Difficulty
Unrated
Viz (last reported 107369h ago)
Max Depth
Unknown
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Gun Beach
Gear up at your car, then walk 30' to knee-deep water, and follow a cable/pipe channel straight out. Returning, expect to clutch this cable/pipe to resist the rip tide in this cut. Once outside, head LEFT toward the hotels. Rightward is boring, and devastated by crown-of-thorns starfish who've killed the reef. Leftward is a paradise of candlestick corals, gradually sloping from 15' to 100' deep before becoming a sandy plain. Lots of spider-shells, large animals, & reef fish. Very pleasant dive. Far better than anything in Hawaii, but not as good as Saipan, and unworthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Palau. Re-entry through a riptide, and the lack of a bathroom or shower, keep this from being perfect... but it's nearly perfect. Avoid snorkeling here if there are waves. Use thick-soled felt booties on this and all Micronesian shore dives, because spiny urchins and sharp rocks abound in the corals which you walk across in the shallows. Visibility is typically 60 feet/18 meters.
This is one of the easiest shore dives on Guam. Located at the far-right side of the tourist strip, Tumon Bay. Go as far right as possible on the paved road, past the Nikko Hotel, then follow a fairly good dirt road down to a small beach alongside the Nikko Hotel. There are no facilities (no phone, bathroom, or anything else) at this beach, but in case of emergency, the hotel's nearby & willing to help out.
Access
shore
View
Nearby Shops
Tide Report
5
4
3
2
1
(14)
Bill Stohler
Aug 22, 2012, 12:00 AM
scuba
Just did two dives here during monsoon season. There is now a beach bar with volleyball court, music, parking, and even a 'cultural' park located next to the entry, and a light pole facing the ocean is in direct line with the telephone cable. Despite the installation of road swales, the widened compacted coral gravel road has added silt and runoff to the sea, decreasing visibility. The reef is still in excellent condition, but this time I did not find the resident pipefish. If the surf breaking on the outer reef is 3 feet or greater, I'd dive somewhere calmer, as on the way back in, waves crash over one's head, and returning to the sea through the cut in which the telephone cable lies. Still really enjoy this site, which has octopus, eels, clownfish, anemones, grouper, hard corals and sponges. Highly recommended, but watch your depth, as you can go well past 130 feet.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Mon
Oct 12, 2011, 12:00 AM
scuba
I went there last weekend with my dive buddy who has been diving for the last 12 years. She loved it! She said it was one of the best places she's ever dove in her entire life (she's dove in the US, Caribbean and the Med). I'm spoiled, I learned to dive here and I've only dove here and I also thought it was gorgeous! Use the pipe to enter-- if you don't then it's nearly impossible to go thru the reef w/o getting hurt.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Ron Gubbins
Sep 18, 2011, 12:00 AM
scuba
Another update for Gun Beach snorkeling. The new beach bar has caused considerable damage to the fragile marine environment here. I previously gave it 5 years until total destruction, I must update that count to 2 years. First of all there are now at least 10 times the people on the beach compared to just 10 months ago. Secondly, runoff, I believe from the new beach bar, has caused an algae bloom, which is degrading all portions of the site. At depths of 15 feet or less I see algae that was not present when I first snorkeled here. Third, the people on the beach leave quite a bit of garbage behind. As a matter of fact, I have never seen beaches as dirty as I have on Guam. Family beach, a popular spot here, is completely junked up. In spots there are piles of refuse 2 feet deep. I have no idea why, but folks here just don't clean up after themselves. I am used to zero impact sites, where you must carry out everything you bring in, Here they just leave their garbage behind. Back to Gun Beach; I suggest you hit it now. Soon there will be commercialization up towards the north even further, and the greatness of this spot will be gone.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Ron Gubbins
Aug 13, 2011, 12:00 AM
scuba
I must ad an addendum to my previous review. There is a new beach bar at Gun Beach. The runoff from the construction and operation is already ruining the corals with a bad algae bloom. There are many more people on the beach too. They are staggering around on the corals. I saw great destruction of a very beautiful coral garden that take hundreds of years to grow. You can hear the music from the bar while you are diving or snorkeling. One of the best places on Guam is going to be ruined, all thanks to the greed the people who built this place. I think is stinks. Gone is any thought of solitude. They have ruined an almost pristine site. I give it 5 years to total destruction, maybe less.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Clif Stargardt
Jun 3, 2011, 12:00 AM
scuba
Dove this on May 25th. This turned out to be an excellent shore dive. Access to Gun Beach was easy...just drive to the north end of the tourist strip in Tumon and follow the bumpy dirt road. The big sign that said 'Do Not Enter' was no longer there. There seems to be some construction going on down by the beach now. We had ideal conditions -- getting in just after slack high tide, offshore winds, good visibility. When I read about following the pipes, I pictured large culverts, when in fact they're 4-6 inches in diameter. As you walk down to the beach they're off to the left (south). Didn't have any trouble finding them. The walk out (and back) was a little tricky in knee-deep water, but we just followed the pipes until we could float off the reef and put on fins. Current was running a little bit from the north, so that's where we headed. The reef seems in great shape. Nice smattering of tropical fish and corals. The highlight was early in the dive when a black-tipped reef shark cruised by. There's a good 70-80' of relief on the reef, sloping from 40 to 120 feet pretty quickly. As I was in Guam on military business, it was impossible to get on a boat due to my schedule and the fact they were full on the days I had available. Grabbing a good shore dive was the next best thing.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Bill Stohler
Dec 18, 2010, 12:00 AM
scuba
It's been 12 years since I last did scuba here, but over the past 3 days, I did 4 dives here and was not disappointed. The entry is easy, but waves were breaking on the drop of the cables by day three. Several pairs of manta rays were present feeding on the surface, and as long as no one touched them, they just hung out and fed. We found an octopus, lionfish, pipefish (several), small ulua, great barracuda, giant clams, sea stars, puffer fish, blennies, roy (grouper), fire corals, feather dusters, Christmas tree worms, sponges, hard corals, grouper, green sea turtles, etc. The corals here are pristine and amazing. Visibility and currents vary depending on the tides. The parking lot seemed safe, and several tour vans arrive each morning to access the private beach past the Gun. Highly recommended!
