazing! I am kind of an introvert so I normally don't really talk to hosts or guides but he is so damn funny I could just sit there and listen to him tell stories for hours. He's lived an amazing life and has really cool stories about Timor. But more importantly he is by far the most helpful and caring host I've ever had. He went out of his way to make sure I had everything I needed. I get very cold as a diver and I also get severe motion sickness (great combo for scuba diving) I always tell my divemasters/guides this, and usually they offer medicine or tell me to look out at the horizon and that's it. He made sure I was okay - for our boat dive, he kept the boat moving the entire time I was on the boat to minimize motion. Every time I looked down he playfully reminded me to keep my eyes up. I could tell that he genuinely cared if I was going to be sick and really wanted me to have fun - and I did! Our divemaster Juvi was incredible. I was not as experienced as the rest of my group so I was nervous and he gave me so much attention and made me feel at ease. If he thought I was getting tired from fighting the current he found a rock for me to rest. He made sure I saw every creature big and small - the dude has the sharpest eyes I've ever seen. He found some incredible, tiny creatures and was just so knowledgeable about the oceans that every dive was fun. We saw white tipped reef sharks, turtles, huge schools of fish, nudibranches, and it was my first time seeing garden eels and those suckers were hilarious! They're afraid of your shadow so you kind of have to sneak around them otherwise they suck into the earth. check out the pic - like an eerie field of grass. Every fish we saw he could identify as soon as we got out. 'hey Juvi, did you see that fish, it was small and brown and had a horn and kind of swam like this (drunkingly stumbles around)" and hes like yup it's a wrasse and freaking finds it in the 1484733 page fish book in three seconds. And he was just so funny - I've had divemasters whose first language isn't English and they will sometimes only explain the important things to me but Juvi was always making me laugh. Now that I think about it, everyone here is freaking hilarious. Maybe that's one of their hiring metrics. But it just added a really nice cherry on top of an amazing dive vacation. And the most important thing is everyone was really honest and genuine. I'm always hyper sensitive to getting ripped off in foreign countries. Desmond was beyond generous and was more like a friend by the end of the trip.
We also stayed at the Oceanview resort and ate at the Oceanview restaurant - I'll write separate reviews for those but I highly recommend both of them. Desmond runs the resort and he made everything so easy and seamless, from airport rides to getting us sim cards (impossible from overseas) and assisting us with flight info (also shockingly difficult/probably impossible from overseas). His diving hospitality definitely didn't end at the dive shop.
I didn't know what to expect headed to Timor because it's a bit off the beaten path and I am not always a real roughin it type of person in my old age. Dive aquatica, and especially Desmond and Juvi made it a truly amazing vacation. Im definitely coming back!Written August 19, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Adam D1 contributionWhat an incredible trip. Our week in Timor-Leste was so well organised, and we felt so immersed in local culture. We spent time in Dili, over on Atauro island, and up in the mountains, including climbing Mt Ramelau. The people are so friendly, warm and inviting, we learnt so much and we had so much fun.Written January 18, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Véronique L.7 contributionsI was extremely lucky to spend part of the National Youth Day with two young people Inês and Eka from JDN Timor-Leste who organised a tour for me of some of the most important historical sites of Dili. They were extremely generous with their knowledge and their insights into the history and the culture of their country. We finished our tour on a positive note with a youth-led environmental project Kios Matenek!
If you are in Dili, book a tour with this youth-led organisation. You won't regret it.Written November 12, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Abraham SitorusJakarta, Indonesia1 contributionI was in Dili from February 2020 to October 2020. Just like everybody else, I was stuck because of COVID-19 and decided to spend my time in Dili doing something fun, and boy did I have fun. Over the course of 4 months (July to October), I did close to 40 dives with DDA.
I was always guided by either Ivan, Kate, or Melky. They’re all very professional and always had everything planned down to the minute. All the divers were always divided in small groups (experience-based), so safety was always the top priority for DDA.
I was previously a PADI Open Water Diver and could only dive down to 18m. I decided to take two courses with them. I took the SDI Deep Diver to be able to dive down to 40m and I also took the TDI Nitrox Diver. Because Ivan and Kate are technical divers, they’re very strict when it comes to courses. They will do their best to make sure that you understand both the technical and the theoretical parts of every course.
Other than scuba diving, my favorite part is obviously the surface interval because Kate always cooked us delicious and healthy food. The only downside I can think of is that I’ll always be comparing other dive centers with DDA and I’m not sure I’ll get the same level of satisfaction. Thank you to Ivan, Kate, Melky, and Atino for making me fall in love with East Timor. I can't wait to come back to Dili and dive with these guys again!Written December 22, 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - abhi6181Singapore River, Singapore9 contributionsThis was my second trip to Timor-Leste, my first being in Dec 2018 during Christmas. At that time, when I had sent enquiry emails, they were the first to respond. And over the days, they were quite happy to customise my itinerary to meet my travel dates. The whole trip was planned at short notice in less than a month or so. Luis was my guide and he made sure to show me places and vantage points for some great photographs on the way to Ramalau and back with stops at Aileu and Maubisse. Post Christmas day, he repeated the whole thing during our day trips to Ai Pelo, Liquica, Maubara, Ermera and Gleno, going out of his way at times to make sure that I had a great and memorable experience. He educated me with a lot of details about the history of his land.
My second trip was a just a week ago in Aug 2019. Edna and Maria were very considerate in helping prepare multiple different itineraries from 5 day trip to 8-10 day trip, bearing with my idiosyncracies with immense patience. Serafim was my guide this time as we travelled East from Dili on the scenic coastal road on the North - a 8 day trip covering Bacau, Loihuno with a hike to Mundo Perdido, Baguia for a hike up Matebeanmane, to Com and onto Valu/Jaco. Serafim made sure that I got to eat all the local food that I craved for, making sure that I was a happy person. He took me to some great photospots and view points, and was also more than happy to stop on the way and point out various scenic spots so I could take photos. Oh, and Serafim even detoured to take me to his home village to meet his mother and sister, and his community, and along with that, a side trip to the Ossuary of the resistance fighters in his home village.
And during the trip, I ran into Manny and Xisto. And for a short while, Luis too. They shared a lot of insights and gave me ideas for future trips.
And Edna, as usual, made sure I had a great itinerary.
My heartfelt gratitude to the team at Eco Discovery for a wonderful and memorable 2nd trip.
I will surely go back to them when it is time to visit their land again.
Thank you, Eco Discovery trip.Written August 19, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - happyoztrippersSydney, Australia13 contributionsI went on a great walk with Mario of Balibo Trails in Balibo, Timor Leste. It is a community initiative that provides opportunities for locals and as a tourist to get to see first hand things you would never find yourself.
Mario was the most considerate and knowledge guide ever! Any
We had a 5km walk to the village of Leohito,saw the beautiful Tishun waterfall spoke to local farmers and viewed their gardens and fish farms. All the time Mario interpreted what was said and added explanation.
It was really worthwhile and easy to organise. Very reasonable cost.
Thanks to Mario I had a great day and experience of the area around Balibo.Written September 23, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Bing2 contributions潜水很不错。 非常漂亮的珊瑚礁。 幸运在水下看到海牛。 吃住都很方便， 中餐好吃。
有时候有流， 初学者要小心，多和导潜沟通。
the diving was so good. i saw dugeon, dolohine and many many fishes.Written December 29, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
