Indonesia’s Bali and Lombok islands are the epitome of a tropical getaway making it an ideal destination for diving and snorkeling. Many of the islands’ best diving and snorkeling sites are close to shore, diving here is not only enjoyable, but convenient. Gives detailed descriptions of 59 sites, with full-colour photos.

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Deciding where to go for your next diving holiday can be a little tricky these days. Should you take the easy route and enjoy something closer to home, only to be swamped by hundreds of others at the dive site or go long haul, escape the masses and go in search of the garden or eden – only to find the visibility is poor and the flight times overbearing.

Egypt has long been the first port of call for today’s traveling diver, and why not? It’s just a four hour flight, almost guarantees good, sunny weather and generally the visibility is unsurpassed by anywhere in the world. Combine that with colorful coral reefs and a wide diversity or marine life and you pretty much have the perfect ingredients for a diving holiday. Trouble is so many others have the same idea, even traveling through the deep south on safari boat now won’t mean you’ll get the dive sites to yourself.

Divers who want to experience solitude at the sites now must face up to the fact that things aren’t as they were and in order to recreate those experiences of adventure, travel and discovery you are going to have to travel. Dive holidays in Asia have the potential to reignite these feelings, here’s my top three locations to fulfill your needs of an all round great diving holiday.

Sulawesi – Located east of Borneo and north of Bali. Fly Singapore Airlines London to Manado (with a short stop in Singapore). Then just 1-2 hours from the airport and you can be diving on a spectacular wall, surrounded by one of the most diverse marine systems on earth. Beautiful.
Komodo – Fly London to Bali. Various airlines. Dive holidays in Komodo can be spectacular and not too difficult to organise. Catch a safari boat from either Sanur or Benoa in Bali. The boat will travel overnight then, after a quick early morning breakfast its diving time.
Pulau Weh, Sumatra. Just a short flight from Kuala Lumpur you‘ll find the island of Pulau Weh. Offering truly superb dive sites far from the crowds.

There’s a huge amount of information on dive holidays in Indonesia, on the web, through articles written by journalists and on forums. These days it’s not so difficult to get off the beaten track, it just takes a little more effort, and more often than not you’ll be rewarded.

Located in north central Indonesia, to the east of Borneo the island of Sulawesi is unqiuely star shaped. At the heart of the coral triangle, a region which is widely believed to hold the highest diversity of marine life found anywhere on earth, Sulawesi surely offers some of the finest diving to be had in SE Asia.

On the many times I have visited Northen Sulawesi I have always been taken by what’s on offer to divers over such a relatively small area. At the very tip of one of Sulawesi’s star like arms you’ll find deep plunging walls, pinnacles blanketed in soft corals, tranquil coral gardens ideal for snorkelling and black sand slopes that play host to a mind blowing range of weird and wonderful marine inhabitants. Whats more, all these locations can easily be covered in a two week diving holiday Sulawesi.

Just an hour boat ride from the town of Manado lays the small island of Bunaken. Now a National Park Bunaken is surrounded by dramatic reef walls just a few fin kicks from it’s shore. Rich hard and soft corals formations cover the walls from the drop off to as far as the eye can see from within recreational depth limits, snorkelers will also be amazed by the wealth of these reefs even from the surface (beware of currents and be sure to take a reference from your entry point when snorkeling in this area). Allow at least 5-6 days around Bunaken, there’s plenty of world class sites worth visiting and for days out of the water theres lots on offer topside from scaling active volcanoes to beautiful lakes.

Further east, again just an hour or so by boat lays the island of Bangka and Gangga. Here beneath the surface under water pinnacles ridge the shores of the island. The reefs are characterised by colorful soft coral gardens and a magnificant abundance of marine life. It’s not uncommon to see passing sharks and rays in the blue here, whilst the reefs themselves play host to plenty of small invertebrates, keep close to your dive guide if you’re a macro lover. This area is generally less populated with tourists and really only requires a little extra effort, staying at one of the island resorts also means you’ll get to basque on the white sand beaches between dives.

