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Diving
 Indonesia
is known for having the world’s best diving and the most
diverse sea life anywhere. With over 17.000 islands, spread
out over a huge area all around the equator, you can only
imagine the wealth that nature provides underneath its ocean
surface. Bali shares this wealth and it is one of Indonesia’s
most popular dive destinations.
Situated
in the Indo-Pacific, the richest bio-geographic dive zone
in the world, Bali offers great diversity of marine life!
Here you can dive WWII and other ship wrecks, explore walls,
reefs and sand slopes full of fish. You can also ""muck
about"" for the unusual critters in rich black volcanic
sand on many of our macro dive sites.
Indonesia is known for having the world’s best diving
and the most diverse sea life anywhere. With over 17.000 islands,
spread out over a huge area all around the equator, you can
only imagine the wealth that nature provides underneath its
ocean surface. Bali shares this wealth and it is one of Indonesia’s
most popular dive destinations.
Beautiful
Tulamben
Tulamben was a very quiet fishing village in the dry lands
of Karangasem for a very long period of time.
Nowadays, it’s one of the busiest diving destinations
in Bali. Since the discovery of the sunken USAT Liberty as
a dive site back in the 1980's, Tulamben has been drawing
more and more divers, all wanting to take a glimpse at this
WWII shipwreck.
However, Tulamben bay and surrounding villages have a lot
more to offer than just the USAT Liberty wreck. With dozens
of dive sites, Tulamben can provide weeks of awesome diving.
Dive
Sites around Tulamben
There ate plenty of dive sites within a 15 minute radius of
Bali Dive Resort and Spa, including the world famous USAT
Liberty Shipwreck.
Our House Reef in front of the resort offers world class muck
diving, which is a paradise for underwater photographers.
With several of Bali’s most famous muck dive sites reachable
within minutes from the resort, there will be no dull moments.
Tulamben also offers stunning walls and slopes. Enjoy the
sight of corals and sea fans flourishing from
the depths.In the shallows you can find numerous cleaning
stations where you can watch the fish getting cleaned.
The water is usually very clear and most of the time there
is no current at all, which makes Tulamben suitable for all
levels of divers.
USAT Liberty Wreck
 This
is one of the most famous dive sites in Bali.
The wreck is 125 meters long and 17 meters wide. It sunk in
1963 and sits at about 30 meters off the coast of Tulamben.
The shallowest point of the wreck is about 5 meters deep and
the deepest point of the wreck is about 30 meters deep.
Easy dive site, accessible from the shore and remarkably interesting
with a great reminder about how nature restores life everywhere.
Anemones, soft and hard corals grow all over the wreck.
Here you can find both common coral fish and some of the rarest
frogfish, leaf scorpion fish, pygmy
seahorse and mimic octopuses.
Out in the blue you can sometimes spot eagle rays and different
sharks, including whale sharks!
Night and sunrise dives give you the opportunity of seeing
the large family of humphead parrotfish, who have made the
wreck their personal bedroom.
Coral
Garden
 Sitting
between the “USAT Liberty Wreck” and the “Drop
Off”, Coral Garden is a nice coral reef particularly
good for a lazy and shallow dive. Home to many clown fish,
the goral garden is very good for young or inexperienced divers.
The artificial reef with Balinese statues and temples attract
many different underwater creatures and make the dive site
interesting for all kind of divers.
Moray and ribbon eels are living in the area as well as nudibranchs
and other different macro critters.
The sightings of blacktip reef sharks in the shallow sandy
patch of the garden makes the safety stop extra enjoyable.
Coral garden also has a deep slope that goes into the deep
ocean. You never know
what to expect coming up to shallower depths from there.
Drop Off
 One
of the top destinations in Tulamben, the “Drop Off”,
is a nice wall absolutely amazing for any type of experienced
diver.
Starting from a depth of only 3 meters the wall reaches a
max depth of over 80 meters! The wall is covered in sponges
and it is home to many different types of marine life.
Here you can find everything from common reef fish to the
amazing frogfishes. You also go through many different types
of nudibranchs, leaf scorpion fish, clown triggerfish and
octopuses of all sizes during your dive here.
Do not forget to also have a look in the blue, where we have
been spotng different types of sharks, big tunas, marlin and
sometimes even mola mola!
Alamanda
 Alamanda
is just a 5 minute boat ride away from Bali Dive Resort and
Spa in Tulamben.
This dive site is only accessible by boat and it offers a
beautifully covered coral slope holding a lot of treasures.
Alamanda is one of the less dived dive sites in Tulamben,
where you can expect to find a huge diversity of macro life.
This is also a good location to encounter Sharks, Bumphead
Parrotfish, Napoleon Wrasses and Turtles.
Palung Palung
Located between Drop-Off and Batu Kelebit, Palung-Palung is
accessed by boat from the Dive Resort at Tulamben which makes
this dive site very convenient.
 As
the boat ride to this dive site only takes about 5 minutes,
the boat will drop us back at the resort after the dive, where
you can enjoy a beverage by the pool during your surface interval.
Palung Palung means “bowls”, which are formed by
drop-offs, slopes and “fingers” that stretches out
to the blue from the slope.
This dive site is also one of the less dived dive sites in
Tulamben. Here we
can find very healthy corals and sponges with loads of interesting
marine life. Bump head parrotfish, garden eels and turtles
are often spotted in Palung Palung.
Batu Kelebit
 Batu
Kelebit is a pinnacle located 5 minute boat ride away from
Bali Dive Tulamben. Large rocks breaking the surface indicates
the dive site once you get closer.
