Diving in Bunaken and around North Sulawesi – A Passport to Paradise

You have surely already heard that the diving in Bunaken is one of the best experiences in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. But did you know that in the same area are Bangka island and the Lembeh Strait? Those are two more great diving destinations that supplement the Bunaken National Marine Park with their biodiversity. Together they make North Sulawesi purely and simply a world-class diving spot. In this post I would like to tell you about how different these locations are and why you should extend your holiday from just diving in Bunaken and have your mind blown away below and above water.

 

 

Spectacular wall diving in Bunaken National Marine Park, North Sulawesi

Located just 40 minutes out of Manado Bay in the Sulawesi Sea is the the world famous Bunaken National Marine Park. Just off the northern tip of Sulawesi, it is comprised of five islands: Manado Tua, Siladen, Mantehage, Nain and Bunaken.

Because of its location near the center of the Coral Triangle, the diving in Bunaken is not only among the best diving in Indonesia but it is a world-class dive spot. The biodiversity here is one of the richest in the world. 2000 species of fish and almost 400 of corals are recorded in the park!

The diving in Bunaken provides the best wall dives on the planet. The walls start very shallow around 5 meters, drop to at least 50 meters. And they are covered with soft and hard corals all the way. Feather stars, midnight corals, various sponges and sea fans are abundant and so colourful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water temperature is between 26 and 30°C and you get 20 to 35 meters visibility too! The current is generally low. Strong currents, however, can be experienced during full moon and new moon on specific dive sites. Basically, you have perfect conditions to get a perfect diving holidays. Bunaken is a heaven for divers and snorkelers!

 

Why you will fall in love with the diving in Bunaken before you’ve even entered the water

Already from the boat we can see that the visibility is endless! As soon as we deflate our BCD’s we can see how healthy the reefs are and how abundant the marine life is. Hundreds of damselfish, sergeant major fish, red-tooth triggerfish and butterflyfish are part of the scenery. You can’t get rid of them, they are everywhere. 

 

 

Hawksbill and green turtles are literally all over in the Bunaken National Marine Park. You find them sleeping on top of corals, swimming in and out of the walls. You’re taking a shot of one and your buddy is shouting in her regulator that 2 others are coming right behind you. But what your buddy doesn’t know is that 2 other turtles are heading towards her too  🙂

From the smallest Pontohi pygmy seahorse to white tip reef sharks and eagle rays, every diver can find a piece of happiness here. The diving in Bunaken offers a wonderful playground for underwater photographers and videographers.

 

 

And to continue being blessed when you’re not in the water, you can spot pods of spinner dolphins, migrating pilot and sperm whales, which are on their way to calve in the Sangihe Archipelago! 

As a very popular diving destination, you will find many dive resorts in the park itself and also in Manado to accomodate all kinds of budgets and tastes.

The pioneer Murex Dive Resorts has a very comfortable and quiet resort on the seafront dedicated to ocean lovers. They have been operating for more than 30 years so we can say that they know their business!

 

 

You can go diving in Bunaken all year round but the best dive conditions are from March to October. The rainy season from November to February is not as pronounced as at some other areas in the country.

 

 

A taste of muck diving in Manado Bay

If you want to see more peculiar creatures than the abundant life while diving in Bunaken, the muck diving in Manado Bay deserves a stop if you can’t make it all the way to Lembeh. You will find amazing critters like seahorses, mimic octopus and cuttlefish. But for the ultimate muck diving experience you will want to head to the Lembeh Strait.

 

 

Moving on to the best diving in the Bangka archipelago

The 3 islands Bangka, Gangga, Talise and the mainland of North Sulawesi are a great diving area, without being part of the Bunaken National Marine Park. The archipelago has a range of different sites. From stunning reefs to rocky pinnacles, white sandy bottoms, muck dives and sloping reefs. You can also experience some awesome drift dives at Sahaung, Tanjung Usi and Demak depending on tides! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diving conditions are good all year round with a water temperature of 27 to 30°C and up to 20 to 30 meters visibility. The highlights of those pretty and colourful coral reefs are dugongs, bargibanti pygmy seahorse, white tip and black tip reef sharks, turtles, groupers, blue-ring octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, Ambon scorpionfish and ghost pipefish among others.