Just off northern Sulawesi’s eastern shore is the island of Lembeh and the strait that separates has become a world class hotspot for a phenemonon know as muck diving. The black sand slopes are not exactly picturesque but what inhabits has been increasingly capturing the imagination of divers from all over the world. Over generations evolution has run riot over this small stretch of water as strange and rare ‘critters’ compete in their exclusive world of predator and prey.

The diving itself is generally not deep, no need to go below the 20m mark really and generally it’s a case of spending plenty of time on the shallow slopes with your eyes well and truly peeled! I’d reccommend at least 4-5 days diving on the Lembeh Strait and chances are you’ll be hungry for more no matter how much you’ve done.

Diving holidays Sulawesi are manageable even on a limited time and budget. It’s incredbly easy and convienient to travel between the locations mentioned in this article and the regions offers more than enough to quench the thirst of even the most seasoned diver.

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This article describes some of the better dive sites in South East Asia. As a scuba diver, you will probably know that scuba diving in South East Asia has always been very popular because of its vast species of marine life and rich diversity of colorful corals.

As a matter of fact, there are many world class dive sites in this region and with its excellent underwater visibility, South East Asia is indeed a scuba diver’s haven. So, here are some of the top dive sites in South East Asia many of which I have dived in several times.

We shall start with Indonesia and of course, the island of Bali cannot be left out. Perhaps the most dived site in Bali is the Liberty wreck. The wreck was a US army logistic ship sunk by Japanese submarine torpedoes during the last world war.

Liberty wreck lies in the depth of about 10m (32ft) to 30m (100ft) over 120m (385ft) of the sea bed. Divers can see guns, toilets, ship anchor chain among other things of a typical shipwreck. The wreck is heavily encrusted with corals and brightly decorated with gorgonian sea fans and sea anemones.

Scuba divers will also encounter large schools of trevally and more than 400 species of marine fishes and even exotic colonies of elusive garden eels.

Similan island in Thailand is another interesting dive site. Similan is located off the coast of Khao Lak which was hit badly by a Tsunami 2006. Nine granite islands made up the Similan islands. These islands are covered by luxuriant tropical rainforests surrounded by pristine white beaches and turquoise blue water.

This area is a protected national park. Below the water lie a sprawling underwater garden of deep canyons, coral gardens, huge granite boulders, caves and walls. Liveaboard scuba diving is the norm here.

Sipadan Island in Malaysia was made famous by Jacques Cousteau’s documentary entitled Ghost Of The Sea Turtles. This is an oceanic island which is not connected to any continental shelf that rises about 2000 ft on an awesome limestone pinnacle and mushrooms out at the surface.

Many dive magazines have named Sipadan as one of the best dive sites in the world and reported to have the largest variety of soft corals in the world. At Sipadan, scuba divers will encounter exciting drift dives, fascinating coral formations, turtles, lobsters, barracudas and even various species of sharks.

Manado, northen Sulawesi, Indonesia is the gateway to world class dive spots in the Bunaken National Park. Muck diving, meaning diving for little critters on the seabed in Manado bay is the norm here. In this part of Indonesia, you will encounter exhilarating wall dives, drop offs, huge napoleon wrasse, reef sharks and also another shipwreck.

Layang Layang in Malaysia is a breathtaking atoll. It is part of a shoal group in the South China Sea known as the Spratly islands. Here, massive numbers of barracuda roams the water, large pelagic fishes and sharks make this place home. Do not be surprised if you are investigated by a school of hammerhead sharks.

This is a video consisting of self taken photos in and around Manado/Sulawesi. All photos were taken in the end of 2005. Please visit metrobatavia.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

This article describes some of the better dive sites in South East Asia. As a scuba diver, you will probably know that scuba diving in South East Asia has always been very popular because of its vast species of marine life and rich diversity of colorful corals.

As a matter of fact, there are many world class dive sites in this region and with its excellent underwater visibility, South East Asia is indeed a scuba diver’s haven. So, here are some of the top dive sites in South East Asia many of which I have dived in several times.

We shall start with Indonesia and of course, the island of Bali cannot be left out. Perhaps the most dived site in Bali is the Liberty wreck. The wreck was a US army logistic ship sunk by Japanese submarine torpedoes during the last world war.