This is where we will enter the water and start the dive.
In the beginning of the dive, we will see a beautiful sloping
coral reef and as we move deeper on the ridges the scenery
becomes more dramatic and stunning.
Because of the stronger currents and the topography here,
this dive site is rich in plankton, which keeps the corals
healthy and can increase your chance to spot larger pelagics
like great barracudas, napoleon wrasses, different rays, sharks
and tunas.
Emerald
 Just
few minutes ride with the traditional jukung boats will take
us to this amazing dive site, which is the closest boat dive
to Bali Dive Tulamben.
The dive starts in a calm white sand bay, which makes this
dive site special compared to the other black sand dive sites
in this area.
The reef is covered in nice huge elephant-ear sponges and
finger reefs going into the depth.
On the way to the split along the reef, we can often spot
garden eels, bump head parrotfish and ladybugs.
The current can be expected to pick up a little bit once we
reach the reef split and the turning point.
This is also the most interesting part of the dive with schools
of fusiliers, sergeant major fish and
often also bigger creatures like giant trevallies or eagle
rays, which can be seen at the split where the current is
present.
Here we can find an underwater table and have some funny pictures
taken before turning the dive
and heading back to the bay. Remember to have a look under
the table corals where baby sharks and
stingrays are sometimes hiding.
Emerald is suitable for all levels of divers and its definitely
one of our favorite dive sites around
Tulamben.
Pura Segara
 Segara
is the last dive site in the bay where Bali Dive Resort and
Spa is located and it is only a couple of minutes car drive
away.
Segara is a classic black sand dive site and it gently slopes
down with nondescript bottom topography.
This dive site is a true macro life heaven where, with a good
pair of eyes, you can spot Shaun the Sheep nudis, donut dorids,
nudibranchs and frogfishes.
The entry to this dive is probably the easiest in this area,
because of the fine black sand and the minimal amount of stones
on the beach.
If you decide to go left shoulder towards Emerald, you will
find a nice reef with coral bommies and the bottom full of
stingrays and lionfish.
If you are lucky you may encounter turtles or a school of
big mouth mackerel passing by on the reef.
This feature makes this dive interesting for all divers, not
only macro photographers and muck divers.
Melasti
 Literally
a minute car ride away from our Tulamben resort we reach another
classic black sand dive site called Melasti.
The topography for this dive is easy, a couple of rocks in
the shallows and nothing but a black sand slope. Although
this may sound boring, it is NOT! For macro and muck divers
this is a treasure.
The fine black sand beach makes the entry easy and with our
excellent guides you will have one of the best muck dives
that you have ever done in your life
Make sure to have a good buoyancy control while taking photos
over the black fine sand and be aware of the currents as there
is no place to hide from them.
Shaun the Sheep nudibranchs, donut dorids, nudibranchs, frogfishes
and different species of
octopuses are often found here.
House Reef
 Bali’s
most famous muck diving sites are located just off the beach
in front of our resort in Tulamben.
The black sand together with small patches of corals offer
perfect conditions to spot amazing critters.
With a pair of good spotng eyes, this is the perfect place
for curious divers and photographers with a passion for the
small and unique!
You can spend hours of diving looking for Harlequin, Boxer
and Skeleton shrimps, Frogfish, Ghost pipefish, Ambon scorpion,
Mimic octopus, Stargazers and Sea horses. Even the elusive
Leptocaephalus has been filmed here.
Other common marine animals found on the house reef are multiple
species of moray eels, blue spotted sting ray, different kinds
of lionfish, leaf scorpion fish, garden eels, shoals of swaying
razor fish and just about any type of nudibranch you can possibly
think of!
Our House Reef is, without a doubt, the macro lover’s
heaven!
Seraya Secrets
 Seraya
Secrets is located couple of minutes away from Bali Dive Tulamben
and it is one of the most famous critter diving sites in Bali,
perfect for underwater photographers.
There is a great preparation area on the beach with rinsing
tanks for cameras and toilets. The entry is an easy walk over
small rocks into the water.
Seraya Secrets is a classic macro dive site and common encounters
include Harlequin shrimp, Ornate ghost pipefish, Pygmy seahorses
and occasionally Seahorses and Leopard moray eels.
It is important to note that all divers should have good buoyancy
control skills and respect for the
environment, even with a big camera. The key is to avoid bottom
stir up sediment while diving
this dive site.
Don’t miss this out! Get your camera ready!
Batu Niti
 Batu
Niti is located about 1,5 km south-east from Bali Dive Resort
and Spa in Tulamben.
The dive site is accessible either by boat or from the beach.
Batu Niti is slightly rockier than the other macro dive sites
around our Tulamben resort.
The slope on Batu Niti has small coral patches and hydroids,
which makes this dive site suitable for all divers, not only
macro photographers.
Sidem
 Located
in a small volcanic stone bay just a few minutes down south
from our Tulamben resort is the dive site called Sidem.
This is a beautiful and less visited dive site where we can
easily stay for two dives, as the bay is well equipped with
a rest area, showers, rinse tanks, and toilets.
We start our dives in front of the rest area and can choose
a couple of different ways to perform the dive.
Moving to the middle of the bay we will find an excellent
place for macro underwater photography and critter hunting.
If we choose to dive the right side towards the corner of
the bay, we will find a nice shallow reef full of hard corals
and feather stars suitable for all levels of divers.
Many different nudibranchs, mantis shrimps, sea moths and
boxer crabs can be spotted in the middle
of the bay, whilst the right side and the corner of the bay
often offers turtles, leaf scorpion fish and
even white Tip reef sharks.
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