Regional Guide to Diving in Indonesia

The regions we cover here are: Manado North Sulawesi, Lembeh Strait, Wakatobi, Banda Sea, Bali, Lombok & Gilli Islands, Komodo, West Papu and Raja Ampat, Kalimantan, Borneo

Manado North Sulawesi

North Sulawesi lies firmly in the epicentre of marine bio-diversity and the Bunaken Marine Park, established 1991, covers an area of some 89,065 hectares, with just 3% comprising the islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Nain, Siladen and Montehjage. Bunaken is famous for steep, world-class, pristine walls covered with soft corals and sponges, and dive sites suitable for all levels of experience. Large schools of Barracudas, Moray Eels, Napoleon Wrasses, Fairy Basslets and Sea Snakes are common. For the more experienced diver, several varieties of sharks, including Hammerheads, await at deeper depths. The marine park boasts more than 40 charted wrecks, including a WW II steel-hulled merchant ship.

Remote Banka Islands offers completely different underwater topography, with seamounts and pinnacles. This is one of the best areas for colourful soft coral and often bigger fish like sharks and Eagle Rays are in abundance.

Tasik Ria Resort & Spa, Bunaken

Tasik Ria Resort offers all the conveniences of an international standard resort. Accommodation is airconditioned and en-suite, in either Pool View Rooms or Sea View Cottages, tastefully landscaped along the sea front. Their seclusion is ideal for couples and honeymooners. The Bunaken Restaurant offers casual all-day dining featuring Indonesian and European Cuisine. The Sunset Jetty Bar overlooks Manado Tua Island and is the perfect place to relax at the end of the day enjoying panoramic views of the sunset. Diving is provided by Tasik Divers from a fleet of purpose built day boats. the PADI 5-star Gold Palm IDC facility prides itself on its service and facilities for divers.

Kima Bajo Resort

With its own private beach, this phenomenal, unspoilt location is idyllic for diving and relaxation, located just a short boat ride away from world renowned dive sites of the Bunaken National Park. Kima Bajo is the ideal place for divers and nondivers alike with its bar, restaurant, Mayana Spa, private beach and excursions to nearby places of interest. Accommodation includes 19 luxurious villas with a sunken outdoor bathtub and shower, an exclusive twovilla suite with its own private swimming pool and 12 spacious longhouse suites. The design is constructed from the finest natural materials available locally to create a style that is contemporary and yet very much in keeping with the North Sulawesi image. Eco Divers will offer two dives in the morning and one dive in the afternoon with a leisurely lunch back at the resort. Purpose built boats are spacious with contemporary interior facilities such as sundecks, rinse tanks, WC, shaded salon and powerful, energy efficient double outboard engines. As with all Eco Divers' diving, the guest-to-guide ratio is kept small at four to one and with a maximum of just eight guests per boat. Snorkellers and non-divers are welcome to join any of the trips. The attractive upscale boutique Kima Bajo Resort, beautifully compliments Kungkungan Bay Resort in Lembeh being of the same high standards.

Siladen Resort & Spa

Exclusively located on the lush tropical island of Pulau Siladen, in the heart of Bunaken National Marine Park, Siladen Resort & Spa offers guests a relaxed atmosphere and an unforgettable dive experience. A luxury boutique resort of just 15 elegantly furnished villas - with king size beds, outdoor open-air showers and sun decks overlooking calm seas - amongst Siladen's amenities are: a PADI diving centre, a gourmet restaurant, a traditional Spa with a wide variety of treatments, a large salt water swimming pool and a long stretch of white coral beach. Views of the volcanic island of Manado Tua and breathtaking sunsets complete your chill out experience. Over 40 different diving and snorkelling sites, located in the Bunaken National Marine Park, are within minutes of the resort with the house reef offering spectacular snorkelling. For the dedicated diver there are up to five dives per day and attention is personal, with only four divers per guide.

Lembeh Strait

Lembeh Strait offers the best 'macro diving' on earth! For divers interested in the weird and wonderful, the Lembeh Strait is the jewel in the Asian crown. With over 180 species of fish already listed in just one small area in the bay, this is the world's finest diving destination for anyone with a serious interest in marine creatures, and already attracts marine biologists, photographers and authors.