Liberty wreck lies in the depth of about 10m (32ft) to 30m (100ft) over 120m (385ft) of the sea bed. Divers can see guns, toilets, ship anchor chain among other things of a typical shipwreck. The wreck is heavily encrusted with corals and brightly decorated with gorgonian sea fans and sea anemones.

Scuba divers will also encounter large schools of trevally and more than 400 species of marine fishes and even exotic colonies of elusive garden eels.

Similan island in Thailand is another interesting dive site. Similan is located off the coast of Khao Lak which was hit badly by a Tsunami 2006. Nine granite islands made up the Similan islands. These islands are covered by luxuriant tropical rainforests surrounded by pristine white beaches and turquoise blue water.

This area is a protected national park. Below the water lie a sprawling underwater garden of deep canyons, coral gardens, huge granite boulders, caves and walls. Liveaboard scuba diving is the norm here.

Sipadan Island in Malaysia was made famous by Jacques Cousteau’s documentary entitled Ghost Of The Sea Turtles. This is an oceanic island which is not connected to any continental shelf that rises about 2000 ft on an awesome limestone pinnacle and mushrooms out at the surface.

Many dive magazines have named Sipadan as one of the best dive sites in the world and reported to have the largest variety of soft corals in the world. At Sipadan, scuba divers will encounter exciting drift dives, fascinating coral formations, turtles, lobsters, barracudas and even various species of sharks.

Manado, northen Sulawesi, Indonesia is the gateway to world class dive spots in the Bunaken National Park. Muck diving, meaning diving for little critters on the seabed in Manado bay is the norm here. In this part of Indonesia, you will encounter exhilarating wall dives, drop offs, huge napoleon wrasse, reef sharks and also another shipwreck.

Layang Layang in Malaysia is a breathtaking atoll. It is part of a shoal group in the South China Sea known as the Spratly islands. Here, massive numbers of barracuda roams the water, large pelagic fishes and sharks make this place home. Do not be surprised if you are investigated by a school of hammerhead sharks.

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Firstly, you will save a lot of transportation time and costs, such as traveling to your dive operator’s boat and then after your dive, returning to your hotel or resort, lugging your cumbersome scuba diving gear to and fro, then repeating this same process for the next couple of days during your scuba diving vacation in Bali.

Next, you save money from hotel or resort accommodation because since you are living on the liveaboard dive boat, there will be no need for hotel or resort bookings. On top of that, you do not need to hunt for expensive meals in your hotel or resort since all liveaboard scuba diving packages will include meals. This will also mean that you will be probably having very fresh and succulent sea food caught by the crew while you are enjoying your scuba diving.

The highlight of your liveaboard Bali scuba diving vacation is that you can dive in many exotic dive spots instead of the ones near where you stay. This is because you need not return to your resort hotel to retire for the day, the liveaboard dive boat will cruise to far flung scuba diving locations while you are sleeping, again saving you time and best of all, you get to save more money by diving in more dive locations for the same price.

Below is a typical liveaboard Bali scuba diving package offered by quite a few Bali dive operators.

Day One-Visit one of Bali’s most interesting street on the way to Pemuteran & Menjangan North West Bali which will also include a stopover in View Point Restaurant Sanda. Dive Sites: Pemuteran House Reef & Reef Project or Secret Bay in Gilimanuk

Day Two-After breakfast, you will hop onboard for a dive boat trip to Menjangan Island. Dive Sites: Menjangan – National Park, Walls, Anker Wreck, Coral Garden, lunch and surface rest on a white sandy beach.

Day Three-Dive Sites: Amed or Tulamben or Secret Spot, Drop Off, Liberty Wreck Dive and Wall Dive

Day Four-After breakfast drive to East – Bali and stop over to view Bali Islands famous terraced rice fields. Dive Sites: Blue Lagoon & White Beach including a night dive in Blue Lagoon

Day Five-Dive Sites: Gili Mimpang & Gili Tepekong or Gili Biaha

Day Six-Dive Sites: Gili Biaha or Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan 2 Speedboat Dives.

