Dive Sites - Bunaken National Park

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With many wonderful sites to choose from, the Bunaken Marine Park stretches over 75,000 hectares in the deep waters of the Sulawesi Sea. There are five islands that make up the park, Siladen, Montehage, Nain and of course Bunaken. The fifth one Manado Tua stands out quite literally as it is a magnificent extinct volcano which dominates the four others and the skyline from the panoramic view from our jetty.

The beautiful corals here are to be found surrounding the islands and with a depth from 3 meters to 1300 are home to the many species or sea life to be found here, definitely making this a unique diving experience.

With drift diving being the order of the day, we let you "go with the flow" (we do try to avoid up & down currents where possible!) Let your highly specialized dive guide find you the wonders that so many guests will drift pass. Keep an eye on the "Blue" for larger pelagic.

With the water temperature an all year round 26-29°C it is a destination for all seasons, with March to October being the dry season, and the rainy season starting around November through to March/April. The hottest/sunniest time tends to be June to September, but whatever the Month, don't forget your sun cream!

Although primarily a dive destination, the shallow reefs are also a haven for many different fish, starfish and corals, possibly even turtles, thus making it a wonderful experience for snorkelers also. With the coral disappearing into the deep, that's where you will discover so much more! Due to the depths here, we recommend a maximum dive depth of around 25-30 meters, depending on certification.

Here is an idea of some of the dive sites; we do also have a fantastic "house reef" situated a few minutes off the jetty, as well as some other nearby sites that are well worth visiting such as Walet point, Coconut Cove & BMJ.

Critter Circus & House Reef including Reef Balls

Located right in front of Tasik Ria Resort & Tasik Divers, these two sites run into one another. Critter Circus is a gently sloping continuous reef with interesting critters to be found whereas Reef balls got its name from those artificial concrete Igloo shaped structures, which have been dropped on the sandy slope and have become a perfect habitat for a wide range of interesting critters, including different types of pipefish, leaf scorpion fish and flatheads. The most amazing part of this area though, is the extensive sea grass beds in the very shallows. Literally hundreds of pipefish can be found here, fingered dragonets, clown and warty frogfish, elephant trunk sea snakes, and nudibranchs.

Also just a short distance from out Jetty:

Popo Betlehem

A wordplay coming from "Better than Lembeh", describes this site perfectly well. A true "muck" dive like found in the Lembeh Straits, except with warmer water and better visibility. In the shallows extensive beds of Sea grass are found, where you can find different kinds of moray eels, pipe fishes, sea snakes, nudibranchs as well as seahorses and Frogfish. The black sandy slope has hardly any patches of reef but is full of concrete and sand filled bags with ropes attached, which hold the Oyster farm in place, which floats above water. Those offer excellent hideouts for an amazing array of critters and the ropes are used by big schools of long finned squid to attach their eggs. The whole range of "special" critters can be found on this site and photographers can easily dive here for days and days.

Popo Malcolm

To the west of Bethlehem, the black muck goes over into a patch reef on a cream coloured sandy bottom, which eventually ends up in a continuing reef with a short wall and some sand gullies. Beautifully covered in big soft coral bushes, black coral bushes, sponges and hydroids this reef has as much to offer as its "mucky" neighbour. Here too, animals like leaf scorpion fish, crocodile flatheads, Long nose Hawk fish, sail fin gobies and such can be seen but unlike Bethlehem, occasional sightings of Napoleon Wrasse and even Spotted Eagle Rays can happen.

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Arguably the best sites around Bunaken are Lekuan 1, 2 and 3. These are really the same site, but with so much to see are separated. With more shelter here and lots of large nooks & crannies to explore, you are more likely to find larger fish like Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrot fish along with sea fans, giant sponges and turtles.

Lekuan 1

Another long beautifully covered reef, located in front of Bunaken Island, which seems impossible to be done in one dive. With visibility often 30 to 40 meters, sightings of larger species such at sharks, turtles, and schools of trevally and Napoleon wrasse are very common. Start on the sandy slopes which slowly get into the wall part of the site. Bannerfish and Napoleon Wrasse are resident in this famous diving spot including school of Pyramid Butterflyfish. Small whitetip reef sharks can be found here sleeping in crevices.

Lekuan 2

Continuing the first part of the famous long reef located in front of Bunaken Island is Lekuan 2. It is a vertical wall covered with different types of hard and soft corals which have beautifully decorated this site and welcome a wide array of marine live. Great overhangs and small caves covered with soft corals combined with it's crystal clear water are one of the main reason for wide-angle photographer's to visit this site. Napoleon Wrasse and big Green Turtles often visit this area. It is also a good place to find Purple Dart and Sailfin Gobies.