Kungkungan Bay Resort, Lembeh

Luxurious Kungkungan Bay Resort, adjacent to the pristine reefs of the Lembah Strait, has been described as the finest diving resort in Indonesia. In the midst of beautiful tropical gardens are beach front bungalows and a restaurant offering international cuisine. Staff are local and a warm welcome, and superb service, awaits the diver who seeks out this tropical hideaway. Eco Divers, situated in both the Tasik Ria Resort and Kunkungan Bay Resort, is a European-managed PADI 5-Star Gold Palm Resort that believes in providing guests with the highest levels of safety and comfort. This attitude is best demonstrated by the quality of the purpose-built boats. Each boat provides seated dining in a covered saloon, a large dive deck, with roll control tank racks and a large sun deck, and with no more than six guests to each dive guide.

Wakatobi, Banda Sea

The Wakatobi is a Marine National Park comprising an archipelago of four large islands located in south-east Sulawesi. Comprising of 1.39 million hectares, it is the second largest marine protected area in Indonesia. The park encompasses stunning coral reefs, white sand beaches and an amazing wealth of whales and dolphins. Positioned at the heart of the Indo- Pacific area where marine biodiversity is at its greatest, diving is truly fantastic.

With over 3,000 species of fish classified so far in the Sulawesi seas, the region is now recognized as the epicentre of marine diversity in the world. The most striking features of Wakatobi's diving are the incredible marine diversity coupled with the pristine condition of the coral reefs.

Wakatobi Dive Resort

Wakatobi Dive Resort is located on the beautiful tropical island of Onemobaa in the remote and peaceful Wakatobi archipelago. Here in the Banda Sea you can dive the world's most pristine reefs and enjoy a superb holiday whilst, at the same time, participating in the protection of the areas tremendously rich marine heritage.

Constructed by local artisans using traditional methods, the resort embraces sound eco-tourism principles whilst offering modern comforts and top quality diving. Accommodation is offered in Bungalows or a Cliff Villa. Bungalows are spacious, being of equal floor size, with balcony, desk, internet access, minibar and 24-hour electricity. Garden Bungalows are set amidst tropical flora; Beach Bungalows enjoy an ocean view on the south beach, and Premium Beach bungalows are located on the western beach, facing the colourful sunset. Cliff Villas are the premier rooms, being perched on the cliffs at the northern end of the resort, with superb views of the ocean and sunset and are even more luxuriously equipped for comfort and relaxation.

In keeping with Wakatobi's ethos; dive professionals offer guests a safe and highly enjoyable experience while ensuring minimal environmental impact. The house reef is just 20 metres from the dive centre, and is considered by many to be the most lush and healthy to be found today - Wakatobi is often described as a liveaboard with a built-in beach! Nowhere else in the world will you find such pristine corals over such a wide area. There are several dozen easily accessible dive sites offering incredible marine diversity; from miles of pristine, breathtaking drop-offs, walls and slopes to ridges, caverns, caves and seamounts. The comprehensive resort package offers three boat dives per day and unlimited shore diving, ensuring you total diving freedom!

Bali

Divers heading straight for Komodo, Manado or the Lembeh Strait often overlook Bali as a dive destination. But Bali has many diverse dive sites, offering exceptional diving for all levels. From protected, shallow bays populated by exotic Scorpion Fish, octopus and nudibranchs, to exciting drift diving in wild currents with sharks, pelagics and Manta Rays and wreck diving in Tulamben Bay, where reef fish swarm the wreck of the World War II vessel, the Liberty, and black coral growth is lush - Bali has it all! Then there are the Mola Mola, these incredible sunfish that come to the Bali waters from July to October.

Experience Bali's excellent diving and culture either as an add-on to your Indonesian liveaboard voyage or as a complete and inexpensive dive holiday. Dive Worldwide can organise accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets - from simple dive lodges to luxurious five-star hotels, any Bali dive sites and any number of diving days and include land-tours in your holiday.

Bali also offers visitors a wealth of non-diving activities: hike to the top of a volcano, walk along terraced rice fields, visit ancient temples, raft down a river or enjoy a relaxing massage on the beach.

