Scuba Diving in Bali: The Ultimate Guide
Bali has increasingly become one of the most pristine tourist destinations for couples and families alike. With its cool waters and soft sands, the land is a haven for everyone who’s a fan of yellows and blues.
Scuba diving in itself is an extremely adventurous and enjoyable sport. Bali, with its beautiful waters and underwater life, makes for a brilliant destination for scuba diving. Look no further; this guide covers everything you need to know about scuba diving in Bali with the top sites reviewed in detail. You only have to swim in and enjoy!
Why Scuba Dive in Bali?
Scuba diving in Bali is one of the best decisions you could make! Don’t believe just yet? We’ll convince you.
- Spectacular Wildlife: The underwater life of Bali is worth drooling over. Head to scuba diving in Bali and witness nature’s most spectacular species with your own eyes!
- Historic wrecks: Have you ever seen ancient ships sunken deep in oceans in movies and cartoons? Imagine the sight in real life! The USAT Liberty Shipwreck is a must see and Bali scuba diving guarantees it!
- Warmth and Visibility: The waters of Bali are welcomingly warm, with average temperatures ranging between 26 to 29 degrees Celsius. This and its clarity makes for excellent visibility and your entire experience becomes tons of times better!
- Best Scuba Diving Spots: Bali is famous for its underwater life and beautiful beaches. Its scuba diving spots are among the best in the world and great to venture in for your first adventure. Let’s look at these in detail.
Best Dive Sites in Bali
Amed Beach
The Amed Beach is one of the top scuba diving destinations for watersporting in Bali. Most of the dive sites can be easily accessed from the shore, while a few boat dives are also available.
What makes Amed special?
- Black sand volcanic bottom
- Muck/macro dives
- A number of wrecks, walls, coral gardens, drifts.
| Common Sightings | Tropical fishes, sea turtles, reef tip sharks |
| Best Months | April-June and September-December. |
| Wetsuit | Usually 3mm Sometimes 5-7mm |
| Hazards | Strong current |
Tulamben Beach
The Tulamben Beach is an awesome fist-sized black volcanic rock beach which turns to sandy yellow in the shallow regions. In all, the beach has three main scuba diving regions.
What makes it special?
- Hundreds of macro species.
- Night diving: The Tulamben dive spot becomes excellent at nighttime, with its nocturnal waterlife coming to full visibility.
- Diamond of the dive: US Cargo shipwreck – the USAT Liberty
- Great drop offs- the ocean suddenly dips to depths, offering great sights.
| Common Sightings | Puffer fish, octopuses, lionfish, scorpionfish, cuttlefish, and moray eels. |
| Best Months | All year diving |
| Wetsuit | Usually 1-2 mm Sometimes 5-7mm (winters) |
| Hazards | Poisonous animals, physical injury from corals. |
Pemuteran and Menjangan Scuba Diving
Offering some of Bali’s best coral gardens, the scuba diving spot at Menjangan is a beautiful diving spot, ideal for beginners and more experienced divers alike.
What makes it special?
- Free from upwellings and currents
- Great visibility and relaxed diving
- Warm waters: 27 – 29 degrees C
| Common Sightings | Coral walls and caves, turtles, barracudas, bigeye trevallies, bats, Garden Eel Point, Anker Wreck, and more! |
| Best Months | April to November |
| Wetsuit | Usually 3 mm Sometimes 5-7mm (winters) |
Seraya Secrets Scuba Diving
Seraya Secrets is one of the most famous critter scuba diving spots in Bali. Seraya Secrets is a very productive dive site. Featuring classic macro diving, the topography is a gentle slope of black sand.
What makes it special?
- Underwater photography opportunity
- Crustaceans and nudibranchs
- Muck diving spots
| Common Sightings | The rare spotted Harlequin shrimp, blue dotted stingrays, mimic octopus, moray eels, coral groupers, and sweetlips. |
| Hazards | Hypothermia |
| Wetsuit | Usually 3 mm Sometimes 5-7mm (winters) |
Experience of Diving in Bali
A Balinese diving experience can be very rewarding as a new or experienced diver. However, you need to be wary of a few details.
Time and Season for Scuba Diving in Bali
The best times to experience scuba diving in Bali is in the dry season, which is from April to October. This period offers high visibility and calm sea conditions with warmer waters. Some dive spots can even be ventured in without a wetsuit, in just lycra.
Be careful of changing weather and current. Thermal stress and hypothermia are the major issues. Strong currents can cause entrapment hazards, increased air consumption, and shortened dive time.
Diving Courses and Certifications in Bali
Scuba diving in Bali is a dangerous sport. This makes divers and tourists even more afraid to try and venture into deep underwater diving. However, it’s all in the mind! With a great certified instructor and short diving courses, you can excel and enjoy the underwater life of Bali with expertise and safety.
Make sure that your instructors are properly trained and have good feedback. Stay clear of any instructors with poor client feedback.
Scuba diving in Bali can be an exhilarating experience for new and experienced divers alike! With a varied aquatic life and tens of ancient historic shipwrecks buried in the ocean, scuba diving in Bali offers a rich experience to explorers. Bali is suffused with great scuba diving spots to explore the underwater world. Sites like Amed and Menjangan offer great experiences and make for a wonderful takeaway from your trip. See you in the blue tides?