Derawan Islands, Aug 2026 snorkeling trip report
Date: August 23 – September 01, 2026
Water Temp: 26 – 27.5 C / 79 – 81.5 F
Seas: Moderate winds from the SSE for most of the trip
The Derawan Islands
The Derawan archipelago is a group of 31 islands that lie about 50 miles off the coast of Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The archipelago consists of several large atolls along the eastern perimeter with sand cays and limestone islands closer to the coast.
As an exploratory to the area, we spent nine days snorkeling the reefs and habitats around the islands of Derawan, Maratua, Sangalaki, and Kakaban. The host for our adventure was the Gaia Love and as usual, they exceeded all expectations from comfort and food to safety. Since the trip largely revolved around the four main islands, I’ll write about our snorkeling experiences at each island, even though the itinerary and weather had us visiting sites on each island at different times throughout the tour.
Derawan Island
Our first snorkel took place around Derawan Island proper. Though it is well populated, reefs around the island are healthy and have a wide variety of marine life. Along with the usual reef suspects, we had two giant frogfishes and a pair of largest green sea turtles any of us had ever seen! But the best sighting was saved for the final snorkel of the tour. The shovel-nose ray, a common resident on the sandy slopes, is a rare sighting in most other places throughout Indonesia! Wooden structures that project out from the island like fingers are covered with colorful sponges and sea fans. I spent more time among the jetties than I did on the reef surrounding them! We also did a night snorkel with sightings that included eels, nudibranchs, scorpionfishes, and a cuttlefish.
Maratua Atoll
Our time on Maratua, one of the large atolls in the archipelago, gave us the opportunity to snorkel over beautiful shallow reefs. Exposed to the openness of Makassar Strait, reef communities here are much different than what we experienced at Derawan Island and Sangalaki. Shallow reefs absorb wave energy and the type of coral there are robust colonies like Pocillopora and Acropora. Just a few meters below and protected from larger waves are fields of staghorn coral that seemed to cover every square inch of substrate. Strong currents brought out the fishes, and we all bought we had just swum in an aquarium!
Kakaban Island
Kakaban Island has incredible reefs that surround the limestone island, that is for sure. Shallow fringing reef plateaus packed with healthy coral give way to steep walls adorned with soft corals and sea fans. Clouds of fish converge along the reef margin with clear water promising pelagic encounters by turtles and sharks. We could have spent the whole time snorkeling these reefs, but this island has something more unique to offer marine enthusiasts. The Island has a huge marine lake that contains five species of jellies, including ‘stingless’ golden jellies that number in the hundreds of thousands! Swimming amongst them was mesmerizing, and the serenity and beauty of the lake made it a special and memorable experience.
Sangalaki Island
Weather and time afforded us with only one opportunity to visit Sangalaki, which is a shame because the island is surrounded by an amazing reef. The diversity and health of this reef put it among the top sites I have ever snorkeled. Add mobula rays, a leopard shark, cuttlefish, turtles, and thousands of reef fishes and it becomes a world class destination all on its own!
Whale Sharks!
And while this reef was definitely a highlight, snorkeling with whale sharks had to be near the top! Bagans, floating platforms where fisherfolk use bright lights at night to lure small baitfish, attract whale sharks who visit in hopes of getting access to some of the fish-catch.
Overall Impression of the Derawan Islands
The Derawan Islands offer snorkelers amazing opportunities to experience beautiful reefs, with the added attractions of big animal like whale sharks and sea turtles. Given this, how can anyone go wrong with spending time in this off-the-beaten-path archipelago. We look forward to returning in April 2027! See our entire photo album here.