Updated March 17, 2022
This is the third in a series of reviews of the best dive resort locations around the world. In this post, the focus is on Bali, the most popular diving destination in Indonesia.
In addition to this series on dive resort locations, the best worldwide liveaboard dive locations and services are reviewed in their own series. To check them out, or others in this series, click on Liveaboards / Resorts on the menu at the top and choose a title from the list.
Have you been diving in Bali before? If so, I’d love to know about your experience. What dive shop or liveaboard did you use? Which dive spots are the best and what are the conditions there regarding the visibility, current, water temperature, sealife attractions, etc.? Please post your response in the comments section at the bottom and we’ll all learn something we can use.
Best Scuba Diving in Bali Indonesia
Bali is one of the world’s top travel destinations due to its unique culture and picturesque landscapes with volcanoes, rice paddies, and stunning beaches. It is also the most popular scuba diving destination in Indonesia featuring great macro spots with abundant coral reefs and spectacular pelagics including mantas and mola-molas.
There is good shore diving and many sites suitable for beginners, but also stiff currents in some areas requiring more advanced skills.
Steep drop-offs, large coral heads and ridges, volcanic outcrops, and several famous wrecks are all part of the seascape.
In addition, to the delight of photographers, Bali’s muck diving yields many outstanding shots.
All this combined with great weather, friendly people, and protected dive sites makes for a great diving vacation.
Top Bali Dive Sites
There are a large number of popular and outstanding dive sites around the island, some of the best of which are highlighted below.
Nusa Penida / Ceningan / Lembongan Island
To the southwest of the main island of Bali is Ceningan Island sandwiched by the larger Lembongan and Penida Islands. Surrounding these are healthy reefs that are subject to changeable currents. The highlights are schooling fish, manta rays, mola-molas, and big pelagics. When the currents are heavy it is more suitable for advanced divers.
Tulamben
On the northeast coast, Tulamben is serviced by several comfortable and attractive resorts where it is possible to find great diving right offshore including the USS Liberty wreck.
Mild conditions and shallow water make this wonderful and richly inhabited site accessible to even beginner divers. Otherwise, there is a rich and diverse reef great for macro and for pelagics and schooling fish.
Sanur / Nusa Dua
In the south and easily accessible from the capital city, these locations are suitable for beginners as the sites are from 5 to 16m deep and as close as 300m from shore.
The current is challenging at times, but tranquil conditions can be found in both areas. There are beautiful reefs with great diversity and macro life.
Visibility at times can be 10m or less.
Padang Bai
Padang Bai is located about midway up the southeast coast. The reef starts at 10 meters as a ledge that slopes to 20 meters where it becomes sandy and levels at 40 meters.
As usual around Bali, there is great macro life like anemones, crinoids, sea squirts, and a number of colorful and exotic reef fish including sweetlips, boxfish, and yellow trumpetfish. In the sand, you might encounter a peacock flounder or blue-spotted stingray.
This site is popular with beginners and also subject to current.
Amed
Just down from Tulamben on the northeast coast, is Amed, which has several contrasting dive sites.
On the east side in the shallow Cemeluk Bay are rich forests of sloping staghorn corals providing habitat for several varieties of tangs, cardinalfish, orange-lined triggerfish, and copious other species of fish. The slope turns into a wall covered with fans, sponges, and various soft and hard corals continuing to 40 meters. Fish life is abundant with huge bumphead parrotfish, tuna, various snappers, triggerfish, and smaller lionfish and scorpionfish hunkering inside nooks and crannies.
On the west side of the bay, the reef starts as a flat area covered in hard and soft corals, sponges, and other invertebrates, with occasional coral heads and metal artificial reef crates on the sandy bottom as you move down to the wall. Blue-spotted stingrays and red octopus are often seen and you might spot a shy ribbon eel if you are lucky. The sites here are suitable for beginners and advanced divers.
Menjangan Island
Menjangan Island lies off the northwest coast in Barat National Park. The surface is usually smooth and visibility great.
Menjangan is characterized by walls that decline to 30 meters on the south side and 60 meters on the east and are covered with sea fans in a variety of colors.
Macro enthusiasts will enjoy the pygmy seahorses within the fans. All sorts of fascinating critters abide there including various shrimps, crabs, and eels. Large schools of smaller fish like fusiliers are prevalent as are batfish, cuttlefish, and the titan triggerfish, which can on occasion display some frightening territoriality toward divers.