Matahari Beach Resort & Spa, Bali

A member of the Relais & Chateau Chain this exclusive 5-star resort is typically Balinese in style. Located on a fine black sandy lava beach in the north west of Bali, near Pemuteran, guests enjoy spectacular views of the Java Sea to the north and bizarre mountain structures to the south, at the entrance to the national park. In addition to road transfers, in air-conditioned limousines, the hotel offers a breathtaking helicopter transfer, an extraordinary way to start your holiday. The Werner-Lau dive centre is fully equipped and offers a full range of equipment for hire, free Nitrox and a multitude of diving possibilities for every diver.

Bali Alam Anda Hotel

This 4-star hotel has been an 'inside secret' for many years, achieving an almost cult status with its guests. Lying next to the sea, on Bali's north east coast, and hidden behind coconut and orange plantations, the hotel's Seafront and Deluxe-Garden Bungalows lie in a three-hectare architecture designed palm garden with hundreds of shady coconut and Lontar palm trees, Eucalyptus and banana trees.

The recently renovated and enlarged Werner-Lau dive centre is 50-metres from the beach and is equipped to cater for all divers' requirements, with plenty of equipment for hire including 60 aluminium tanks. The house reef, directly in front of the dive centre, is a designated conservation area and is a paradise for underwater photographers! There is a splendid diversity of tropical fauna, numerous shoals of fish and turtles and Eagle rays may be seen.

Scuba Seraya Resort

Just 3 kilometres from the world renowned dive destination of Tulamben with its famous 'Liberty' ship wreck and wedged between the sparkling water of beautiful, unspoilt Muntig bay and the holy mountain, Gunung Agung, lies a cluster of luxurious villas and bungalows. Scuba Seraya Resort sits amidst lush tropical gardens on a secluded black volcanic sand beach. The Resort has been carefully designed with thatched roofs, teak wood furnishings, marble and natural stones from across the Indonesian archipelago, it conveys the serenity of a traditional village, yet it features all modern amenities.

The on-site dedicated PADI dive centre with its purpose built boats, unhurried service, small classes and no groups policy makes for relaxed diving. Just in front of the resort is the house reef - Seraya Secrets, which has been quoted as being one of the best macro dive sites in South East Asia!

Siddhartha

The brand new Siddhartha Dive Resort and Spa offers you the luxury of a five-star resort with stunning architecture in a fabulous setting. In spite of the luxury, the mood here is nevertheless informal and relaxed and makes for a fantastic diving resort. The hotel has eight Superior Bungalows, 17 Deluxe Bungalows, five Ocean Front Deluxe Bungalows as well as the 'Santei' and 'Pantei' - two dream villas with their own swimming pool. Situated directly on the beach in the small village of Kubu on Bali's north-east coast, far from all the commercial tourism, the 30 bungalows and villas blend in perfectly into the large tropical gardens.

Pondok Sari Hotel, Bali

Lying in the Bali Barat national park and the underwater park of Menjangan, on Bali's North West coast, this traditionally built, 4-star hotel is surrounded by picturesque mountains with ancient deciduous trees offering shade on the fine, sandy lava beach. The dive centre is located on the beach and caters for special requirements and desires of divers, with plenty of equipment available for rent, including 60 tanks and free Nitrox. There is also a well-equipped workshop. The house reef is directly in front of the dive centre, a section of which is part of the biggest project, worldwide, to breed coral, with shore, boat and night dives available. Expect to see stunning intact corals, a multitude of macro-life and occasional big fish at top dive sites such as Menjangan and Secret Bay.

Lombok & Gilli Islands

The island of Lombok is situated just east of Bali and is full of adventure, from scenic water falls, jungle and dramatic coastlines, to amazing cultural experiences. Lombok is renowned for its Indonesian art and tradition. Lombok offers numerous scuba diving opportunities for visitors of all ages and experiences. The majority of this diving takes place around the Gili islands in the strait between Lombok and Bali. Visitors will not be disappointed with the vast array of rich underwater life ranging from sharks, Eagle Rays, turtles and Manta Rays. There is also great diving available around Senggigi Beach in east Lombok and in the south in Blongas, where there are a lot of currents and swells and large pelagics.

