Unforgettable
It was truly an unforgettable holiday!
See you next year!
Bart M
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Bali’s dive areas
1. Gilimanuk Bay
Teluk Gilimanuk or Secret Bay is one of Bali’s most unusual dive locations. The combination of a muddy bottom and a mangrove-lined shore turn this site into a macro treasure heaven. The ‘secret’ lies within the creatures that are to be found here. One time the headshieldslug Chelidonura hirundinina was found all over the place, while a few weeks later the rare gurnard lionfish is swimming about. Psychedelic coloured starfish, frogfishes, seasnakes, stonefishes, seamoths… weird stuff everywhere! Many animals here are double their normal size, probably due to the rich incoming waters and few predators.
2. Menjangan Island
Bali’s first dived area is situated in the Bali Barat National Park. The clear warm waters around Menjangan island offer impressive wall diving. Crevasses, caves and overhangs make looking up once in a while very worthwhile! Especially when it is a bright sunny day. During the right season there is a chance of encountering big stuff like Mola mola’s, manta’s, sharks,… While Menjangan also offers critter hunters their share by presenting frogfish or pygmy seahorses to the well observing eye.
3. Puri Jati
Home of the crawling corals and territory of the mimic octopus. This place is wonderland for the underwater photo- and videographer! Forget about sharks or big rays, but an occasional sea turtle may pass by. This muck dive site is one of the 101 Sites to Dive Before You Die according to Passport to diving the world! Need we say more?
4. Tulamben & Amed area
The world famous wreck of the USAT Liberty, the impressive Tulamben Drop-off with its endless coral growth, the Japanese shipwreck in Amed and some beautiful muck sites like Seraya Secrets turn this region into a world class destination, to suit everybody’s taste. Harlequin shrimps, ghost pipefish and bumphead parrotfish are frequently seen here. Situated in the north of Bali these sites are well protected from strong currents. The beauty and easy diveability made us decide to complete the open water course here. This means that one of your four first dives ever will take place on the magnificent USAT Liberty.
5. Gili Selang
This stunning but demanding dive site is only for the experienced diver. When the tide is right and this current-swept island is diveable it makes up a beautiful dive. Especially north and south of the island where you are more protected from the current it is nice to hang around the bommies, gorgonians and soft corals.
6. The off-shore islands: Tepekong, Mimpang & Biaha
Where the Badung- and the Lombok Straits meet, the off-shore islands of Tepekong, Mimpang and Biaha offer some of Bali’s best, though advanced diving. Due to the strong currents pelagics and sharks are common here. The cold, nutrient rich waters of the south Bali upwelling make these sites the richest of Bali. But… only when the tide is right and the swell is not too high.
7. Padang Bai
The dive sites on Bali’s East coast offer some interesting and unusual marine life. Rare nudibranches, frogfishes, bamboo sharks and white-tip reef sharks are often spotted here. You dive in between big boulders of Porites coral while admiring an occasional sea turtle, octopus, stonefish, moray eels… At these locations everything is possible, but nothing is certain.
8. Nusa Penida
Every year during the second half of the dry monsoon (Juli to October) an upwelling of cold, plankton-rich water in the Badung- and Lombok Strait attracts pelagic species such as ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Manta rays can be encountered here year round. Colder crystal clear water and strong currents make Nusa Penida a very interesting area to dive. Due to possibly fierce currents these dives are often done as drift dives.
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1. Gilimanuk Bay
Teluk Gilimanuk or Secret Bay is one of Bali’s most unusual dive locations. The combination of a muddy bottom and a mangrove-lined shore turn this site into a macro treasure heaven. The ‘secret’ lies within the creatures that are to be found here. One time the headshieldslug Chelidonura hirundinina was found all over the place, while a few weeks later the rare gurnard lionfish is swimming about. Psychedelic coloured starfish, frogfishes, seasnakes, stonefishes, seamoths… weird stuff everywhere! Many animals here are double their normal size, probably due to the rich incoming waters and few predators.
-
2. Menjangan Island
Bali’s first dived area is situated in the Bali Barat National Park. The clear warm waters around Menjangan island offer impressive wall diving. Crevasses, caves and overhangs make looking up once in a while very worthwhile! Especially when it is a bright sunny day. During the right season there is a chance of encountering big stuff like Mola mola’s, manta’s, sharks,… While Menjangan also offers critter hunters their share by presenting frogfish or pygmy seahorses to the well observing eye.
-
3. Puri Jati
Home of the crawling corals and territory of the mimic octopus. This place is wonderland for the underwater photo- and videographer! Forget about sharks or big rays, but an occasional sea turtle may pass by. This muck dive site is one of the 101 Sites to Dive Before You Die according to Passport to diving the world! Need we say more?
-
4. Tulamben & Amed area
The world famous wreck of the USAT Liberty, the impressive Tulamben Drop-off with its endless coral growth, the Japanese shipwreck in Amed and some beautiful muck sites like Seraya Secrets turn this region into a world class destination, to suit everybody’s taste. Harlequin shrimps, ghost pipefish and bumphead parrotfish are frequently seen here. Situated in the north of Bali these sites are well protected from strong currents. The beauty and easy diveability made us decide to complete the open water course here. This means that one of your four first dives ever will take place on the magnificent USAT Liberty.
-
5. Gili Selang
This stunning but demanding dive site is only for the experienced diver. When the tide is right and this current-swept island is diveable it makes up a beautiful dive. Especially north and south of the island where you are more protected from the current it is nice to hang around the bommies, gorgonians and soft corals.
-
6. The off-shore islands: Tepekong, Mimpang & Biaha
Where the Badung- and the Lombok Straits meet, the off-shore islands of Tepekong, Mimpang and Biaha offer some of Bali’s best, though advanced diving. Due to the strong currents pelagics and sharks are common here. The cold, nutrient rich waters of the south Bali upwelling make these sites the richest of Bali. But… only when the tide is right and the swell is not too high.
-
7. Padang Bai
The dive sites on Bali’s East coast offer some interesting and unusual marine life. Rare nudibranches, frogfishes, bamboo sharks and white-tip reef sharks are often spotted here. You dive in between big boulders of Porites coral while admiring an occasional sea turtle, octopus, stonefish, moray eels… At these locations everything is possible, but nothing is certain.
-
8. Nusa Penida
Every year during the second half of the dry monsoon (Juli to October) an upwelling of cold, plankton-rich water in the Badung- and Lombok Strait attracts pelagic species such as ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Manta rays can be encountered here year round. Colder crystal clear water and strong currents make Nusa Penida a very interesting area to dive. Due to possibly fierce currents these dives are often done as drift dives.
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