Day Seven-Dive Sites: Blue Lagoon – White Beach – Chanel

So if you want to save time, money and hassle during your Bali scuba diving vacation, why not try liveaboard scuba diving?

Scuba divers in Bali can expect to encounter awesome underwater landscape as well as sighting a very wide array of marine sea creatures. Let’s visit some scuba diving Bali dive spots.

In Nusa Penida and Lembongan Islands, there are spectacular drop off reefs making reef and wall diving the predominant staple on these two scuba diving locations. It takes about a 45 minute speedboat ride to reach these dive destinations.

Water visibility is excellent all year round but the current here is stronger. Experienced divers will love it here as they can enjoy some drift dives. However, the current may get very strong occasionally and dives may have to be abandoned when this happens.

The dive sites at Nusa Dua and Sanur are just 5 minutes away from the coast and therefore easily assessable. The novice divers will love these dive spots because of the gentle current. Water visibility ranges from low to moderate since they are located in the coastal area and are more affected by pollution. Although hard coral life is limited, the dive spots have a surprisingly diversity of marine fishes, soft corals and sponges which are thriving on the reefs.

There is a very wide variety of corals, colorful sea fans and huge pelagic fishes here. Big schools of sweet lips fish, turtles, sharks and manta rays are often sighted by excited scuba divers.

Jemeluk and Amed Beaches are one and half hour away from Denpasar. Denpasar is a popular tourist coastal town with many wonderful hotels, resorts and night entertainment. Scuba divers need to be very experienced as the current here can get very strong. However the dives here can be very exciting because of long coastal reefs, reef slopes/drop offs and majestic wall diving. Water visibility can be considered as moderate to good. To add a final touch, these dive spots have one of the best hard coral communities in Bali.

The Tulamben Wreck Dive is a must dive spot for scuba divers to enjoy wreck diving. The water visibility here is fair to good and the current is gentle. Night dive on this wreck are often described as breathtaking.

The wreck, USS Liberty which met its fate in 1942 when a Japanese torpedo fired from a submarine in the second world war found its target.

The above are just some of the many splendid scuba diving destinations in Bali. For more superb dive sites, just contact the many scuba diving operators in Bali Island.

Scuba divers in Bali can expect to encounter awesome underwater landscape as well as sighting a very wide array of marine sea creatures. Let’s visit some scuba diving Bali dive spots.

In Nusa Penida and Lembongan Islands, there are spectacular drop off reefs making reef and wall diving the predominant staple on these two scuba diving locations. It takes about a 45 minute speedboat ride to reach these dive destinations.

Water visibility is excellent all year round but the current here is stronger. Experienced divers will love it here as they can enjoy some drift dives. However, the current may get very strong occasionally and dives may have to be abandoned when this happens.

The dive sites at Nusa Dua and Sanur are just 5 minutes away from the coast and therefore easily assessable. The novice divers will love these dive spots because of the gentle current. Water visibility ranges from low to moderate since they are located in the coastal area and are more affected by pollution. Although hard coral life is limited, the dive spots have a surprisingly diversity of marine fishes, soft corals and sponges which are thriving on the reefs.

There is a very wide variety of corals, colorful sea fans and huge pelagic fishes here. Big schools of sweet lips fish, turtles, sharks and manta rays are often sighted by excited scuba divers.

Jemeluk and Amed Beaches are one and half hour away from Denpasar. Denpasar is a popular tourist coastal town with many wonderful hotels, resorts and night entertainment. Scuba divers need to be very experienced as the current here can get very strong. However the dives here can be very exciting because of long coastal reefs, reef slopes/drop offs and majestic wall diving. Water visibility can be considered as moderate to good. To add a final touch, these dive spots have one of the best hard coral communities in Bali.

The Tulamben Wreck Dive is a must dive spot for scuba divers to enjoy wreck diving. The water visibility here is fair to good and the current is gentle. Night dive on this wreck are often described as breathtaking.

The wreck, USS Liberty which met its fate in 1942 when a Japanese torpedo fired from a submarine in the second world war found its target.

The above are just some of the many splendid scuba diving destinations in Bali. For more superb dive sites,just contact the many scuba diving operators in Bali Island.