 

How to enjoy 3 different diving locations in North Sulawesi in one trip without the hustle

North Sulawesi has so much to offer that experiencing different areas (and also different diving) in one holiday is synonymous with long preparation to organise your stay. Check-in, check out, transfers from one place to the next… exactly what you don’t want on a diving holiday. It is not always easy to book a diving trip. You have to take into consideration flights (as well as no flight times) and all the transfers in order to maximize your time underwater. How about if all the logistics are taken care of for you? Imagine instead of just traveling from one place to the next you dive on your way to the next destination!

 

Diving your way to the next destination

Murex Dive Resorts offer you exactly that! They have 2 dive resorts and another dive centre at the Lembeh Strait. The service is 100% guest oriented to ensure everyone is having a blast. Staying with Murex is like visiting family, getting warm welcome and smiling staff at all time.

The first resort opened in Manado right in front of the Bunaken National Marine Park and has been operating it since 1987. There is a private beach and a big outdoor swimming pool, where you can not only relax but also do dive training. It has three different depths designed for skills practise. The area of North Sulawesi is full of tremendous walls with rich coral and fish life and there are some great muck dive sites around the corner too. 

The second resort is at the southeast tip of Bangka island, famous for its breathtaking coral reefs and pinnacles. Facing the beachfront, Murex Bangka offers stylish accommodation and a private white-sand beach area. There are great dive sites within just a few minutes by boat.

The last dive center is in the world-class muck diving spot at Critters at Lembeh Resort on Lembeh island. After a colourful underwater landscape in the two previous locations, you will be scouting the rubble on a volcanic sea bed. The diving is shallow and the topography is flat. You should not expect much colour or schooling fish. The highlights of the famous strait are the mimic octopus, wonderpus, Rhinopias, flamboyant cuttlefish, bobtail squid, Ambon scorpionfish, harlequin shrimp, skeleton shrimp and different kinds of frogfish. All the rooms of this boutique resort have a terrace. You can also enjoy a swim in their outdoor pool facing the strait.

 

 

A Passport to Paradise

Murex Dive Resorts have set up the unique “Passport to Paradise” experience. It is designed to give divers and snorkelers the ultimate worry-free holiday experience in North Sulawesi.

“Passport to Paradise” is a package trip on which you can explore three locations with three completely different diving profiles and marine life in one trip: Manado (Bunaken National Marine Park and Manado Bay), Bangka island and Lembeh island! Imagine yourself just traveling and diving in a different environment every day of your holiday, without packing gear and long transfers.⁠ Also, if you want to discover something authentic on land, you can do dozens of tours! 

 

 

Book the trip of a lifetime!

Pampered diving you will never forget! The readers of Dive into Life get a special offer when you book directly with Murex Dive Resorts – 5% off on all prepaid accommodation, diving and transfers. This discount is applicable on all prices offers quoted on the resorts’ websites. This discount cannot be combined with other special offers.

On top of that, our readers get unlimited, unguided house reef diving at all three locations. And we promise you, those house reefs are something special! So drop us a line to get the discount code and let the dream vacation begin!

 

 

About the author

Nicolas Cesaroni has adopted scuba diving as his way of life since his first dive in 2010 in South-East Asia. A few months later he was a scuba Instructor, and a new life began. He decided to live his passion on a daily basis and explore as many tropical destinations as possible. He’s been diving and teaching scuba ever since in the best destinations in the world from Indonesia to Mexico by way of Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles, Egypt, Tanzania, South Africa, Greece, Germany, France, The Bahamas, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama.

He has become an avid underwater photographer over the years and his favourite critters are the tiny ones. You can find his stunning shots on his Instagram account @ocean.nico. In 2019, he took time out and co-founded the Dive into Life blog. The following year, having missed being underwater every day and living on remote islands, he was back in teaching status in the Maldives, where he is currently working.

When he is not underwater or editing pictures, Nico is a mixologist and he loves cooking.