On the north side of the island is the Anker Wreck, a 25 meter, 19th-century wooden ship that went down with a cargo of ceramics and copper. Its anchor is stuck in at 5 meters, but the bow of the wreck lies at 30 meters and the stern at 50 meters. Whitetip reef sharks hang out there.
So, you can see that Menjangan Island has diving that is suitable for very advanced divers and for the less advanced, as well.
Seasons and Conditions
It is possible to dive year-round in Bali.
Conditions vary from place to place around the island, but generally speaking, the rainy season is from December to March with visibility reduced in the north and west of the island. Some divers shy away during that period even though it doesn’t rain every day. The best time for diving in most areas is the dry season from April to November.
Visibility increases up to 40 meters in some places.
Most of the year water temperatures are around 25-26°C. Between mid-June, to early November it can drop a couple of degrees and this is the time the mola-molas come to Bali.
Sharks and other pelagics are most likely on the reef between June and September when the monsoon winds are highest and have enriched the seas with nutrients.
Manta sightings are most frequent from April to June, although they are on the reef all year.
Liveaboard Diving
There is not a liveaboard that directly cruises the Bali dive sites, but there are many to wonderful sites around Indonesia. To check out all the liveaboard options click here:
Popular Bali Diving Resorts
- Tulamben Wreck Divers
- TWD Beachfront Villas
- Kubu Indah Resort
- Siddhartha Dive Resort & Spa
Featuring
- Swimming pool
- Babysitting and cots
- Only need to pay a 20% deposit
- Other dining options available in the area
- Diving packages available which can include PADI courses
- Experienced English-speaking divemaster (maximum 4 divers per DM)
- Equipment rental: BCD (approx. $5 per day)), regulator (approx. $5 per day)
- Diving Destinations: Tulamben – USS Liberty shipwreck, Tulamben Wall, House Reef. Other Bali dive destinations such as Lembongan, Amed (just 20 minutes south of Tulamben), and Padang Bay can be arranged on arrival as day trips.
Featuring
- Swimming pool
- Free WiFi in certain areas
- Balinese massages
- Scooters for use, free of charge
- Free local car use
- Other dining options available in the area
- Diving packages available which can include PADI courses
- Experienced English-speaking divemaster (maximum 4 divers per DM)
- Equipment rental: BCD (approx. $5 per day)), regulator (approx. $5 per day)
- Diving Destinations: Tulamben – USS Liberty shipwreck, Tulamben Wall, House Reef. Other Bali sites such as Nusa Penida, Lembongan Island, Amed (just 20 minutes south of Tulamben), and Padang Bay can be arranged as day trips on arrival.
Featuring
- Infinity edge swimming pool
- Spa facility
- Babysitting and cots
- Other dining options available in the area
- Diving packages available
- Scuba equipment (approx. $19 per day)
- Complimentary nitrox
- Diving Destinations: Tulamben/Kubu – USS Liberty shipwreck, Coral Garden, Drop Off, House Reef. Day trips to Batu Kelebit/Ulami Emerald and Seraya and to Amed, Nusa Penida and Manta Point upon request
Featuring
- Infinity pool
- Delightful spa rooms
- Small gymnasium and games room
- Babysitting and cots
- Other dining options available in the area
- Diving packages available
- Scuba equipment (approx. $33 per day)
- Nitrox is provided free of charge
- Diving Destinations: Tulamben/Kubu – Liberty Wreck, Coral Garden, Drop Off, House Reef. Day trips to Amed, Menjangan, Secret Bay, and Padang Bay are available at extra cost.
Photography in Bali
With the colorful coral reefs, a variety of fish, sharks, rays, Mola Mola, and beautiful onshore targets, as well, there are many excellent photo opportunities. For information and reviews of dive cameras, click here:
Scuba Diving Trip Insurance
A cushion for emergencies provides peace of mind when on vacation. I recommend this diving insurance as they have worldwide coverage and provide scuba divers quality insurance and medical assistance service.
Feedback and Comments
I hope you found this post on Bali scuba diving interesting and useful. If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to share them in the comments section. I’d love to know of any experience you have. If there is no comments section directly below, click here: >>comments<<
Hi Joe – wow, this looks amazing. I would love to be able to drop everything and head out to Bali to go diving. Especially since I’m looking at about a foot of snow right now. You have provided some great resources here on where to stay and where to dive in Bali. Great information. Hopefully some day I can take advantage of this and plan a trip there.
Thank you for the incentive,
Michele
Hi Michele,
Thanks a lot for your kind comments.
I hope you get a chance to take a vacation to Bali someday.
