Tipped as one of the most beautiful islands in Southeast Asia, with its moss covered temples, hills laddered with rice paddies and underwater coral-cities, Bali is the region’s most popular sightseeing and dive destination. Despite the island’s popularity, the surrounding waters are surprisingly unheralded and divers flock to the area to chance a face-to-face with some of the ocean’s largest, most colorful, and even tiniest creatures.
Whether you’re an avid diver, or ‘just out of the blocks’ snorkel-baby – we’ve gathered a list of five of the best underwater havens that you’ll be sure to enjoy.
1. Amed
On the dry-side the laid back beach sits in front of Mount Agung in an idealistic palm-tree setting, with the clear blue ocean sliding up and down the shore like an episode of Survivor. The water is ideal for first time divers to get their certification, with clear visibility for the snorkelers to see coral life from the surface. A five minute swim away you’ll find sloping staghorn corals, inhabited by a rainbow of colourful marine life – it’s the perfect scene for those with an eye for underwater photography.
[otw_shortcode_button href=”http://www.travelio.com/en/search?destinationCategory=Area&destinationUrlName=&destinationId=546ab40139d909e65508eba8&destination=Amed%2C+Bali%2C+Bali%2C+Indonesia&utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Bali%20Diving” size=”medium” icon_type=”general foundicon-cart” icon_position=”left” shape=”radius” color_class=”red-btn” target=”_blank”]Rent Accommodation at Amed / Tulamben[/otw_shortcode_button]
[related_posts title=”Read Now” limit=3 start=0]
2. Nusa Lembongan
If you like your marine creatures big, then few sites come better than Nusa Lembongan. Mola Mola, the plate-shaped oversized bony-clowns of the ocean, are seasonal visitors of the place, on top of this you’re almost guaranteed to touch fins with a large manta ray.
[otw_shortcode_button href=”http://www.travelio.com/en/search?destinationCategory=Area&destinationUrlName=&destinationId=546ab3b139d909e65508eb95&destination=Lembongan%2C+Bali%2C+Bali%2C+Indonesia&utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Bali%20Diving” size=”medium” icon_type=”general foundicon-cart” icon_position=”left” shape=”radius” color_class=”red-btn” target=”_blank”]Rent Accommodation at Nusa Lembongan[/otw_shortcode_button]
3. Tulamben
The internationally renowned wreck below the sea, The USS Liberty, is an underwater attraction in the league of Atlantis, the Great Barrier Reef and Disney’s Ariel. Easy access, mild conditions and shallow water mean that every level of diver; from deep-sea diveaholics to scuba babies, can enjoy and interact with the myriad species that call it home.
[otw_shortcode_button href=”http://www.travelio.com/en/search?destinationCategory=Area&destinationUrlName=&destinationId=546ab40139d909e65508eba8&destination=Amed%2C+Bali%2C+Bali%2C+Indonesia&utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Bali%20Diving” size=”medium” icon_type=”general foundicon-cart” icon_position=”left” shape=”radius” color_class=”red-btn” target=”_blank”]Rent Accommodation at Amed / Tulamben[/otw_shortcode_button]
4. Menjangan Island
Eight kilometres off the Northwest coast in Barat National Park lies the infamous Deer Island. With deep underwater walls scarred with many nooks and crannies, and covered with soft coral and sponges, it’s a top-spot for the darker side of the marine world; you’ll find black-spotted moray eels, and dragon-like ribbon eels. If you’ve got an eye for the tiny details, you might even spot a delicate pygmy seahorse.
[otw_shortcode_button href=”http://www.travelio.com/en/search?destinationCategory=Landmark&destinationUrlName=&destinationId=5472a561a6bf3ad0481a5423&destination=Pulau+Menjangan%2C+Singaraja%2C+Bali&utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Bali%20Diving” size=”medium” icon_type=”general foundicon-cart” icon_position=”left” shape=”radius” color_class=”red-btn” target=”_blank”]Rent Accommodation at Near Menjangan Island[/otw_shortcode_button]
5. Napoleon Reef
Looking like an oversized model of a man-made aquarium, the large coral shelves slope down to the deep blue. A smorgasbord of colourful corals stand as an underwater cinderella city for nudibranchs, live shells and many other invertebrates.
[otw_shortcode_button href=”http://www.travelio.com/en/search?destinationCategory=Region&destinationUrlName=&destinationId=543e2a78969324a955000019&destination=Bali%2C+Indonesia&utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Bali%20Diving” size=”medium” icon_type=”general foundicon-cart” icon_position=”left” shape=”radius” color_class=”red-btn” target=”_blank”]Rent Accommodation at Bali[/otw_shortcode_button]
Writen by: Oliver Jarvis.