Unveiling The Wonders of Bali Diving

Bali offers an underwater playground for scuba diving discoveries. Whether you’re a beginner keen to uncover a whole new world or a seasoned advanced diver searching for their next thrilling escape in the depths of the ocean, there are plenty of treasures to discover. From marine animals large and small to embarking on a wreck dive or night dive, Bali diving sites are truly unmatched. We’ve put together the perfect guide to ensure you don’t miss out on some of the best diving in Bali.

Tulamben Bali Diving

Tulamben is a small village located on the northeast coast of Bali, whose waters present some of the richest in the world for marine life and year-round diving. The area is best known for its USAT Liberty Bali shipwreck dive spanning 120 metres long, located just 50 metres from the shore. Featuring both shallow and deeper areas, the wreck teems with coral, sponges, sea fans and fish. For advanced divers, the site offers a night diving experience, allowing for the opportunity to spot the more nocturnal marine life that inhabit the Liberty wreck.

Other dive sites in Tulamben include The Drop Off, a wall dive descending from three metres to 80 metres depth, suitable for a range of diving abilities. Formed from lava that flowed from Mount Agung after its eruption in 1963, the site features a vibrant wall covered in corals, gorgonians, anemones and sponges, as well as the chance to spot black tip reef sharks, barracuda, lionfish and even frogfish, octopus and stonefish.

If you’re searching for a more relaxed and casual dive, the Coral Garden features a depth of 5-15 metres and spans 150 metres along Tulamben Bay, presenting a shallow reef for divers, particularly beginners looking to discover colourful corals, statues and marine life. For budding underwater photographers or muck divers, the site is a treasure trove of photographic potential—Balinese statues, clear waters and macro life, including ghost pipefish, leaf scorpion fish, clownfish, harlequin and mantis shrimp and nudibranchs abound. Due to its shallow depth, the site also serves snorkelers extremely well.

Regardless of your skill level, the Tulamben area offers a collection of dive sites showcasing Bali’s reef and marine life, from barracudas and turtles to groupers, pygmy seahorses and clownfish.

Amed Bali Diving

Located close to Tulamben, Amed is home to muck dives, wrecks and unique reefs. Many dives start from the shore, making them suitable for a range of scuba diving levels. Ghost Bay is a muck dive with black sand that offers divers amazing macro life to admire and the ideal conditions for underwater photography. Presenting an artificial reef with bottles, cages and wheels, you’ll find marine life including ghost pipefish, nudibranchs, shrimp, pufferfish and bannerfish playing in the shallows at 5-7 metres deep, as well as anemones teeming with shrimp.

Discover Amed’s Pyramids site, an artificial reef that amazes with its collection of 20 pyramid structures featuring all kinds of marine life, including snapper fish, pufferfish, ghost pipefish and nudibranchs, as well as being covered with soft corals and dreamy pink sea fans. The site also features a natural reef where you can spot blue-spotted stingrays, garden eels, harlequin sweet lips and ribbon eels. With a depth of 5-20 metres, the dive is suitable for all diving abilities, as well as an ideal spot for drift scuba diving in Bali.

Additional dive sites include the Jemeluk wall which features beautiful rich coral and is discoverable via an 80 metre drop off. Presenting macro and large marine life, you’ll discover scorpion fish, nudibranchs, beautiful gorgonias and sea fans. Bunatan is the site to dive if you wish to discover beautiful garden eels, whilst the Japanese Bali shipwreck dive offers a great location for photographers, as well as snorkelers, with a depth of 6-12 metres.

Sanur Bali Diving

Sanur offers divers three main dive sites, all presenting something exciting and unique. The Penjor Reef is located a mere stone’s throw from Sanur’s shore, where you can delight in uncovering a collection of coral and marine life, not limited to blue-spotted stingrays, moray eels, nudibranchs, marble rays, batfish and lionfish. Featuring a slope that gradually reaches 20 metres of depth, the site boasts a sandy floor and is recognised as a great underwater muck spot for photography and macro marine life.

For beginner divers or those embarking on a dive course, Sanur’s Channel Point offers macro marine life and corals and presents a quick option for those who want their dive to be as interesting and efficient as possible within little time. Here, you’ll encounter nudibranchs, moray eels, blue-spotted rays, sea snakes and lionfish.