Best regards,
Joe
Success is sweet and money is inevitable. How else can one enjoy his hard earn money than to go take vacation in a serene environment where you can forget all your troubles and anxiety. Having known that the best time to come diving at Bali is from April upward then I will plan and take a closer look at resorts and plan along with my budget. This is a place I’m not familiar with but I will get across to you for more enquiries.
Thanks
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your interest.
These resorts are very reasonable price-wise and as you can see beautiful. Yes, please do get in touch if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Joe
I’ve been thinking to take a course on scuba diving for months in a new location where I have never been. Although I’ve been diving at different locations I have not yet been to Bali. I’m definitely gonna try sometime in July Scuba diving will also help me to appreciate the ocean and a sense of the need to protect the natural beauty.
Hi Seun,
It’s great to see you back on my site again.
Bali is a great location for the diving course in a very beautiful setting that will be perfect in July. If you have been diving already without any formal training, it is great you have decided to take this step. I outlined the course requirements in an earlier message. Just click on the Dive the World banner and you can book your vacation.
Please let me know how it goes and which dive sites you like best.
Best regards,
Joe
Thank you for compiling this amazing list. This is the third time I have stumbled onto your site and I really appreciate the energy you always put into your research. I know Indonesia is full of a lot of wonderful locations but this is the first time I am hearing about Bali, I really like the images. They show that this will be a nice resort for vacation and diving. Can you please provide an update about the budget and is it safe for a family with young kids?
Hi Clement,
It’s good to see you back again. Thanks a lot for your kind comments.
The pricing is unchanged, as far as I can tell, still very low. These resorts are a great place for kids, safe with lots of things to do. You can keep up with any changes in details at the resorts by clicking on the Dive the World banner and checking the details there. Why don’t you do that? There is a lot of interesting information there. That is where you book the reservations.
Please let me know what you decide on and I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Best regards,
Joe
WOW! I like diving. I was in Egypt, Seychelles, and the Maldives, but I have never been to Bali. Many friends have told me that they spent several wonderful weeks in Bali and I am planning to go there. I heard a lot about Kubu Indah Resort. They are very friendly and provide great service.
The Day Trips Packages are cool and worth the price. A trip to Bali for a diving vacation at resorts like these is a great choice.
Hi Gno,
Thanks a lot for your interest.
The diving is good, the resorts are very inviting and the pricing is excellent. I think you’ll have a great time. Please give me a little report on how it goes.
If you have any further questions or comments, please let me know.
Best regards,
Joe
Amazing insights, thank you.
I myself haven’t really gotten into diving yet. But I am looking forward to. Will definitely check out your other reviews of the dive sites as well.
Somehow of all the places, you mentioned here for diving in Bali, Amed got my utmost attention. Can’t exactly pinpoint why. For some irrational reasons I guess. But either way, I guess for me whichever place would be magical. Well, as long as it’s not too challenging as I’m very unfamiliar with the underwater environment.
Anyways, thanks again for all the insights!
Cheers and have a Great One!
Matiss
Hi Matiss,
Thanks a lot for your kind comments.
I am glad to hear you want to get started in diving. You’ll need to plan on 3-5 days for the open water diver course where you will do some study, have 5 lessons on theory and practices, 5 pool sessions to learn basic diving skills, and 4 open water dives to practice your skills and get acquainted with the underwater world. They are well prepared to do this with you at all the dive centers in Bali.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Also, please let me know what you decide. I’d love to hear the details of your trip.
Best regards,
Joe
Great post and good info.
Seriously, the country where I live is so bad regarding nature. It is called Belgium. The sea isn’t nice, and it is dirty.
When I see this, and how beautiful Bali is, I want to book a ticket right away!
One question, it is always warm and nice weather there, right? Because if my wife and I want to book in winter, we want it warm, also to dive.
Thanks a lot for sharing and I’m waiting for your answer!
Hi Emmanuel,
Thanks a lot for your kind comments and question.
It sounds like Bali would be a great get-away for you. It is warm there the year round. There could be some rain up through March, but that wouldn’t necessarily stop the diving.
Let me know what you decide to do. I’d love to hear the details of your trip.
Best regards,
Joe
This post is really useful for me because I am a professional diver and love to dive at new locations. The videos that you are share in this post are amazing. Your post saves me lots of time to select my holiday destination for my next vacations.
You’re very kind. I am glad you enjoyed my post. Best of luck on your next diving vacation.
Best regards,
Joe
Hiya thanks for the information.
You’re very welcome. Thanks for the interest.
Best regards,
Joe