Lekuan 3

One of Bunaken Best dive sites, as it starts with a nice sandy slope with underwater pinnacles and continues to a wall, which drops to over 200m. Groups of Jacks and Barracudas are often found. Not to miss the small creatures who are resident to this site too, like cleaner shrimps, a nice variety of Nudibranchs and Flat worms to name a few. Gorgonians and big sponges decorate the wall in a magnificent way and complete it with a huge range of colorful fishes.

Barracuda point

...is as its name suggests a great place to see schooling giant Barracuda alongside jacks & tuna, this is one of the sites on Montehage Island. You can expect to see a huge school of up to 200 great barracudas, and large schools of giant and big-eye trevally, and bumphead parrotfishes with up to 30m visibility its a delight. The large sand slope is also a favourite of dogtooth tuna and eagle rays. Currents can be unpredictable here so it is only advisable for the experienced diver.

Siladen 1 & 2

Siladen Island is a small island surrounded by a beautiful white sandy beach. The southern side of Siladen Island, Siladen 1 has a vertical wall in large steps. The reef top is spectacular with a huge variety of hard & soft corals, and it is therefore an excellent spot for snorkeling. The colours of the corals here are just amazing - it is always amazing to find up to 10 different-coloured feather stars attached to a single large sponge. the sandy bottom offers lots of tiny creatures to be observed. White tip Reef Sharks are regular visitors as current is often present on this site. Siladen 2, on the northeast side, is a white sandy slope with big boulders, soft corals, and table corals. Larger pelagics frequent the area, including sharks, Napoleon wrasse, and bumphead parrotfish. Due to its strong current, this is a site for advanced divers only.

Panggulingan

This site starts off with a slope going down to 30m and then continues to a vertical wall with a large reef flat rising to about 5m. Large Schools of big sized Barracudas, Bat fish Napoleon Wrasse, schooling Banner fish and Butterfly fish can easily be found in this area. There are quite strong prevailing currents on this site, which make it a good place to see Sharks and Spotted Eagle Rays.

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There is also a diveable wreck, The Molas, which from what we can discern, takes its name from the village of Molas, on the more Northern side of Manado. The history books are not too clear about its fate, but we again have good reason to believe it was torpedoed around 1942. Sitting upright starting around 10m the propeller sits at 40m. Although not safe for penetration, remember to bring your dive light. You can opt to "sit out" the wreck and explore a reef close by instead.

Batu Hitam (Black Rock)

This site is the continuation of the Molas wreck reef slope in an easterly direction. It is a gentle dive with hardly any currents and great for macro lovers. The reef consists of a sandy slope with coral patches and finishes off as a little wall. Great for critters like ribbon eels, rare nudibranchs, leaf fish and frogfish, crocodile flatheads and such. It is a perfect dive to do in combination with the Molas wreck.

Celah - Celah (Cracks)

This site offers a deep wall with large cracks everywhere. A great site especially with a bright sunlight passing through and brightens up the blue water. It is one of the favorite areas for photographers.

Mandolin

...tops out near the surface, with a wall that is alive with fishes such as fusiliers, surgeon fish, unicorn fish and bannerfish. Mandolin is named after the same traditional musical instrument due to its shape from a birds eye view. Small schools of Reef Fish, Angelfish, Bumphead Parrotfish and Gobies are there for your enjoyment. Not to forget the groups of large sized Barracudas, together with different colours and types of sea fans. In the deeper part, there is possibility to see Blacktip Reef Sharks.

Bunaken Timur 1 & 2

Located on the north west of Bunaken Island, this site was named after well-known underwater photographer, Mike Severns. A wall covered with a great variety of different, colourful corals is a home for a huge range of tropical reef fish, which makes it perfect for fish portrait photography. Big fishes are common guests to this site too, as it often has a strong current which is affected by the tides. The reef floor is covered in different types of Sponges which make it a great area for deeper diving.

Mike's Point

Muka Gereja (Church Front)

The site is exactly in front of a Bunaken Church. The waters around Muka Gereja are generally calm and offer excellent visibility with moderate to strong currents. It features an interesting, beautifully covered wall, with big barrel sponges, some of them almost 1 meter in diameter. The fascinating thing about this dive site is not only about what it has to offer underwater; the great volcano is an amazing sight when you surface. Another "fish Dive" - a real aquarium!

Negeri (Country)

The site is situated towards the east of Muka Gereja. Currents are very much depending on the direction and strength of the wind. With the same great visibility, there is the possibility to see Silvertip Sharks, on its sandy slopes around the 30 m mark. Around the wall, which is decorated with a huge variety of beautiful soft corals, resident habitants like the Banded Pipe Fish, Angelfish and other Schooling fish are almost certain to be seen.

