Diving in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a premier experience for underwater enthusiasts, offering a remarkable diversity of marine life, vibrant coral reefs, and distinctive underwater landscapes. The three main diving destinations in this region—Bunaken National Marine Park, Lembeh Strait, and Bangka Island—each provide unique and unforgettable diving experiences.

Bunaken National Marine Park

Bunaken National Marine Park is one of the most famous diving destinations in the world, established in 1991. It covers an area of 890 square kilometers and includes five islands: Bunaken, Manado Tua, Siladen, Montehage, and Nain.

Bunaken Diving Highlights:

• Wall Diving: Bunaken is renowned for its spectacular wall dives, where steep coral walls drop off into the deep blue. These walls are covered with anemones, sponges, hard and soft corals, and are home to a myriad of marine species.
• Marine Life: Divers can encounter a wide variety of marine creatures, including reef sharks, barracudas, turtles, eagle rays, Napoleon wrasses, and an abundance of reef fish.
• Visibility: The visibility in Bunaken is typically excellent, often exceeding 30 meters, making it a paradise for underwater photographers.

Popular Dive Sites in Bunaken:

• Lekuan Wall: A series of three dive sites known for their steep walls and rich biodiversity. The area is frequented by large schools of fish, sea turtles, and occasional reef sharks.
• Mandolin: Famous for its beautiful coral formations and large pelagic fish.
• Fukui Point: Noted for its sandy slopes and large coral bommies, this site attracts a variety of fish species.

Lembeh Strait

Lembeh Strait, located on the northeastern coast of Sulawesi, is globally acclaimed as the “muck diving” capital of the world. It offers a completely different diving experience compared to Bunaken, focusing on the smaller, unusual, and often bizarre marine creatures that thrive in its black volcanic sand.

Lembeh Diving Highlights:

• Muck Diving: Lembeh’s main attraction is muck diving, where divers explore sandy or silty bottoms to find unique and rare critters.
• Macro Life: The area is a treasure trove for macro photographers, with sightings of frogfish, seahorses, mimic octopuses, flamboyant cuttlefish, nudibranchs, and various species of shrimp and crabs.
• Night Diving: Lembeh is also renowned for its night diving, revealing a completely different array of nocturnal species.

Lembeh Popular Dive Sites:

• Hairball: A famous muck diving site known for its sandy bottom and a plethora of unusual critters, including hairy frogfish and blue-ringed octopuses.
• Nudi Falls: A sloping reef known for its rich variety of nudibranchs, as well as other macro life like ghost pipefish and pygmy seahorses.
• TK (Teluk Kembahu): Known for its black sand and a wide array of bizarre marine life, including the rare mimic octopus.

Bangka Island

Bangka Island is situated north of Manado and is celebrated for its beautiful coral reefs, stunning underwater landscapes, and diverse marine life. It offers a mix of both the wall diving seen in Bunaken and the macro life of Lembeh, making it a versatile destination for divers.

Bangka Diving Highlights:

• Coral Gardens: Bangka is renowned for its vibrant coral gardens, with soft corals in every imaginable color.
• Marine Biodiversity: The waters around Bangka are home to a rich variety of marine species, including pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, and various reef fish.
• Unique Topography: The island’s dive sites feature a variety of underwater topographies, including slopes, walls, pinnacles, and coral bommies.

Bangka Popular Dive Sites:

• Sahaung: Known for its dramatic underwater pinnacles covered in colorful soft corals and an abundance of marine life, including schooling fish and reef sharks.
• Batu Gosoh: A dive site with stunning underwater rock formations, attracting pelagic species such as tunas and barracudas.
• Tanjung Husi: Offers beautiful coral gardens and a wide variety of reef fish, making it a favorite among underwater photographers.

Diving in North Sulawesi offers a rich tapestry of underwater experiences, from the dramatic walls of Bunaken to the critter-filled muck sites of Lembeh and the vibrant coral gardens of Bangka. Each destination provides a unique glimpse into the incredible marine biodiversity of this region, making it a must-visit for any serious diver.

This comprehensive diving package offers an immersive experience in the diverse underwater worlds of Bunaken, Lembeh, and Bangka, catering to divers seeking adventure, biodiversity, and exceptional marine encounters.