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Ron Gubbins
Sep 18, 2010, 12:00 AM
scuba
I've done Gun Beach 7 times so far. Snorkeling only. I am an experienced diver though I don't feel the need in this spot. Gun Beach is super easy and chocked full of life. It's just like what has been said with a few changes. If you follow the pipes out, you can go either way. If you go right you must go out until you are parallel with the private beach. You will find the place swarming with life. From cool corals of almost every color to fish trying to chase you off. If you go left you find a series of nice holes in the reef, leading to all sorts of cool fish action. You do see some crown of thorns, but they have not destroyed the area by any means. I have been to Gun Beach on sunny days and during fairly intense storms. This place takes on a whole new level of cool during the intense tropical downpours you get on Guam. Be careful and mindful of the tides, as you always should be, because there can be a fair amount of current here from my experience. Not being weighed down by SCUBA equipment makes entry and exit a lot easier, but of course limits me at least to about 30 feet depth. I recommend not walking on the coral, but do recommend booties. Follow the pipes until the water is a few feet deep, enough to float yourself out if you are on scuba. You will be a hundred yards from where the water deepens into a very cool small canyon with the depths beyond.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Geoff from Dededo
Aug 13, 2010, 12:00 AM
scuba
This was one of the best dives I have done to date. We followed the pipes out to about 30 feet of water and dropped in at about 0600. Once down we dove to about 60 feet and then headed west. We saw just about everything one could ask for on a single tank. Moray eel's were feeding and darting out from under the coral, puffer fish, large schools of trigger fish, a white tip reef shark, and finally an octopus. I can't wait to go back and dive it again.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Mike Little
Jul 24, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
The site is real easy to find. The road isn't bad if you don't care about the rental car. Just punch through the puddle; it's not deep or soft. Easy easy dive. Follow the pipes, get a compass heading with them and it's easy. Fight the waves a little bit and dive at the first chance. Great vis and plenty to see. We stayed about 45 min. Line up with the pipes and you can ride the waves right back to shore. Best shore dive in Guam by far!
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Shirley Schmidt
Mar 19, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
This place seems to attract many divers, but I found it to be on the poor side.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Seth Bareiss
Feb 7, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
Inside the reef, water's too shallow for intro-dive lessons or cert pool sessions. Otherwise, this is an ideal dive, one of Guam's best. Drive past the last hotel on the far-right (facing the water) side of Tumon Bay (Guam's hotel row), on the beach BELOW Lover's Leap. Go down a short dirt road to the beach; no facilities, but a super-short walk along the shore to a hotel with a dive shop. In ankle-deep waters, gear up completely and search for a ceramic pipe and/or chain leading out through a tiny cut in the reef. Follow it out, then head LEFT (back toward hotel row/center of the bay). No currents, oodles of healthy candlestick corals. Choose any depth, from 1' to 70'. Expect hand-shaped "spider shells", small and large. Inexplicably, this dive spot is almost unused by the majority of dive shops, though it's a fine, fine dive. I've seen napoleon wrasses and white tips here frequently, and a manta once.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Steve Porter
Nov 28, 2007, 12:00 AM
scuba
Getting there is half the fun. Like the other post, at the end of the road go left and go 4 wheeling. The eternal puddle isn't more than 8" deep so hug the right or blast through it. Park off to the left side because the sand is harder. Follow the cable for easy navigation, or get in front of the gun that look towards Rota island (clear day) and swim out. Surface swim about 5 minutes and drop; this should put you around 35 FT healthy coral, and good fish variety. Night time really comes to life. Navigation is pretty easy here, and you can actually dive here year round. We had some Japanese visitors bring us some snacks. Locals are wicked friendly here too. We have seen a couple of dragon eels here… and have only seen them in Japan, so we didn't think they existed anywhere else. A lot of the shops in Tumon will recommend this spot at anytime.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Bill Stohler
Oct 31, 2007, 12:00 AM
scuba
Follow the road to the last resort on Tumon...then hang a left past the service area of the resort...if it's dry and you have a vehicle with decent ground clearance, drive towards the sea. Large enough area for parking....as the other reviewer said, follow the telephone cable on out to sea, then left or right. Amazingly colorful shallow coral...makes for excellent snorkeling, and good diving farther out!
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anonymous
Jun 3, 2006, 12:00 AM
scuba
Very easy dive assuming the water is calm. If there are big waves...very rarely are...wait till calmer days. Follow the phone cable from the beach out through the reef which is visible from shore. Bottom descends gradually and has some descent coral and marine life. Can see turtles, mantas and occasional sharks. You can park right on beach for short walk to water. Very bumpy dirt road to get down to beach area. No facilities but usually people around walking dogs or enjoying beach. No theft. Visibility is unlimited and water is always warm. Bring bucket to wash sand off as there is sand everywhere and no facilities.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Other Locations Nearby