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Muka Kampung

It is located exactly in front of the village of Bunaken. Strong current are prevailing in the area caused mostly by the location of the site. However, it is an interesting drift dive to cover a lot of area. Numbers of large Sea Turtles are common residents here. The site itself is well-decorated with hard and soft corals along the wall with some overhangs and crevices where the small critters will draw your attention. School of Jacks and Barracudas can easily to be found as well as humphead parrotfish, napoleon wrasse and big Dogtooth tunas patrolling along the reef. The top of the reef is a perfect place for the safety stop, with depth around 4-5 meters.

Aluang Banua

Has excellent macro objects to offer. One thing for sure is that you have to pay attention on the disguised creatures. Leaf fish, Ghost pipefish and Frogfish to name a few creatures which have been seen here. The wall also offers beautiful caves which often became a sleeping place for white tip reef shark. Sea Turtles and Eagle Rays are something that you may also see.

Manado Tua Island

The dive sites around Manado Tua have steep vertical winding walls with many cracks, canyons and small caves. You can enjoy beautiful hard and soft corals, reef fishes, turtles and reef sharks.

Nain Island, Batu Kapal

An extreme dive for experts only! A natural canyon formation which starts at 40m and goes down to about 70m, and is therefore only for technical divers. Hammerheads have been spotted here. Its main attraction is a swim-through cave-like structure, which you enter at 40 meters, often to find a sleeping white tip reef shark, and then exit at 72 meters.

Manado Coast and Manado Bay

The dive site on the coast of the mainland which is called Tanjung Pisok has a reef flat sloping to 15-20 meters depth, and is very rich with large tabular sponges, reef fishes, nudibranchs, ribbon eels and unusual green tree corals. We have recently found a colony of pygmy sea-horses which are a favourite for macro-photographers.

Fukui Point

Located on the southwest side of Bunaken. Named after a Japansese dive instructor who first described the site in the 1980's, Sandy slopes leading to patches of hard and soft corals. One Napoleon Wrasse is a resident in this site, often found on the shallower parts of the reef. The site is also home to Pontohi pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, crabs, and shrimp. This is one of the dive spots around Bunaken Island with no deep wall reef. Going down to around 15 meters only, there are 5 Giant Clams which are placed in a row, always surrounded by loads of Butterflyfish which are not shy to clean divers from parasites.

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Pygmy Point

Quite some distance out from Tasik Ria Resort, there is this fairly steep sloping patch reef with sand rubble areas in between. Named after the elusive Pygmy seahorse, there are huge coral bommies, covered primarily in sponges and hydroids, with some rather large sea fans, in which one can easily find whole families of these critters. Apart from this it is an excellent place to find ribbon eels, commensals like emperor shrimps, squat lobsters and nudibranchs too.

Raymond's Point

South from Mike's Point lays a beautiful wall covered in sponges, with hard and soft corals. The rich environment of the wall has its own charm. This site also has a large cave with Lobsters to offer. Emperor Angelfish and Spotted Eagle Rays make this spot even more charming.

Ron's Point

A sandy slope site with occasional visitors such as Tuna, Jacks, Barracudas and not to forget Whitetip Reef Sharks and even occasional sightings of Gray Reef Sharks occur. The coral covered reef is not to be missed and observed as you can find Ghost Pipe Fish, Leaf Fish and also different type of anemone and Clown Fishes.

Sachiko's Point

A very steep Reef decorated with amazing soft and hard corals in the shallower areas of the reef. vertical wall on the north east side of Bunaken, with visibility frequently in the 30 to 40-meter range. It has become a home of Stonefish and certain types of Moray eels, especially the white-mouth moray. In midwater, away from the reef, there are literally thousands and thousands of schooling red tooth Triggerfish. Large Gorgonians can also be found in the area. The slight current here means larger pelagics such as sharks, turtles, barracuda, and Napoleon wrasse, frequent the area Other critters typically found here include moray eels, sea snakes, leaf scorpionfish, nudibranchs, crabs and shrimp.

Tanjung Kopi (Coffee's Edge)

This site is known for its fairly stiff currents which do not at all affect the generally superb visibility. Tanjung Kopi's wall is adorned with lots of beautiful corals. Dendronephtya soft corals, gorgonian sea fans and whip and wire corals just to name a few. Triggerfish, Angelfish, Surgeonfish, Parrotfish and others. If its Nudibranchs your looking for, you cant go far wrong here in Tanjung Kopi! With plenty of sweetlips, barracuda, and others, it's a "fish dive"!

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