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North Sulawesi Scuba Diving

108 Dive Sites in 15 Destinations

North Sulawesi Top Scuba Diving Locations

Bangka Island (6)
Bunaken Island (17)
Lembeh Strait (53)
Main Island (3)
Manado (12)
Manado Tua (3)
Mantehage island (3)

Nain Island (2)
Pulau Lembeh (0)
Pulisan (0)
Sangihe Talaud Islands (3)
Siladen Island (2)
Wakatobi National Marine Park (7)

North Sulawesi offers a true myriad of natural wonders which have made it one of the world's premier destinations for eco-tourism and adventure travel. As well as the superb scuba diving, destinations such as Dunoga Bone National Park and the Tangkoko Nature Reserve offer a range of activities including volcano climbing, trekking and river rafting.

The scuba diving in North Sulawesi is of an exceptionally high standard, and a large number of scuba divers visit here for an experience which is often described as being 'for the purist.' Access to the diving in North Sulawesi is via the regions main city at Manado. From here divers travel on to the world famous Bunaken National Marine Park and the muck diving capital of the Lembeh Strait. Good scuba diving can also be found at Bangka and in the beautiful Sangihe Islands.

Established in 1991, the Bunaken National Marine Park is said to have one of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world. The deep waters surrounding Bunaken (up to 1,500 metres in places) are home to a huge variety of marine and coral life, and hold over 70% of all fish species known throughout the entire Indo-western Pacific region.

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The high levels of biodiversity found in Bunaken can be attributed to a number of contributing factors; however it is the abundance of hard corals which are its foundation. It is these hard corals, which are the basic building blocks of coral reefs which ensure that the marine life in the region is housed and fed. The second contributing factor is the nutrient rich open water currents which sweep into the waters surrounding Bunaken, bringing food up from the deep water and providing a perfect habitat for the marine life here.

The dive sites of Bunaken vary depending on which side of the island you are diving on. The dive sites on the north, west and east sides of Bunaken Island offer some of South East Asia's best wall diving. The vertical walls of Bunaken include an array of cracks, caves and crevices which are home to an incredible array of marine life night and day. The dive sites on the south of Bunaken also includes the steep vertical walls which characterise the diving in the region, but also offers a number beautiful coral slopes within the sheltered bays on that side of the island.

The scuba diving in Lembeh Strait is truly unique, and is characterised by the black sandy sea floor which has become a home to some of the seas most amazing creatures. Widely acknowledged as being one of the worlds premier 'muck diving' destinations, large numbers of scuba divers travel here to indulge in their passion for muck diving and macro photography. Flying gunnards, scorpionfish, octopus, frogfish, Pegasus sea moths, dwarf lionfish and Inimicus devilfish can all be found in the numerous dive sites of the Lembeh Strait.

It is possible to go scuba diving in North Sulawesi throughout the year, although you should be aware that conditions do vary. The best conditions for diving are from late March through to November. The period from January through to early March can see heavy rains and strong winds leading to rough seas.

If you are looking for a more unique diving experience, North Sulawesi is worthy of consideration. Indeed it could be said that the true testimony to the exceptionally high standard of the scuba diving North Sulwesi is the large number of specialist scuba diving resorts in Bunaken and Lembeh. The superb natural environment, coupled with the unparalleled marine biodiversity means that North Sulawesi is fully justified in its claim to be one of South East Asia finest scuba diving destinations.

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