Encounter calm, clear waters and spectacular marine life at Jeladi Willis located in East Sanur. This comfortable site allows divers of multiple levels to discover the ocean’s beauty, from corals big and small, scorpionfish, lionfish, octopus and nudibranchs. This site of 3-20 metres depth is also a fantastic location for those searching for one of the best dive sites in Bali, close to the shore.

Gili Islands Diving

The Gili Islands offer a paradise for diving and are only a short boat trip from Bali. With most sites offering drift dives, you’ll find visibility and conditions that are excellent all year round, with March to October offering the most reliable weather.

One of the main sites is Shark Point, located on the west coast of Gili Trawangan. Here, you’ll spot reef sharks, as well as schools of jack fish and humphead parrotfish and turtles feeding in the seagrass. Suitable for all levels, its popularity comes from its varied offering of marine life that inhabit both the shallow portions and the deeper portions of the reef, as well as featuring three large canyons that take you steadily deeper. The site features Glenn Nusa, a shipwreck that was sunk in 2016, now home to black snappers, sweetlips, trevallies and a resident white tip reef shark.

Deep Turbo is one of the Gili Islands’ most impressive dive sites, designed for advanced divers. Colourful hard and soft coral pinnacles, gorges, ridges and sea mounds decorated with giant Gorgonian sea fans climb up like a busy city from the sandy bottom of the ocean. Stingrays, sharks, large schools of fish and even eagle rays can be spotted here. With a depth of approximately 25 metres, the strong current makes it unsuitable for beginners.

Other Bali diving sites within the Gili Islands include macro diving in Mentigi, wall diving at Halik, admiring the impressive topography of Soraya in Gili Meno, Bio rock sites and sunken wrecks.

Padangbai Bali Diving

Attracting underwater photographers and those passionate about macro diving and night diving, Padangbai has it all. The Blue Lagoon is the main dive site, offering a rich collection of unusual marine life and when night falls, many rare species of fish and other crustaceans come out to put on a fine performance—you may even see Spanish dancers and juvenile leopard sharks. The Channel dive site is very close to Padang Bai Beach, reached by boat in two minutes. The plateau lies at about 18 metres deep, sporting small caves to be explored and home to white tip sharks. It’s best suited to advanced divers due to the strong current that persists here.

To spot blue-spotted stingrays, Tanjung Jepun should be top on your list. Featuring an artificial reef and a small wreck at approximately 17 metres deep, this site is heralded as being great for underwater macro photography with frogfish, cuttlefish, porcupine fish and nudibranchs. If you choose to embark on a night dive at Tanjung Jepun, you can spot the rare coral cat shark. For beginners, the Bias Tugel dive site offers a shallow depth of 10 metres, with a coral plateau to explore. Here, you can spot white tip reef sharks, turtles, orangutan crabs, eagle rays and pygmy seahorses, as well as the famous Mola Mola if you dive between June to October.

Nusa Penida/Nusa Lembongan Diving

In recent years, Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan have gained their diving reputation through the Manta Point dive site, where divers and snorkelers alike can spot the majestic Manta Rays gracing the deep blue. The second most popular site from Nusa Penida is Crystal Bay, where divers can discover the famous Mola Mola or Ocean Sunfish from July to November over a bed of sprawling coral reef. Sightings have even been seen of dolphin pods playing in the waters, making it great for divers and snorkelers alike. This site is suited for both beginners and expert divers.

Additional dive sites accessible from Nusa Penida include PED, Toyapakeh, Blue Corner, Malibu Point, Gamat Bay and Vertigo Point.

Menjangan Island Diving

Boasting some of the best wall diving, just a thirty minute boat journey from mainland Bali. Crystal clear visibility that often reaches 50 metres, allows you to uncover an underwater wonderland of sun-flooded caverns, overhangs and crevasses featuring corals and sponges, as well as the beautiful Gorgonian sea fans where pygmy seahorses play. You’ll also enjoy reefs that are truly flourishing, as well as groupers, jacks, turtles and scenery that will take your breath away.

Discover Eel Garden, a wall dive abundant with blue soft sponges and gorgonians. Part of the dive features a shallow area where garden eels frequent, gently swimming around on the plateau. You’ll also be able to spot leaf scorpion fish, nudibranchs, octopus and lots more.

POS II presents an iconic wall dive from Menjangan Island. Following a sandy slope to the wall that starts at 12 metres with visibility from 10 to 30 metres, you’ll discover abundant corals and marine life including turtles, barracudas, nudibranchs, jackfish and pufferfish. Through the clear visibility, you’re sure to spot reef sharks and eagle rays.