Holiday Resort Lombok

Hugging the shoreline of Mangsit Village on the northern end of Senggigi Beach, the Holiday Resort Lombok is nestled amongst 15 hectares of palm studded gardens. It is a delightful hotel with all the facilities of a deluxe resort including the PADI, Blue Marlin Dive Centre on site. Blue Marlin is also an IANTD technical dive facility specialising in Nitrox, Tri-mix and Buddy Inspiration rebreather training.

Komodo

Komodo Island and Marine Park was officially declared a World Heritage Site in 1991 and is one of the largest protected zones on the planet. The number and variety of islands combined with current, wave action and wind exposure, result in an incredible variety of coastal and marine habitats. Only on these legendary islands does the Komodo Dragon, a survivor of the prehistoric carnivores that thrived in tropical Asia some 100 million years ago, still live and roam freely.

West Papu and Raja Ampat

West Papua, Indonesia's most easterly province and formerly known as Irian Jaya, occupies the western part of the massive island of New Guinea. Lying off the western tip of New Guinea and within the boundaries of the West Papua are the stunning Raja Ampat islands, which offer a diving experience of a lifetime. The region boasts the richest tropical coral reef biodiversity recorded anywhere. Untouched landscapes rivalling those of the Pacific combined with world class dive sites make these islands the world's last scuba diving frontier.

Kalimantan, Borneo

Due to its remote location this area of Borneo sees relatively few divers, which is why its biggest attraction is still a relative secret. The uninhabited coral atoll that is Kakaban Island, has been uplifted by geological forces, turning the lagoon into a land-locked lake. Jellyfish Lake is home to all sorts of biological distinct species that have adapted to live in this brackish water. They include four species of stingless jellyfish and countless invertebrates. The five square kilometre lake is surrounded by a 50-metre ridge, with wall diving featuring schooling Barracudas and Jacks; Leopard, and Gray Reef Sharks and the occasional Hammerhead.

Sangalaki is renowned for its sightings of Mantas, due to the number of cleaning stations around the island. Gently sloping reefs, with a maximum depth of around twenty metres, make it a great place to see both large and small marine life. The points off Maratua offer the best prospects for the larger shark, particularly Whitetips, although Hammerhead and Leopard Shark can frequently be seen.

Nabucco Island Resort

The Resort is under Swiss/German management and was built in the middle of tropical vegetation without cutting a single tree. It boasts 17 rooms (eight double and one single bungalow) seaview or gardenview, all with balcony equipped with shower, toilet, minibar, mosquito net. At the moment only ten rooms have air-conditioning.

The specially built restaurant serves delicious western and Asian food. There is a TV room, a reading corner, a bar and massages to relax the muscles after a hard day's diving. The resort offers three daily boat dives at Maratua, Kakaban and Sandalaki. Due to the distance from the mainland there is no diving on the days of arrival and departure, thus a longer stay is recommended.

The best sites are almost directly in front of your accommodation - a diver's dream becomes reality with swarms of Eagle Rays, Hammerhead Sharks, tunas, turtles and many more. Macro-photographers will find the sites around Nabucco Island a superb place to hunt for subjects.

Maratua Paradise Resort

Located off the east coast of Indonesian Borneo, the remote island of Maratua is most easily reached via Singapore and Balikpapan, followed by a one hour flight to Berau and a two hour boat ride to the island. Maratua Paradise Resort comprises of eight beach chalets and five water bungalows, all with private bathrooms and air-conditioning, the resort offers its own dive centre with packages including night dives and visits to the neighbouring islands of Sangalaki and Kakaban. Meals consist of predominately fish and fruit and are taken in the central dining room. Alcoholic and canned or bottled soft drinks may be purchased from the bar. Maratua is a large island with a massive lagoon, only partly rimmed by the island; the rest is fringed by reef and wall. A channel into the lagoon offers an incredible drift dive and the surrounding walls are loaded with hard and soft corals where you are likely to see large shoals of tuna and mackerel along with Hammerheads and Mantas.

Sangalaki is a one hour boat ride from Maratua and renowned for its sightings of Mantas. Also nearby is the uninhabited coral atoll that is Kakaban Island and its land-locked lake. The five square kilometre lake, surrounded by a 50-metre ridge, occupies most of the interior of the island, now a government nature reserve. The surrounding walls of the atoll feature schooling barracudas and Jacks; Leopard, and Grey Reef Sharks and the occasional Hammerhead.

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